Family, Kinship, and Social Organization

In the Ktunaxa language, there are reciprocal kin terms, the meaning of which differs depending on the generation of the speaker, and also kin terms that are used specifically by a male or a female. Kinship was traced from both sides of the family, bilaterally rather than matrilineally or patrilineally, although this later gave way to the European practice of patrilineal family names. Most Ktunaxa family names are literally patronymic, based on a man’s individual name. When the man’s name in a nickname, or a personal name of French origin given by the French-speaking nuns at the mission school, or a name made up by the nuns using English words, the result can be a distinctively native, or uniquely Ktunaxa, family name. There are also Ktunaxa family names inherited from non-Ktunaxa ancestors.

In the Ktunaxa language, there are no family names. When individuals are referred to by name, it is with a personal name, generally of French origin, but with a Ktunaxa pronunciation. These Christian names, along with a few religious terms, also from French, are the only words in the Ktunaxa language which reveal their foreign origin by having stress on the final syllable. There are also traditional Ktunaxa personal names. These are of a more private nature, although some Ktunaxa individuals of earlier generations were generally referred to using a shortened, nickname version of their traditional Ktunaxa name.

Traditionally, monogamy was the general rule, although wealthy men were reportedly expected to support several wives, usually sisters. There is a word in the Ktunaxa language which has the form of a kinship term and means either two women who are close friends or one woman who is another woman’s rival for her husband. Behind the paradoxical modern meaning of this word lies the fact that in an earlier era it was the kin term for “co-wife.” Between the time when Ktunaxa men could have co-wives and the present, there was an intervening era when the Catholic Church so dominated Ktunaxa cultural life in matters such as marriage that some elders born around 1900 did not believe that there ever was a custom of Ktunaxa men having more than one wife.

A young couple, it is said, would begin their married life living with the wife’s parents. Related to this, there was a tradition of men not speaking directly to their mothers-in-law out of respect. One way to get past the mother-in-law taboo when a man and his mother-in-law were alone and needed to communicate was by speaking in the third person – for example, to a wall. There was also a tradition of brothers and sisters and male cousins and their female cousins not speaking directly to each other. There is a word in the Ktunaxa language to describe this brother-sister language, which again involved the use of a special third-person way of speaking. Knowledge of these customs of indirect ways of speaking to opposite-gender relatives easily survived the influence of the Catholic Church on Ktunaxa family life.

The Ktunaxa are known for the respect they show the elderly, who are valued for their knowledge of traditions and of the Ktunaxa language. As for the young, in the not so distant past, social workers from outside the communities could and did take children away from parents who were not thought to be taking proper care of them. This sort of intervention is now done within the communities, with the children being put in group-home settings when necessary.

Traditional Ktunaxa society was relatively egalitarian and lacked social classes. There are reports that some families were more prestigious than others, but such families won their superior status through their own abilities and hard work. Moreover, wealth carried with it the automatic obligation of generosity. Chiefs were elected, and, although some families are said to have provided more leaders than others, this was again the result of ability and diligence rather than inherited rights.

Not all authority in a Ktunaxa community was concentrated in one man. There was a distinction in the language (and still is) between a chief, who held office, and a guide chief, who was the leader of an expedition, such as a hunting party. Ethnographic accounts make further distinctions between war-party chiefs and specialized hunting chiefs. The Western Ktunaxa had a special chief for duck-hunting parties.

A century ago, under the regime of the missionaries and with the active participation of chiefs, people were publicly punished for gambling and drunkenness. In recent times, local communities have made an increasing effort to control the socially destructive behaviour of certain individuals. Alcoholism is seen as a fundamental problem which must be addressed in order for the communities to thrive. In contrast with a century ago, gambling is not generally seen in a negative light; indeed, gambling in the form of a traditional stick game is now seen as a valuable cultural tradition and one particularly to be encouraged for tribal gatherings. Bingo is also regarded as a healthy pastime.