Ktunaxa

The territory of the Ktunaxa people spans across southern British Columbia and southwestern Alberta in Canada. There are two tribes that reside in the United States within Montana, Washington and Idaho and five that reside in B.C. (McClay 2017)(Ffcc 2020).The 70,000 km2 territory was divided into upper and lower divisions (Walker 2006). In B.C. the Kootenay river is said to have been the center of their cultural activities, traditional territory and villages (Walker 2006). The Ktunaxa territory is rich with place names that mark their territory in relation to significant events. Some of the place names are thousands of years old being given at the time of creation( The Ktunaxa Nation 2020).

The seven bands and their locations:

ʔakisq̓nuk- Columbia Lake Band (Windermere, BC);

ʔaq̓am- St. Mary's Band (Cranbrook, BC);

ʔakink̓umǂasnuqǂiʔit- Tobacco Plains Band (Grasmere, BC);

yaqan nuʔkiy- Lower Kootenay Band (Creston, BC);

kyaknuqǂiʔit- Shuswap Band (Invermere, BC);

ʔaq̓anqmi- Kootenai Tribe of Idaho (Bonners Ferry, Idaho);

k̓upawi¢q̓nuk- Ksanka Band (Elmo, Montana)

(Ffcc2020)

The Ktunaxa language, also referred to as Kootenay or Kootenai is currently considered severely endangered by UNESCO (UNESCO 2006). Like many other endangered languages Ktunaxa has had to fight the challenges of assimilationist policies that intended to silence the speakers (Walker 2006).

Information from a report on the status of B.C. first nations languages in 2018 states that out of 1067 Ktunaxa there are:

• 31 fluent speakers

• 118 who can understand or somewhat speak Ktunaxa

• 343 learning speakers

(Dunlop 2018)

This information was obtained from four different communities in B.C.: The Tobacco Plains Indian Band, Akisqnuk First Nation, St. Mary’s Indian Band and the Lower Kootenay Band (Dunlop 2018).

Features of the language:

The Ktunaxa language is not related to any other language and is uniquely considered to be a linguistic Isolate (McClay 2017). A isolate is defined as being a language that does not have any relation to another existing language (Must go 2020). It can be difficult to determine if a language is truly not related to another because of factors like extinction of relatives and a lack of records (Must go 202). A language being an isolate puts an emphasis on the risk of it's extinction. The efforts being made to preserve Ktunaxa are extremely valuable for future learners in this case.

In terms of language revitalization, the Ktunaxa Nation website states that they recognize language renewal to be a broad challenge that can be achieved with the efforts of all the communities combined (The Ktunaxa Nation 2020).

One thing to keep in mind is that languages are deeply intertwined with culture, identity and history. For these reasons speakers of a language may not want to share their resources with outsiders. It is important to approach any language with these things in mind to create respect for the speakers and their communities. I share these recourses with that in mind.

Resources:

Online resources such as websites, videos, apps, and podcasts have become valuable in 20^th century for aiding in language revitalization. Many of the efforts to revitalize Ktunaxa are being done by these means, below is a list of recourses on Ktunaxa language revitalization efforts.

First voices website:

This website has lots of interactive resources and information. You can learn the Ktunaxa alphabet and words there are games, songs, and stories. It also features a special portal for children learning Ktunaxa

https://www.firstvoices.com/explore/FV/sections/Data/Ktunaxa/Ktunaxa/Ktunaxa

Ktunaxa learning lady:

Martina shares her journey of learning Ktunaxa.

https://www.facebook.com/ktunaxa.learning.lady

The Ktunaxa font:

An informational video with instructions on how to install the Ktunaxa font onto computers.

https://www.ktunaxa.org/five-pillars/tkl/

The College of the Rockies:

The College offers an online University Studies course in Basic Ktunaxa as well as other shorter programs.

https://cotr.bc.ca/courses/18/index.php

Ktunaxa app:

This app features dictionaries, flashcards, illustrations, audio recordings and much more.

https://apps.apple.com/app/ktunaxa/id490447781

The ʔaq̓amnik’ School:

This school located just outside of Crandbrook B.C is open to anyone and houses cultural programs where students can learn Ktunaxa. The school also has curriculum tailored towards traditional Ktunaxa activities and traditions.

https://www.aqamnikschool.com/what-we-do

Ktunaxa online Facebook group:

This group was made as a place that Ktunaxa language learners can go to discuss language issues.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/19608956304/