Kutenai

Kutenai

Kutenai group c. 1900
Total population
1,536 (2016)
Regions with significant populations
United States (Idaho, Montana), Canada (British Columbia)
Canada  British Columbia	940[1]
United States (Idaho, Montana)	596[2]
Languages
English, Kutenai (Kitunahan), ʔa·qanⱡiⱡⱡitnam (Ktunaxa Sign Language)[3]
Religion
Kutenai spiritualism

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The Kutenai (/ˈkuːtəneɪ, -niː/ KOO-tə-nay, -⁠nee),^[4][5] also known as the Ktunaxa (/tʌˈnɑːhɑː/ tun-AH-hah;^[6] Kutenai: [ktunʌ́χɑ̝]), Ksanka (/kəˈsɑːnkɑː/ kə-SAHN-kah), Kootenay (in Canada) and Kootenai (in the United States), are an indigenous people of Canada and the United States. Kutenai bands live in southeastern British Columbia, northern Idaho, and western Montana. The Kutenai language is a language isolate, thus unrelated to the languages of neighboring peoples or any other known language.

Four bands form the Ktunaxa Nation in British Columbia. The Ktunaxa Nation was historically closely associated with the Shuswap Indian Band through tribal association and intermarriage. Two federally recognized tribes represent Kutenai people in the U.S.: the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) in Montana, a confederation also including Bitterroot Salish and Pend d'Oreilles bands.