550 REPORT— 1892. 



As material is lacking for comparisons in certain directions, whicli 

 naturally suggest themselves, viz., with the Shoshonian tribes of the 

 region to the south, as regards language, and with these, and with cer- 

 tain Salishan peoples, with respect to physical characteristics, these ques- 

 tions must be deferred for consideration at another time. It may be 

 stated, however, that from the examination of his material (only partially 

 arranged) there appears to be no reason to displace the Kootenay from 

 its position as a distinct family of speech. 



I. BTHT^O GRAPHICAL. 



Country and People. 



The Ki'tdna'Qa, or Kootenay s, inhabit the country included between 

 the Rockies and the Selkirks, stretching from the forty-ninth to the fifty- 

 second parallel of north latitude, and watered by the Upper Kootenay 

 and Upper Columbia Rivers and their tributaries. They preserve, how- 

 ever, a distinct recollection of having formerly lived east of the Rocky 

 Mountains. The ethnic and tribal names are as follows : — - 



An Indian is called dqkts'md'lcinik,^ and a Kootenay Indian, tsEn 

 dqkts'md'kimk, i.e., ' the Indian.' The names possibly have reference to 

 the origin of the Kootenays, according to their legend, from a hole in the 

 ground, as the latter part of the word, 'md'kinik, may be explained as con- 

 sisting of dmdk (ground), -?'-, a connective vowel, and the suffix -nik, 

 signifying ' people originating from, dwelling at, &c.' The Kootenay also 

 call themselves Ki'tond'aa, the etymology of which is unknown. One 

 Indian connected it with ho'tond'qEne, '1 am lean.' They are generally 

 divided into two groups, viz.. Upper Kootenays and Lower Kootenays, 

 the subdivisions of these being as follows : — 



I. Ki'tdna'Qa, or Upper Kootenay : (a) Aqki'sk'Enu'kinik (i.e., ' peo- 

 ple of the two lakes '), the tribe of the Columbia lakes, with chief settle- 

 ment at Windermere, on the Lower Lake ; (b) Aqk'a'mnik (i.e., ' the 

 people of A'qk'am,' as the region of Ft. Steele is called), the tribe of Ft. 

 Steele and the Mission of St. Eugene, of whom a large number camp at 

 a place called Bummer's Flat, Takikats ; (c) Ta'k'et aqkinu'qtle'et 

 aqkts'ma'kinik, or Indians of the Tobacco Plains (Ya'k'et aqkinu'qtle'et) ; 

 these are better and more properly termed Aqk'aneqii'nik (i.e., 'Indians 

 on a creek or i-iver ') ; (d) Aqklye'nik (' people of the leggings ' ?), Indians 

 of Lake Pend d' Oreille. 



II. Aqkoqtla'tlqo, or Indians of the Lower Kootenay (Aqkoktla'hatl) 

 River, partly in British Columbia and partly in Idaho. 



The number of the Kootenay Indians is uncertain ; they are generally 

 set down at 1,000, half of whom are in British Columbia, the other half 

 in the United States. The reports of the Canadian Indian Department 

 from 1880 to 1886 give the number as about 400. Mr. A. S. Farwell, in 

 a special report to the Legislature of British Columbia ^ in 1883, makes 

 the following statement : — ' The Kootenay tribe of Indians number about 

 800 men, women, and children, and are divided approximately as follows : 

 450 British Indians domiciled north of the international boundary line, 

 and 200 American Indians residing in Idaho and Montana Territories ; 



' For the alphabet used in this report see pp. 589, 590. 



' For a copy of this the writer is indebted to the kindness of the Hon. John 

 Eobson, Provincial Secretary. 



