Sacred Name Collection

Indigenous languages · recovered texts live

Ktunaxa — the Ktunaxa Language

A language with no known relatives anywhere on earth — the voice of Ktunaxa ʔamakʔis, the Kootenay country where British Columbia, Montana, and Idaho meet.

Recovered texts are here to read. The people's own curriculum doorway is in preparation — in partnership with the Ktunaxa people's own speakers. The goal is the whole collection in Ktunaxa: every book to read and to hear, here and in the school. Nothing is published until they have guided and reviewed it.

The language

Ktunaxa is a language isolate: no other language on earth has been shown to be kin to it. It has been spoken since time immemorial in the country of the upper Kootenay and Columbia rivers — the homeland of the Ktunaxa communities of ʔaq̓am, ʔakisq̓nuk, Yaqan Nuʔkiy, and Yaq̓it ʔa·knuqłiʔit in what is now British Columbia, of the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho, and of the Ksanka Kootenai of Montana. The old books on this shelf spell the name “Kutenai”; in this doorway's own words the people and the language are Ktunaxa.

The wound is deep and the Nation names it plainly: the Ktunaxa Nation counts fewer than thirty fluent speakers in Canada and calls its language critically endangered. The answer is also the Nation's own: Ktunaxa Literacy Day has been kept every October since 1994, language apps and online courses carry the language to new speakers, a Ktunaxa archive stands on FirstVoices, and the Nation's Traditional Knowledge & Language Sector works with speakers from every Ktunaxa community to transcribe the old recordings and teach the young.

Their own teachers

The Ktunaxa Nation Council's Traditional Knowledge & Language Sector is the language's own house of teaching: it runs language-learning sessions, courses with the Columbia Basin Environmental Education Network, and the Nation's language resource inventory, and it supports the Ktunaxa archive on FirstVoices, where the people's own recordings teach words, phrases, songs, and stories.

The writing

Today's Ktunaxa writing — with its ʔ, its ǂ, and its raised dot — is the Nation's own orthography, taught at the Nation's own house. The recovered witness below keeps the phonetic spelling Franz Boas printed in 1918, a scholar's notation of that day; the two writings are not the same, and no learner should confuse them. What is relearned here is read in the old spelling exactly as printed, and learned to speak at the Nation's house in the Nation's spelling.

Recovered reading

One recovered book stands here: Kutenai Tales (Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 59, 1918) — the front matter entire, and the first two tales of Part I, “Coyote and Fox” and “Coyote and Locust,” told by the Ktunaxa narrator Paul and recorded by Alexander Francis Chamberlain in 1891, in Ktunaxa with the book's word-by-word gloss and free translation, exactly as printed. It is the people's own witness, recovered as a historical text — not a Sacred Name edition; the collection's own edition in this language waits for the partnership. Read the front matter and Tales 1–2 of Kutenai Tales (1918)

The tales go on: Tale No. 3, "Coyote and Locust," now stands complete on its own page — told by Paul, in Ktunaxa with its interlinear gloss and free translation, exactly as Bulletin 59 printed it in 1918. Tales 1–2 stand on the first Kutenai Tales page; the remaining tales of the volume stand for continuation. Read Tale No. 3 — "Coyote and Locust" (1918)

The tales go on: Tale No. 4, "Coyote and Grizzly Bear," now stands complete on its own page — told by Paul, in Ktunaxa with its interlinear gloss and free translation, exactly as Bulletin 59 printed it in 1918. Tales 1–2 stand on the first Kutenai Tales page and Tale No. 3 on its own page; the remaining tales of the volume stand for continuation. Read Tale No. 4 — "Coyote and Grizzly Bear" (1918)

The tales go on: Tale No. 5, "Coyote Goes Visiting," now stands complete on its own page — told by Paul, in Ktunaxa with its interlinear gloss and free translation, exactly as Bulletin 59 printed it in 1918. Tales 1–2 stand on the first Kutenai Tales page and Tales No. 3 and No. 4 on their own pages; the remaining tales of the volume stand for continuation. Read Tale No. 5 — "Coyote Goes Visiting" (1918)

