The Interior Salish languages are one of the two main branches of the Salishan language family, the other being

Coast Salish The Coast Salish peoples are a group of ethnically and linguistically related Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, living in the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. They speak on ...

. It can be further divided into Northern and Southern subbranches. The first Interior Salish people encountered by American explorers were the Flathead people (''Selish'' or ''seliš'').

Languages

Languages with no living native speakers are marked with an obelisk, . * Salish ** Northern *** Shuswap, also known as Secwepemctsín and səxwəpməxcín. ***

Lillooet Lillooet () is a district municipality in the Squamish-Lillooet region of southwestern British Columbia. The town is on the west shore of the Fraser River immediately north of the Seton River mouth. On BC Highway 99, the locality is by road abo ...

, also known as St'át'imcets. *** Thompson River Salish, (; also known as Nlakaʼpamux, Ntlakapmuk, Thompson Salish, and Thompson.) ****Spuzzum dialect, also called Lower Thompson () **** **** ****Nicola dialect () ** Southern *** Coeur d’Alene, also known as Snchitsuʼumshtsn and snčícuʔumšcn. *** Columbia-Moses , also known as Columbia and Nxaʔamxcín. *** Colville-Okanagan, also known as Okanagan, Nxsəlxcin, Nsilxcín, Nsíylxcən, and ta nukunaqínxcən. *** Montana Salish, also known as Spokane-Kalispel-Flathead, Kalispel–Pend d'Oreille language, and Spokane–Kalispel–Bitterroot Salish–Upper Pend d'Oreille. The Southern Interior Salish languages share many common phonemic values but are separated by both vowel and consonant shifts (for example k k̓ x > č č' š).

Peoples speaking an Interior Salish language

Northern

* Secwepemc, also known as Shuswap, Secwepemctsín, səxwəpməxcín ( ʃəxwəpməxtʃín). * St̓át̓imc, also known as Stlʼatlʼimx, Stlʼatlʼimc, Sƛ’aƛ’imxǝc ( St̓át̓imcets, also known as ''Úcwalmicwts''). *

Nlaka'pamux The Nlakaʼpamux or Nlakapamuk ( ; ), also previously known as the ''Thompson'', '' Thompson River Salish'', ''Thompson Salish'', ''Thompson River Indians'' or ''Thompson River people'', and historically as the ''Klackarpun'', ''Haukamaugh'', ''K ...

, also known as Thompson River Salish, Ntlakapmuk, Ntleʼkepmxcín, Thompson River, Thompson Salish, Thompson, known in frontier times as the Hakamaugh, Klackarpun, Couteau or Knife Indians.

Central

* Colville,

Sinixt The Sinixt"Sinixt Nation…" (; also known as the Sin-Aikst or Sin Aikst,Reyes 2002, ''passim.'' "Senijextee", "Arrow Lakes Band", or—less commonly in recent decades—simply as "The Lakes") are a First Nations People. The Sinixt are d ...

(Senjextee, Sin Aikst, or Lakes Band), Sanpoil,

Okanagan The Okanagan ( ), also called the Okanagan Valley and sometimes the Okanagan Country, is a region in the Canadian province of British Columbia defined by the basin of Okanagan Lake and the Canadian portion of the Okanagan River. It is part of ...

, and Methow, all of whom speak Nxsəlxcin, nsyilxcən.

Eastern

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south ...

, Kalispel, and the Flathead, including the

Bitterroot Bitterroot (''Lewisia rediviva'') is a small perennial herb in the family Montiaceae. Its specific epithet ("revived, reborn") refers to its ability to regenerate from dry and seemingly dead roots. The genus '' Lewisia'' was moved in 2009 from ...

, all of whom speak Montana Salish.

Southern

* Sinkiuse-Columbia, Entiat,

Wenatchi The Wenatchi people or Šnp̍əšqʷáw̉šəxʷi / Np̓əšqʷáw̓səxʷ ("People in the between") are Native Americans who originally lived near the confluence of the Columbia and Wenatchee Rivers in Central Washington state. Their language ...

, and Chelan, all of whom traditionally speak or spoke Columbia-Moses, also known as Nxaảmxcín, Sinkiuse-Columbia, Sinkiuse, Columbia. *

Coeur d'Alene people The Coeur d'Alene Tribe ( ; also Skitswish; ) are a Native American tribe and one of five federally recognized tribes in the state of Idaho. The Coeur d'Alene have sovereign control of their Coeur d'Alene Reservation, which includes a significa ...

, also known as Schitsu'umsh or Skitswish (

Coeur d'Alene language Coeur d'Alene ( French: ), known to its speakers as , is a Salishan language. It was spoken by only two of the 80 individuals in the Coeur d'Alene Tribe on the Coeur d'Alene Reservation in northern Idaho, United States in 1999. It is consider ...

). Many speakers and students of these languages live near the city of

and for the past three years have gathered at the Celebrating Salish Conference which is hosted by the Kalispel Tribe at the Northern Quest Resort & Casino.

Notes

References

Bibliography

External links

Celebrating Salish Conference
{{DEFAULTSORT:Interior Salish Languages Salishan languages Indigenous languages of Washington (state) Indigenous languages of the North American Plateau