| The
Sturgeon-Nose Canoe
Sharply-pointed at both bow
and stern, and shaped like the
head of the giant fish that
formed part of the traditional
diet of the Kootenay, the “sturgeon-nose”
canoe, also known as the “Kootenay
bark canoe,” is unique
to the First Nations of the
Kootenay region. The unusual
design, which extends the keel
line to end “rams,”
is thought to keep out water
in rapid rivers and large lakes.
Sturgeon-nose canoes were traditionally
made of the bark of birch, spruce,
fir, white pine or balsam, with
cedar root or wild cherry bark
used for binding, and pitch
from ponderosa pine or Douglas
fir used for caulking. Kootenay
canoes represented the western-most
use of birch bark for watercraft.
While the Kootenay design is
unique to North American canoes,
craft of similar design were
discovered in the Amur River
region of Siberia in the mid-1800’s.
Like the Kootenay, the native
people of the Amur River have
a long tradition of fishing
and hunting.
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Plateau or Plains? The Cultural Fusion of the Kootenay Nation
With a cross-over of cultures that leaves
category-loving anthropologists scratching
their heads, the traditional lifestyle of
the Kootenay includes features of both the
Plateau and Plains First Nations. Although
academics have tended to classify the Kootenay
as a Plateau tribe, many of their cultural
characteristics are more closely associated
with the buffalo-hunting people of the Plains:
• Upper Kootenay
tribes crossed the mountains 3 times a year
to hunt buffalo. The hunt was conducted
on horseback in summer and fall and on snowshoes
in mid-winter. Summer and fall hunts were
a family affair, with large groups providing
protection against the enemy Blackfoot.
Buffalo meat was the main component of the
Upper Kootenay diet; some was eaten fresh,
but most was dried, pounded, and made into
pemmican.
• Lower Kootenay tribes rarely hunted
buffalo. Deer was their most important source
of game, supplemented by ducks, geese, and
smaller mammals. Like other tribes of the
Plateau, the Lower Kootenay depended heavily
on fish as a food source, catching salmon,
trout and giant sturgeon with the use of
hooks, weirs and traps. They also collected
large quantities of edible plants, including
bitterroot, camas bulbs, and berries. (See
“Berries,
Bitteroot and Bulbs: Traditional Edibles
of the Kootenay“).
• Like Plains tribes,
the Upper Kootenay placed great emphasis
on horse ownership. Horses were of less
importance to Lower Kootenay tribes.
• Kootenay housing
more closely resembled Plains-style dwellings.
Summer tipis and larger, elongated winter
lodges were covered with hides or rush matting,
and rarely featured the subterranean pit-house
style of the Plateau.
• Unlike Plateau
tribes that were heavily influenced by the
stratified social structure of the Pacific
Coast First Nations, Kootenay society did
not included rigidly-defined classes, castes
or clans. Chiefs tended to be appointed
on an ad hoc basis, for limited periods
and according to specific duties and skills
(e.g. deer hunting or salmon fishing.)
• Spiritual and
religions beliefs and ceremonies of the
Kootenay were closely associated with those
of the Plains. Vision quests, sweat lodges,
shamans, and the Sun Dance were important
features of Kootenay life. (Annual pilgrimages
to the sacred Lake Pend d’Oreille
in northern Idaho, legendary birthplace
of the Kootenay, often drew bands from throughout
Kootenay territory.) The oral tradition
of the Kootenay combines stories, myths
and legends from both Plains and Plateau
cultures.
• Clothing styles
of the Kootenay more closely reflected Plains
attire. Men wore deerskin shirts, breechcloths,
leggings and moccasins, while women were
clothed in long deerskin dresses, leggings
and moccasins. The Kootenay rarely decorated
their clothing, depending on the use of
lavish fringing for ornamentation. Beadwork
added in recent times reflects the influence
of the Plains Cree. |
