Introduction

The Gold Rush

Aboriginal Culture

Chief Isidore

Ktunaxa Travel

Nomadic People
The Ktunaxa bands did not live in one area for a long time, like you or I. They were nomadic. Nomadic means that they wandered from place to place. They would camp in one area for a few months and then move on to somewhere new in search of food. This allowed the first area to restore itself.

Kootenay Indians with canoe, Fort Steele (FS-158.2)

Trails
The Lower Ktunaxa generally travelled along the lakes and rivers of their territory by canoe. But the Upper Ktunaxa were more dependent on horses and trails to move about. They used them to travel from one camp to another. They used them to reach food supplies, and they also used certain trails to go to war.

The most important trail for the Ktunaxa led through the North Kootenay Pass. This trail allowed them to reach the prairies in Alberta where they hunted for bison. Bison hunts were very important because, when successful, they would feed the band throughout the long cold winter. When it was time for the hunt they usually reached the North Kootenay Pass by following the Wigwam River, south of present-day Elko, then east.

There was more than just one trail that went from the upper Kootenay Valley to the prairies of Alberta. These other routes may have been shorter but they were not used very often. One of these trails went through a place that we know very well, the Crownest Pass. Before the first road was built through the pass the forest was too thick for the Ktunaxa to cut through. It could take them weeks or months to make the hard journey.

Ktunaxa Groups		Food Supply