Kutenai languageKutenai ( ), 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, unrelated to the Salishan family of languages spoken by neighboring tribes on the coast and in the interior Plateau. The Kutenai also use ʔa·qanⱡiⱡⱡitnam, Ktunaxa Sign Language. ClassificationKutenai is typically considered a language isolate.
Kootenai Tribe of IdahoThe Kootenai Tribe of Idaho (Kutenai language: ʔaq̓anqmi) is a federally recognized tribe of Lower Kootenai people. They are an Indigenous people of the Northwest Plateau based in northern Idaho. They are one of five federally recognized tribes in Idaho. The others are Coeur d'Alene, Nez Perce, Shoshone-Bannock, and Duck Valley Indian Reservation (Western Shoshone-Northern Paiute). They have 150 enrolled citizens. NameTheir name for themselves is ʔaq̓anqmi.
Confederated Salish and Kootenai TribesThe Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation (Montana Salish: Séliš u Ql̓ispé, Kutenai: k̓upawiȼq̓nuk) are a federally recognized tribe centered on the Flathead Indian Reservation in the U.S. state of Montana. The tribe includes Kutenai, Bitterroot Salish, and Upper Pend d'Oreilles people, the later two are Interior Salish peoples. The Bitterroot Salish were referred to by Euro-American explorers as Flathead Indians.
Ktunaxa NationThe Ktunaxa Nation or Ktunaxa Nation Council is a First Nationstribal council government comprising four Ktunaxa (Kutenai) bands in the south-east of the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is one of three Kutenai governments, the others being the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes in the United States.
British ColumbiaProvince of CanadaProvince in CanadaBritish Columbia is the westernmost 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 include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, forests, lakes, mountains, inland deserts, and grassy plains.Shuswap Indian BandThe Shuswap Indian Band (Shuswap language: Kenpesqʼt), also known as the Shuswap Band, is a First Nationsband government of the Secwepemc (Shuswap) people in the East Kootenay region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member of the Shuswap Nation Tribal Council. Its main reserve, the Shuswap Indian Reserve, lies just north of Invermere on the upper Columbia River, separated from the other Secwepemc bands by the Selkirk Mountains.
IdahoIdaho ( , EYE-də-hoe) is a landlocked state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington and Oregon to the west; the state shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border to the north with the Canadian province of British Columbia. Idaho's state capital and largest city is Boise.
MontanaU.S. stateState in the United StatesMontana ( ) is a landlocked state in the 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, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan to the north. It is the fourth-largest state by area, but the eighth-least populous state and the third-least densely populated state.
Indigenous peoples of the AmericasThe Indigenous peoples of the Americas, also called Indians, Amerindians, Indigenous Americans or simply Natives, are the peoples who are native to the Americas or the Western Hemisphere. Their ancestors are among the pre-Columbian population of South or North America, including Central America and the Caribbean. Indigenous peoples live throughout the Americas. There are at least 1,000 different Indigenous languages of the Americas still in use in the 21st century.
List of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United StatesThis is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. As of December 18, 2025, 575 Indian tribes are legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United States. Of these, 228 are located in Alaska, and 109 are located in California. Of the 575 federally recognized tribes, 347 are located in the contiguous United States.
Language isolateLanguage that has no demonstrable genetic relationship with other languagesLocations of a few examples of language isolatesA language isolate, sometimes called an isolated language, is a language that has no demonstrable genealogical relationship with any other language. That is, an isolate is a language family that only contains one member.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.