Kutenai Tribe

Encounters with non-Indians 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 Expedition 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.

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

Agency Records

These 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, land records, school records, correspondence, annuity rolls, and other records of individual Indians under their jurisdiction.

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

Census Records

Annual Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940, were collected by the Commissioner's Office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and are now located at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. They have been microfilmed and are available on the internet.

---