Kootenay

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A major river of the Canadian Rockies and northwestern United States that flows into the Columbia ; an Indigenous nation of the upper Columbia region who speak the Ktunaxa language
2. A large waterway in the Rocky Mountain region of western Canada and the United States, a tributary of the Columbia ; the Indigenous people of the upper Columbia basin who speak the Ktunaxa language
3. The western North American river rising in the Rockies and joining the Columbia ; an Indigenous group living around the upper Columbia region with their own distinct language

Etymology: Kootenay is an alternative spelling of Kutenai, the name of an Indigenous people of the Columbia River region, whose homeland spans the border area of what is now southeastern British Columbia, northern Idaho and northwestern Montana. The name has been applied to the people, their language, and to features in the region, which is why it appears on rivers, lakes and a national park in Canada as well as in the United States. The spelling "Kootenay" is the form most familiar in Canada, where it is used for the Kootenay River and the Kootenay region of British Columbia, while "Kutenai" tends to be preferred in the United States and in scholarly writing about the people and language. The two spellings refer to the same name, and neither is the more correct form.