Fernie & Elk Valley Culture Guide Issue 4 - Spring 2017 | Page 20

Welcome to Ktunaxa Territory
The Elk Valley falls within the Ktunaxa traditional land district of qukin amak is,
or Raven’s Territory.
Long, long ago, the Ktunaxa had
permanent living ground in the Elk
Valley. The land was used throughout
the year for many reasons. The Ktunaxa
grew tobacco in various places in the
valley. It was also the route by which
Ktunaxa would travel to the eastern
slopes of the Rocky Mountains to hunt
bison. It is now indisputable that this
area and the larger area of qukin
amak is in its entirety were originally
and continuously occupied by Ktunaxa
speaking people even as glaciers still sat
on the mountains-long before, and well
after, Europeans arrived and established
what is now the USA/Canada border.
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Before the arrival of the Europeans,
the Elk Valley was a wild, vibrant and
sacred landscape. It was protected
and cared for by the Ktunaxa people,
who followed the law of the land
called qukin aknumu tiŧiŧ-the land
provides the resources to survive,
and in return, people uphold their
covenant with the creator to protect
and not overuse the land.
This is the legacy that current
Ktunaxa communities continue to
uphold. It is a legacy you see in every
grizzly bear cub, every moose track,
every elk by the road, every ancient
cottonwood. The Ktunaxa efforts to
preserve their culture, history and
language have been, and continue to
be, vital to sustaining this land and all
its inhabitants-plants, animals
and humans.