The tales go on: Tale No. 6, "Coyote and Buffalo," now stands complete on its own page — told by Paul, in Ktunaxa with its interlinear gloss and free translation, exactly as Bulletin 59 printed it in 1918. Tales 1–2 stand on the first Kutenai Tales page and Tales No. 3, No. 4, and No. 5 on their own pages; the remaining tales of the volume stand for continuation. Read Tale No. 6 — "Coyote and Buffalo" (1918)

The tales go on: Tale No. 7, “Coyote and Butterfly,” now stands complete on its own page — told by Paul, in Ktunaxa with its interlinear gloss and free translation, exactly as Bulletin 59 printed it in 1918. Tales 1–2 stand on the first Kutenai Tales page and every other tale of Part I stands on its own page; the volume's remaining parts stand for continuation. Read Tale No. 7 — “Coyote and Butterfly” (1918)

The tales go on: Tale No. 8, “Coyote and Grouse,” now stands complete on its own page — told by Paul, in Ktunaxa with its interlinear gloss and free translation, exactly as Bulletin 59 printed it in 1918. Tales 1–2 stand on the first Kutenai Tales page and every other tale of Part I stands on its own page; the volume's remaining parts stand for continuation. Read Tale No. 8 — “Coyote and Grouse” (1918)

The tales go on: Tale No. 9, “Coyote and Star,” now stands complete on its own page — told by Paul, in Ktunaxa with its interlinear gloss and free translation, exactly as Bulletin 59 printed it in 1918. Tales 1–2 stand on the first Kutenai Tales page and every other tale of Part I stands on its own page; the volume's remaining parts stand for continuation. Read Tale No. 9 — “Coyote and Star” (1918)

The tales go on: Tale No. 10, “Coyote and the Woman,” now stands complete on its own page — told by Paul, in Ktunaxa with its interlinear gloss and free translation, exactly as Bulletin 59 printed it in 1918. Tales 1–2 stand on the first Kutenai Tales page and every other tale of Part I stands on its own page; the volume's remaining parts stand for continuation. Read Tale No. 10 — “Coyote and the Woman” (1918)

The tales go on: Tale No. 11, “Coyote and the Manitou with the Hat,” now stands complete on its own page — told by Paul, in Ktunaxa with its interlinear gloss and free translation, exactly as Bulletin 59 printed it in 1918. Tales 1–2 stand on the first Kutenai Tales page and every other tale of Part I stands on its own page; the volume's remaining parts stand for continuation. Read Tale No. 11 — “Coyote and the Manitou with the Hat” (1918)

The tales go on: Tale No. 12, “Coyote and the Ducks,” now stands complete on its own page — told by Paul, in Ktunaxa with its interlinear gloss and free translation, exactly as Bulletin 59 printed it in 1918. Tales 1–2 stand on the first Kutenai Tales page and every other tale of Part I stands on its own page; the volume's remaining parts stand for continuation. Read Tale No. 12 — “Coyote and the Ducks” (1918)

The tales go on: Tale No. 13, “Coyote and Owl,” now stands complete on its own page — told by Paul, in Ktunaxa with its interlinear gloss and free translation, exactly as Bulletin 59 printed it in 1918. Tales 1–2 stand on the first Kutenai Tales page and every other tale of Part I stands on its own page; the volume's remaining parts stand for continuation. Read Tale No. 13 — “Coyote and Owl” (1918)

The tales go on: Tale No. 14, “Chickadee and Elk,” now stands complete on its own page — told by Paul, in Ktunaxa with its interlinear gloss and free translation, exactly as Bulletin 59 printed it in 1918. Tales 1–2 stand on the first Kutenai Tales page and every other tale of Part I stands on its own page; the volume's remaining parts stand for continuation. Read Tale No. 14 — “Chickadee and Elk” (1918)

The tales go on: Tale No. 15, “Frog and Partridge,” now stands complete on its own page — told by Paul, in Ktunaxa with its interlinear gloss and free translation, exactly as Bulletin 59 printed it in 1918. Tales 1–2 stand on the first Kutenai Tales page and every other tale of Part I stands on its own page; the volume's remaining parts stand for continuation. Read Tale No. 15 — “Frog and Partridge” (1918)

The tales go on: Tale No. 16, “Beaver and Turtle,” now stands complete on its own page — told by Paul, in Ktunaxa with its interlinear gloss and free translation, exactly as Bulletin 59 printed it in 1918. Tales 1–2 stand on the first Kutenai Tales page and every other tale of Part I stands on its own page; the volume's remaining parts stand for continuation. Read Tale No. 16 — “Beaver and Turtle” (1918)

