The Kootenai Tribe of Idaho (

Kutenai language The Kutenai language ( ), also Kootenai, Kootenay, Ktunaxa, and Ksanka, is the native language of the Kutenai people of Montana and Idaho in the United States and British Columbia in Canada. It is typically considered a language isolate, unrel ...

: ʔaq̓anqmiFirst Voices—Ktunaxa Home Page: About U
www.firstvoices.com/explore/FV/sections/Data/Ktunaxa/Ktunaxa/Ktunaxa
/ref>) is a

federally recognized tribe A federally recognized tribe is a Native American tribe recognized by the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs as holding a government-to-government relationship with the US federal government. In the United States, the Native American tribe ...

of Lower Kootenai people. They are an Indigenous people of the Northwest Plateau based in northern

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

. They are one of five federally recognized tribes in Idaho. The others are Coeur d'Alene,

Nez Perce The Nez Perce (; autonym in Nez Perce language: , meaning 'we, the people') are an Indigenous people of the Plateau who still live on a fraction of the lands on the southeastern Columbia River Plateau in the Pacific Northwest. This region h ...

Shoshone-Bannock The Fort Hall Reservation is a Indian reservation, Native American reservation of the federally recognized Shoshone-Bannock people, Bannock Tribes (Shoshoni language: Pohoko’ikkateeCrum, B., Crum, E., & Dayley, J. P. (2001). Newe Hupia: Shosh ...

, and

Duck Valley Indian Reservation The Duck Valley Indian Reservation () was established in the 19th century for the federally recognized Shoshone- Paiute Tribe. It is isolated in the high desert of the western United States, and lies on the state line, the 42nd parallel, betwee ...

(Western Shoshone-Northern Paiute). They have 150 enrolled citizens.

Name

Their name for themselves is ʔaq̓anqmi. They are also called the Idaho Ksanka. The Ktunaxa ( ; ) are also known as Kutenai (), Kootenay (predominant spelling in Canada), and Kootenai (predominant spelling in the United States).

Reservation

The Kootenai Reservation was first established in 1896. After subsequent land loss, the reservation was re-established in 1974.Pritzker 262 The

reservation __NOTOC__ Reservation may refer to: Places Types of places: * Indian reservation, in the United States * Military base, often called reservations * Nature reserve Government and law * Reservation (law), a caveat to a treaty * Reservation in India, ...

is in Boundary County, along

U.S. Route 95 U.S. Route 95 (US 95) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway System, United States Highway in the western United States. It travels through the states of Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Idaho, staying inland ...

."Kootenai Tribe."
''Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board''. Retrieved 31 July 2013. Their reservation is 2,200 acres large.

Government

The tribe's headquarters is in

Bonners Ferry, Idaho Bonners Ferry (Kutenai language: ʔaq̓anqmi) is the largest city in and the county seat of Boundary County, Idaho, Boundary County, Idaho, United States. The population was 2,543 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. The Porthill-Ryk ...

. The tribe is governed by a democratically elected, nine-member tribal council. The current administration is as follows: * Chairman: Gary FX Aitken Jr. * Jennifer Porter * Amethyst Aitken * Ronald Abraham * Diane David * Duane E. Saunders * Louie Abraham * Velma Bahe * Kim Cooper.

Language

Historically, Kootenai people have spoken the

, a

language isolate A language isolate is a language that has no demonstrable genetic relationship with any other languages. Basque in Europe, Ainu and Burushaski in Asia, Sandawe in Africa, Haida and Zuni in North America, Kanoê in South America, and Tiwi ...

. It has a dictionary and grammar and is written in the

Latin script The Latin script, also known as the Roman script, is a writing system based on the letters of the classical Latin alphabet, derived from a form of the Greek alphabet which was in use in the ancient Greek city of Cumae in Magna Graecia. The Gree ...

History

The Kootenai people lived along the

Kootenai River The Kootenay River or Kootenai River is a major river of the Northwest Plateau in southeastern British Columbia, Canada, and northern Montana and Idaho in the United States. It is one of the uppermost major tributaries of the Columbia River, ...

in Idaho,

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

, and

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. They were

hunter-gatherers A hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living in a community, or according to an ancestrally derived lifestyle, in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local naturally occurring sources, especially w ...

, and salmon was an important staple to their diets. They have permanent winter villages of cone-shaped houses made from wooden poles and rush mats. In 1855 the tribe refused to sign a treaty with the US government that would require them to cede their aboriginal lands in Idaho and consolidate with several other smaller tribes in Montana. The

Dawes Act The Dawes Act of 1887 (also known as the General Allotment Act or the Dawes Severalty Act of 1887) regulated land rights on tribal territories within the United States. Named after Senator Henry L. Dawes of Massachusetts, it authorized the P ...

broke up tribal land holdings into individual allotments. Due to illegal land loss, the tribe was awarded $425,000 in a land claims settlement in 1960. On September 20, 1974, the 67 members of the Kootenai Tribe formally declared war on the United States, seeking federal Initial demands were for a reservation and compensation for of ancestral They did not engage in violence, and, by calling attention to their situation, the tribe was deeded of federal land surrounding the former mission in

Bonners Ferry Bonners Ferry (Kutenai language: ʔaq̓anqmi) is the largest city in and the county seat of Boundary County, Idaho, Boundary County, Idaho, United States. The population was 2,543 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. The Porthill-Ryk ...

. It was enacted by S. 634, signed by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ford assumed the p ...

in October.

Economic development

Since 1986, the Kootenai Tribe has owned and operated the Kootenai River Inn in Bonners Ferry. It is now the Kootenai River Inn Casino and Spa, also has the Springs Restaurant, Casino Deli, the Kootenai Day Spa, and gift shop."Kootenai River Inn Casino & Spa."
''500 Nations.'' Retrieved 31 July 2013. Reservation industries include timber, tourism, and selling sand and gravel. The tribe also owns a

sturgeon Sturgeon (from Old English ultimately from Proto-Indo-European language, Proto-Indo-European *''str̥(Hx)yón''-) is the common name for the 27 species of fish belonging to the family Acipenseridae. The earliest sturgeon fossils date to the ...

hatchery.

Notes

References

* Pritzker, Barry M. ''A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. .

External links

* , Kootenai Tribe of Idaho
"The Kootenai Tribe’s Forgotten War,"
by Jack McNeel, ''Idaho Public Television''
Tales''
a 1918 book by anthropologist

Franz Boas Franz Uri Boas (July 9, 1858 – December 21, 1942) was a German-American anthropologist and ethnomusicologist. He was a pioneer of modern anthropology who has been called the "Father of American Anthropology". His work is associated with the mov ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kootenai Tribe Of Idaho Ktunaxa governments Native American tribes in Idaho American Indian reservations in Idaho Geography of Boundary County, Idaho Federally recognized tribes in the United States Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Plateau