The Kootenai (or Kutenai) are a tribe of Native Americans that traditionally lived in parts of Idaho, Montana, and British Columbia. The Kootenai probably once lived on the Great Plains, but long ago they migrated west across the Rocky Mountains.

Society and culture

The land of the Kootenai was filled with streams, rivers, and lakes. The tribe obtained much of its food by fishing. Kootenai men fished with spears and nets. They also built canoes from bark and from tree logs.

The Kootenai also hunted. In the 1700s they acquired horses through trade and began traveling east over the Rockies to hunt buffalo (bison) on the plains. There they often fought with the warlike Blackfoot for favored hunting grounds. The Kootenai sometimes took Blackfoot women and children as war captives.

The Kootenai eventually adopted some customs of the Indians they met on the plains. Like Plains Indians, they dressed in skin clothing and lived in cone-shaped tepees while hunting. They also painted their tepees, garments, and bodies in patterns learned from Plains Indians.

The Kootenai were not ruled by a single leader. Instead they were divided into small bands, each with its own chief and council of elders. Medicine men also were powerful in Kootenai society. The tribe worshiped the sun and believed that spirits were present throughout the natural world.

History

In the early 1800s non-Indian traders from the North West Company began arriving in Kootenai territory. The Kootenai were generally friendly to these newcomers. The traders built a post called Kootenai House on the tribe's lands in 1807.

In 1846, when the border of the United States and Canada was set, the Kootenai homeland was split between the two countries. Some Kootenai on the U.S. side moved north, and others eventually settled on reservations in Idaho and Montana. The Canadian Kootenai settled on several small tracts in British Columbia.

At the end of the 20th century about 600 Kootenai lived in the United States and about 600 lived in Canada. Many now work as ranchers, sportsmen's guides, and wage laborers.