The tales go on: Tale No. 17, “Skunk and Panther,” now stands complete on its own page — told by Paul, in Ktunaxa with its interlinear gloss and free translation, exactly as Bulletin 59 printed it in 1918. Tales 1–2 stand on the first Kutenai Tales page and every other tale of Part I stands on its own page; the volume's remaining parts stand for continuation. Read Tale No. 17 — “Skunk and Panther” (1918)

The tales go on: Tale No. 18, “The Mosquito,” now stands complete on its own page — told by Paul, in Ktunaxa with its interlinear gloss and free translation, exactly as Bulletin 59 printed it in 1918. Tales 1–2 stand on the first Kutenai Tales page and every other tale of Part I stands on its own page; the volume's remaining parts stand for continuation. Read Tale No. 18 — “The Mosquito” (1918)

The tales go on: Tale No. 19, “The Man and the Wasps,” now stands complete on its own page — told by Paul, in Ktunaxa with its interlinear gloss and free translation, exactly as Bulletin 59 printed it in 1918. Tales 1–2 stand on the first Kutenai Tales page and every other tale of Part I stands on its own page; the volume's remaining parts stand for continuation. Read Tale No. 19 — “The Man and the Wasps” (1918)

The tales go on: Tale No. 20, “Lame Knee,” now stands complete on its own page — told by Paul, in Ktunaxa with its interlinear gloss and free translation, exactly as Bulletin 59 printed it in 1918. Tales 1–2 stand on the first Kutenai Tales page and every other tale of Part I stands on its own page; the volume's remaining parts stand for continuation. Read Tale No. 20 — “Lame Knee” (1918)

The tales go on: Tale No. 21, “The Youth who Killed the Chiefs,” now stands complete on its own page — told by Paul, in Ktunaxa with its interlinear gloss and free translation, exactly as Bulletin 59 printed it in 1918. Tales 1–2 stand on the first Kutenai Tales page and every other tale of Part I stands on its own page; the volume's remaining parts stand for continuation. Read Tale No. 21 — “The Youth who Killed the Chiefs” (1918)

The tales go on: Tale No. 22, “The White Man,” now stands complete on its own page — told by Paul, in Ktunaxa with its interlinear gloss and free translation, exactly as Bulletin 59 printed it in 1918. Tales 1–2 stand on the first Kutenai Tales page and every other tale of Part I stands on its own page; the volume's remaining parts stand for continuation. Read Tale No. 22 — “The White Man” (1918)

The tales go on: Tale No. 23, “The Frenchman and His Daughters,” now stands complete on its own page — told by Paul, in Ktunaxa with its interlinear gloss and free translation, exactly as Bulletin 59 printed it in 1918. Tales 1–2 stand on the first Kutenai Tales page and every other tale of Part I stands on its own page; the volume's remaining parts stand for continuation. Read Tale No. 23 — “The Frenchman and His Daughters” (1918)

The tales go on: Tale No. 24, “Coyote and Owl,” now stands complete on its own page — told by Michel, in Ktunaxa with its interlinear gloss and free translation, exactly as Bulletin 59 printed it in 1918. Tales 1–2 stand on the first Kutenai Tales page and every other tale of Part I stands on its own page; the volume's remaining parts stand for continuation. Read Tale No. 24 — “Coyote and Owl” (1918)

The tales go on: Tale No. 25, “Coyote and Trout,” now stands complete on its own page — told by Michel, in Ktunaxa with its interlinear gloss and free translation, exactly as Bulletin 59 printed it in 1918. Tales 1–2 stand on the first Kutenai Tales page and every other tale of Part I stands on its own page; the volume's remaining parts stand for continuation. Read Tale No. 25 — “Coyote and Trout” (1918)

The tales go on: Tale No. 26, “Skunk and Panther,” now stands complete on its own page — told by Michel, in Ktunaxa with its free translation — the book prints no interlinear for this tale, exactly as Bulletin 59 printed it in 1918. Tales 1–2 stand on the first Kutenai Tales page and every other tale of Part I stands on its own page; the volume's remaining parts stand for continuation. Read Tale No. 26 — “Skunk and Panther” (1918)

