Ktunaxa

The Ktunaxa (English pronunciation: /tʌˈnɑːhɑː/ tun-AH-hah;Kutenai pron. [ktunʌ́χɑ̝]), also known as Kutenai (English /ˈkuːtᵊneɪ, -ni/), Kootenay (predominant spelling in Canada) and Kootenai (predominant spelling in the United States), are an indigenous people of North America. There are four bands that form the Ktunaxa Nation and the historic allied and through intermarriage kindred Shuswap Indian Band in British Columbia, in Montana together with the Bitterroot Salish (also known as Flathead) and Upper Pend d'Oreilles they are part of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Nation. There are also the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho in Idaho and small populations in Washington in the United States, where they are part of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.

The Kutenai language is an isolate, unrelated to the languages of neighbouring peoples.

Communities

There are 4 bands in southeastern British Columbia, 1 band in northern Idaho, 1 band in northwestern Montana, and there are also small populations in Washington.

Kootenay River

The Kootenay (Kootenai in the U.S. and historically called the Flatbow) is a major river in southeastern British Columbia, Canada and northern parts of the U.S. states of Montana and Idaho. It is one of the uppermost major tributaries of the Columbia River, which is the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. The Kootenay River runs 781 kilometres (485 mi) from its headwaters in the Kootenay Ranges of the Canadian Rockies, flowing from British Columbia's East Kootenay region into northwestern Montana, thence into northernmost Idaho Panhandle and returning to British Columbia in the West Kootenay region, where it joins the Columbia at Castlegar.

Born in glaciers and flowing through a rugged landscape of mountains and valleys, the river drains an isolated and sparsely populated region of the Pacific Northwest. From its highest headwaters to its confluence with the Columbia River, the Kootenay falls more than two kilometers in elevation. Although comparable in length, watershed and discharge to the Columbia above the conflence, the Kootenay is of a notably different character; its much steeper gradient results in the formation of many rapids.

Kootenai County, Idaho

Kootenai County (/ˈkuːtniː/ KOOT-nee) is a county located in the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2010 census, the population was 138,494, making it the third-most populous county in Idaho. The county seat and largest city is Coeur d'Alene. The county was established in 1864 and named after the Kootenai tribe.

Kootenai County comprises the Coeur d'Alene, ID Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Spokane-Spokane Valley-Coeur d'Alene, WA-ID Combined Statistical Area.

History

Kootenai County was formed on December 22, 1864, from the northern section of Nez Perce County. It was named after the Kootenai, because it lies in the traditional area of settlement of the tribe.

Once comprising most of the western Panhandle, the county's present boundaries were established in 1915, following the formation of Benewah County to the south. Bonner County to the north had been formed in 1907 from Kootenai County; Bonner County was also divided in 1915 with the formation of Boundary County.

River

A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of water. Small rivers can be referred to using names such as stream, creek, brook, rivulet, and rill. There are no official definitions for the generic term river as applied to geographic features, although in some countries or communities a stream is defined by its size. Many names for small rivers are specific to geographic location; examples are "run" in some parts of the United States, "burn" in Scotland and northeast England, and "beck" in northern England. Sometimes a river is defined as being larger than a creek, but not always: the language is vague.

Rivers are part of the hydrological cycle. Water generally collects in a river from precipitation through a drainage basin from surface runoff and other sources such as groundwater recharge, springs, and the release of stored water in natural ice and snowpacks (e.g. from glaciers). Potamology is the scientific study of rivers while limnology is the study of inland waters in general.

Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Nation

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation are the Bitterroot Salish, Kootenai and Pend d'Oreilles (Upper Kalispel) (pronounced: “pond-oray”) tribes.

They were incorrectly called the Flathead Indians by the first Europeans who came to the area. The Flatheads call themselves Salish, meaning “the people”. These people never practiced head flattening, but the Columbia River tribes who shaped the front of the head to create a pointed appearance spoke of their neighbors, the Salish, as "flatheads" in contrast.

The Flatheads lived between the Cascade Mountains and Rocky Mountains. The Salish (Flatheads) initially lived entirely east of the Continental Divide but established their headquarters near the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains. Occasionally, hunting parties went west of the Continental Divide but not west of the Bitterroot Range. The easternmost edge of their ancestral hunting forays were the Gallatin, Crazy Mountain, and Little Belt Ranges.