Spokane's minor league history dates all the way back to 1892 when it fielded a team in the Pacific Northwest League. The nickname "Indians" was introduced in 1903 when Spokane joined the Pacific National League, a predecessor to the Pacific Coast League and an elite minor league of the period -- equivalent to Triple-A today. The Indians lasted only two seasons at that higher level before dropping to the Class B Northwestern League, which folded during WWI.

In 1937, Spokane became a charter member of the Class B Western International League (WIL), the predecessor of the Northwest League. They played at Ferris Field from 1937 through the beginning of WWII in 1942, and again from 1946 until folding during the 1954 season.

Spokane was a charter member of the Northwest League, which debuted in 1955 as a Class B league. These Indians also played at Ferris Field, but folded after just two seasons, and the city went without minor league baseball in 1957.

When the Los Angeles Dodgers moved from Brooklyn to the West Coast in 1958, they moved their PCL affiliate, the Los Angeles Angels, north to Spokane. While with the Dodgers for 14 seasons, the Indians won league titles in 1960 and 1970, and were runners-up in 1963, 1967, and 1968.

The 1970 Indians, managed by Tommy Lasorda, won 94 of 146 games (.644) in the regular season to win the northern division by 26 games, then swept the Hawaii Islanders in four games in the PCL playoffs. The team included Bill Buckner, Steve Garvey, Bobby Valentine (PCL MVP), Tom Paciorek, Davey Lopes, Bill Russell, and Doyle Alexander.

Following the 1971 season, the club was moved south to New Mexico and became the Albuquerque Dukes. Spokane, which had been in the Northwest League for its first two seasons in 1955 and 1956, returned to the NWL in 1972 as a Dodger affiliate, but only for one season, as a new PCL franchise arrived in 1973 from Portland, becoming the affiliate of the Texas Rangers.

Spokane's second stint in Triple-A lasted ten seasons and included affiliations with the Texas Rangers (1973-75), Milwaukee Brewers (1976-78), Seattle Mariners (1979-81), and California Angels (1982). The team won back-to-back PCL Championships in 1974-75 with the Rangers and produced future three-time NL batting champion Bill Madlock. Other memorable players from the era included World Series champion manager Ned Yost, Colorado Rockies skipper Bud Black, and MLB All-Stars Ed Farmer, Dave Henderson, Roy Howell, Shane Rawley, Lary Sorenson, Don Stanhouse, and Gorman Thomas.

The Indians made the most of their single season as an affiliate of the California Angels in 1982, reaching the Pacific Coast League finals, where they lost to the Albuquerque Dukes in six games, and producing a five-time Gold Glove Award winner (Gary Pettis), big league manager (Jerry Narron), and AL All-Star (Tom Brunansky). Soon after that season, the team moved south to Las Vegas and became the Stars, marking a temporary end to long-season baseball in Spokane.

A new Northwest League franchise was awarded to Spokane for the 1983 season and the Indians went on to win eight league titles during their time in the NWL, including four straight from 1987 through 1990. The Indians won their seventh NWL championship in 2005, despite a 37-39 (.487) record during the regular season. They became only the second team in league history (after the 1982 Salem Angels) to win the championship with a losing regular season record. Spokane won the East Division, then beat league-leading Vancouver on the road in games four and five of the championship series to win the title.

Top alumni from this era include six-time All-Star Sandy Alomar Jr, three-time World Series winning manager Bruce Bochy, Mariners fan favorite Joey Cora, superstar outfielder Carlos Beltran, Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke, two-time Gold Glove winning second baseman Ian Kinsler, and home run king Chris Davis.

A major reshuffling of the minor leagues during 2020 saw the Spokane Indians leave short-season baseball after nearly thirty years and join the High-A West as an affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. The new affiliation was a smashing success in year one with the team reaching the league finals after overcoming a 14.5-game deficit, a pair of players making their big league debuts, and the Indians being named MiLB Organization of the Year for their work in the community - highlighted by the new Operation Fly Together Campaign with Fairchild Air Force Base.