The tales go on: Tale No. 27, “The Deluge,” now stands complete on its own page — told by Michel, in Ktunaxa with its free translation — the book prints no interlinear for this tale, exactly as Bulletin 59 printed it in 1918. Tales 1–2 stand on the first Kutenai Tales page and every other tale of Part I stands on its own page; the volume's remaining parts stand for continuation. Read Tale No. 27 — “The Deluge” (1918)

The tales go on: Tale No. 28, “Chicken Hawk and Toad,” now stands complete on its own page — told by Michel, in Ktunaxa with its free translation — the book prints no interlinear for this tale, exactly as Bulletin 59 printed it in 1918. Tales 1–2 stand on the first Kutenai Tales page and every other tale of Part I stands on its own page; the volume's remaining parts stand for continuation. Read Tale No. 28 — “Chicken Hawk and Toad” (1918)

The tales go on: Tale No. 29, “Race of Frog and Antelope,” now stands complete on its own page — told by Michel, in Ktunaxa with its free translation — the book prints no interlinear for this tale, exactly as Bulletin 59 printed it in 1918. Tales 1–2 stand on the first Kutenai Tales page and every other tale of Part I stands on its own page; the volume's remaining parts stand for continuation. Read Tale No. 29 — “Race of Frog and Antelope” (1918)

The tales go on: Tale No. 30, “The Woman and the Giant,” now stands complete on its own page — told by Michel, in Ktunaxa with its free translation — the book prints no interlinear for this tale, exactly as Bulletin 59 printed it in 1918. Tales 1–2 stand on the first Kutenai Tales page and every other tale of Part I stands on its own page; the volume's remaining parts stand for continuation. Read Tale No. 30 — “The Woman and the Giant” (1918)

The tales go on: Tale No. 31, “The Two Tsa'kap,” now stands complete on its own page — told by Michel, in Ktunaxa with its free translation — the book prints no interlinear for this tale, exactly as Bulletin 59 printed it in 1918. Tales 1–2 stand on the first Kutenai Tales page and every other tale of Part I stands on its own page; the volume's remaining parts stand for continuation. Read Tale No. 31 — “The Two Tsa'kap” (1918)

The tales go on: Tale No. 32, “Chipmunk and Owl,” now stands complete on its own page — told by Angi McLaughlin of the Lower Kutenai, in Ktunaxa with its free translation — the book prints no interlinear for this tale, exactly as Bulletin 59 printed it in 1918. Tales 1–2 stand on the first Kutenai Tales page and every other tale of Part I stands on its own page; the volume's remaining parts stand for continuation. Read Tale No. 32 — “Chipmunk and Owl” (1918)

The tales go on: Tale No. 33, “The Sun,” now stands complete on its own page — told by Angi McLaughlin of the Lower Kutenai, in Ktunaxa with its free translation — the book prints no interlinear for this tale, exactly as Bulletin 59 printed it in 1918. Tales 1–2 stand on the first Kutenai Tales page and every other tale of Part I stands on its own page; the volume's remaining parts stand for continuation. Read Tale No. 33 — “The Sun” (1918)

The tales go on: Tale No. 34, “Fox and Skunk,” now stands complete on its own page — told by Angi McLaughlin of the Lower Kutenai, in Ktunaxa with its free translation — the book prints no interlinear for this tale, exactly as Bulletin 59 printed it in 1918. Tales 1–2 stand on the first Kutenai Tales page and every other tale of Part I stands on its own page; the volume's remaining parts stand for continuation. Read Tale No. 34 — “Fox and Skunk” (1918)

The tales go on: Tale No. 35, “Coyote and Caribou,” now stands complete on its own page — told by Angi McLaughlin of the Lower Kutenai, in Ktunaxa with its free translation — the book prints no interlinear for this tale, exactly as Bulletin 59 printed it in 1918. Tales 1–2 stand on the first Kutenai Tales page and every other tale of Part I stands on its own page; the volume's remaining parts stand for continuation. Read Tale No. 35 — “Coyote and Caribou” (1918)

The tales go on: Tale No. 36, “Coyote and Owl,” now stands complete on its own page — told by Angi McLaughlin of the Lower Kutenai, in Ktunaxa with its free translation — the book prints no interlinear for this tale, exactly as Bulletin 59 printed it in 1918. Tales 1–2 stand on the first Kutenai Tales page and every other tale of Part I stands on its own page; the volume's remaining parts stand for continuation. Read Tale No. 36 — “Coyote and Owl” (1918)

