Kootenai Tribe of Idaho

Alternate names:: Kootenai, Kootenay, Kootenai Tribe of Idaho, Kootenae, Kootenaha, Kouttainis, Koutaine, Kitinqu, Kutenai

Tribal Headquarters
Kootenai Tribe of Idaho 142 Co Road 38A / P.O. Box 1269 Bonners Ferry, ID 83805-1269 Phone: 208-267-3519 Fax: 208-267-2960 Website

History
Encounters with non-indigenous people and traders began in 1795 and early 1800, when they established trade relations with the North West Company. One employee of the company, David Thompson, a trader and explorer, built a trading post and named it Kootenai House. The Lewis and Clark Expediton reported locating the Kootenai tribe in the Bitterroot Valley (Montana).

In 1855 The "Hell's Gate" treaty was signed with the Blackfeet,Piegan, Blood, Gros Ventres,Flathead, Pend d'Oreille, and Kootenai tribes and the United States.

The Kootenai later moved to the Flathead and Kootenai reservations.

The Kootenai and Salish tribes living on the Flathead Reservation became the Consolidated Salish and Kootenai Tribes in 1935.

** Kootenai and Salish intermarried with each other and with their white neighbors. Many have French or Scotch names, inherited from traders and trappers who married Indian women.

Brief Timeline

 * 1795: Duncan M'Gillivray, a trader encounters the Kootenai tribe.
 * Early 1800's: David Thompson, explorer, established trade relations for the North West Company. He built a trading post named Kootenai House in 1807.
 * 1806: Lewis and Clark Expedition encounter the Kootenai tribe in the Bitterroot Valley, Montana
 * 1855: "Hell's Gate" Treaty with the Blackfeet, Piagan, Blood, Gros Ventres, Flathead, Pend d'Oreille and Kootenai tribes.
 * 1855: Treaty with the Flathead
 * Move to Flathead reservation
 * Move to Kootenai reservation
 * 1935: the Kootenai and Salish living on the Flathead Reservation incorporate and become the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes
 * 1947: Approved a constitution

Records
The majority of records of individuals were those created by the agencies. Some records may be available to tribal members through the tribal headquarters.They were (and are) the local office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and were charged with maintaining records of the activities of those under their responsibility. Among these records are:


 * Allotment records
 * Annuity rolls
 * Census records
 * Correspondence
 * Health records
 * Reports
 * School census and records
 * Vital records

Agency Records
The following agencies of the Bureau of Indian Affairs had jurisdiction over the Kootenai for the time periods indicated. BIA agencies were responsible to keep such records as census rolls, allotment (land) records, annuity rolls, school records, correspondence, and other records of individuals under their jurisdiction. For details, see the page for the respective agency.


 * Flathead Agency, -present
 * Coeur d'Alene Agency, 1906-1937
 * Northern Idaho Agency, 1938-1939

Census Records
The Bureau of Indian Affairs compiled annual Indian Census Rolls on many of the reservations from 1885 to 1940. They list the names of individuals, their age, and other details about each person enumerated. For more information about these records, click here.

The following table lists the census rolls for the Kootenai Tribe:

Correspondence Records
There are several sets of correspondence between the supervising offices of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the local offices -- agencies, subagencies, etc. The correspondence is often historical in nature, including reports of the conditions among local groups of Native Americans, hostilities, plans for building facilities, activities of traders or missionaries, etc. Occasionally, there will be names of individuals but little detail about them. For more information about American Indian correspondence, click here.

The following table lists some correspondence relating to the Kootenai Tribe:

Enrollment Records
In 1905, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs assigned Special Agent Thomas Downs to investigate the enrollment of the Indians of the Flathead Reservation. The National Archives has microfilmed the resulting documents as their Microcopy M1350, consisting of 3 rolls of microfilm. These records are available at the National Archives and their Regional Archives, and at other research institutions, including the in Salt Lake City. The records include census rolls for 1903, 1905, and 1908, as well as applications for enrollment and Agent Downs' field notes. It includes members of all tribes then living on the Flathead Reservation, including the Flathead, Kootenai, Pend d'Oreille, Kalispel, and Spokane tribes.

Treaties
During the latter part of the 18th Century and most of the 19th Century, treaties were negotiated between the federal government and individual Indian tribes. The treaties provide helpful information about the history of the tribe, but usually only include the names of those persons who signed the treaty. For more information about treaties, click here.

Treaties to which the Kootenai were a part were:


 * 1855: October 17, at Judith River, Territory of Nebraska, with the Blackfeet
 * 1855: July 16, at Hall Gate, in Bitter Root Valley, with the Flathead, Upper Pend d'Oreille

Tribal Office Records
The Tribal Office is responsible for enrollment records, vital records, tribal police records, tribal court records, employment records and many others. They are an entirely different set of records from those kept by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Most of them remain in the Tribal Office. For details, contact that office at the address for the Tribal Headquarters listed above.

Important Websites

 * Constitution and By-Laws of the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho
 * Kootenai Tribe of Idaho Official Website

General

 * Guide to Federal Records in the National Archives; Record Group 75, Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
 * Hodge, Frederick Webb. Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1906 Available online.
 * Klein, Barry T., ed. Reference Encyclopedia of the American Indian. Nyack, New York: Todd Publications, 2009. 10th ed. WorldCat 317923332;.
 * Malinowski, Sharon and Sheets, Anna, eds. The Gale Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes. Detroit: Gale Publishing, 1998. 4 volumes. Includes: Lists of Federally Recognized Tribes for U.S., Alaska, and Canada – pp. 513-529 Alphabetical Listing of Tribes, with reference to volume and page in this series Map of “Historic Locations of U.S. Native Groups” Map of “Historic Locations of Canadian Native Groups” Map of “Historic Locations of Mexican, Hawaiian and Caribbean Native Groups” Maps of “State and Federally Recognized U.S. Indian Reservations. WorldCat 37475188;.


 * Vol. 1 -- Northeast, Southeast, Caribbean
 * Vol. 2 -- Great Basin, Southwest, Middle America
 * Vol. 3 -- Arctic, Subarctic, Great Plains, Plateau
 * Vol. 4 -- California, Pacific Northwest, Pacific Islands


 * Sturtevant, William C. Handbook of North American Indians. 20 vols., some not yet published. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1978– . *Swanton John R. The Indian Tribes of North America. Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin #145 Available online.
 * Waldman, Carl. Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes. New York, New York: Facts on File, 2006. 3rd ed. WorldCat 14718193;.