The tales go on: Tale No. 37, “Coyote and Deer,” now stands complete on its own page — told by Angi McLaughlin of the Lower Kutenai, in Ktunaxa with its free translation — the book prints no interlinear for this tale, exactly as Bulletin 59 printed it in 1918. Tales 1–2 stand on the first Kutenai Tales page and every other tale of Part I stands on its own page; the volume's remaining parts stand for continuation. Read Tale No. 37 — “Coyote and Deer” (1918)

The descriptions go on: Tale No. 38, “Kissing Dance,” now stands complete on its own page — a description standing in Part I, in Ktunaxa with its interlinear gloss and free translation, exactly as Bulletin 59 printed it in 1918. Tales 1–2 stand on the first Kutenai Tales page and every other tale of Part I stands on its own page; the volume's remaining parts stand for continuation. Read Tale No. 38 — “Kissing Dance” (1918)

The descriptions go on: Tale No. 39, “Sun Dance,” now stands complete on its own page — a description standing in Part I, in Ktunaxa with its interlinear gloss and free translation, exactly as Bulletin 59 printed it in 1918. Tales 1–2 stand on the first Kutenai Tales page and every other tale of Part I stands on its own page; the volume's remaining parts stand for continuation. Read Tale No. 39 — “Sun Dance” (1918)

The descriptions go on: Tale No. 40, “Manitou Performance,” now stands complete on its own page — a description standing in Part I, in Ktunaxa with its interlinear gloss and free translation, exactly as Bulletin 59 printed it in 1918. Tales 1–2 stand on the first Kutenai Tales page and every other tale of Part I stands on its own page; the volume's remaining parts stand for continuation. Read Tale No. 40 — “Manitou Performance” (1918)

The descriptions go on: Tale No. 41, “Medicine Performance,” now stands complete on its own page — a description standing in Part I, in Ktunaxa with its interlinear gloss and free translation, exactly as Bulletin 59 printed it in 1918. Tales 1–2 stand on the first Kutenai Tales page and every other tale of Part I stands on its own page; the volume's remaining parts stand for continuation. Read Tale No. 41 — “Medicine Performance” (1918)

The descriptions go on: Tale No. 42, “Gambling,” now stands complete on its own page — a description standing in Part I, in Ktunaxa with its interlinear gloss and free translation, exactly as Bulletin 59 printed it in 1918. Tales 1–2 stand on the first Kutenai Tales page and every other tale of Part I stands on its own page; the volume's remaining parts stand for continuation. Read Tale No. 42 — “Gambling” (1918)

The descriptions go on: Tale No. 43, “Games,” now stands complete on its own page — a description standing in Part I, in Ktunaxa with its interlinear gloss and free translation, exactly as Bulletin 59 printed it in 1918. Tales 1–2 stand on the first Kutenai Tales page and every other tale of Part I stands on its own page; the volume's remaining parts stand for continuation. Read Tale No. 43 — “Games” (1918)

The descriptions go on: Tale No. 44, “Hunting on the Plains,” now stands complete on its own page — a description standing in Part I, in Ktunaxa with its interlinear gloss and free translation, exactly as Bulletin 59 printed it in 1918. Tales 1–2 stand on the first Kutenai Tales page and every other tale of Part I stands on its own page; the volume's remaining parts stand for continuation. Read Tale No. 44 — “Hunting on the Plains” (1918)

An open invitation

This door stands open by invitation. If you are a speaker, teacher, or language keeper of Ktunaxa, or you carry its authority, this programme asks to work with you — to be guided, corrected, and reviewed by the people whose language this is. In this collection the holy names are never invented: what the Creator is called in a language is for its own speakers to give, and the spelling of every text is theirs to settle. Write to the publisher at [email protected].

The first door is the Ktunaxa Nation Council and its Traditional Knowledge & Language Sector.

To hear it

When Ktunaxa opens here, it will be heard as well as read — in its own voice, spoken and recorded by Ktunaxa speakers. Until then this door is silent in Ktunaxa on purpose: the first voice heard in it should be the people's own.

The other doors

One small advertisement stands at the bottom of this page — never inside the reading text. The words of the book stand more prominent than the advertisement.