The Kootenai War of ’74

Abstract

Abstract:A mouse roared on September 20, 1974, when the sixty-seven-member Kootenai Nation of northern Idaho declared war on the United States. As the war developed, the familiar tools of traditional Native American/US negotiations unfolded. A jaundiced state governor, an aggressive leader of local law enforcement, an excessive show of police force, the involvement of “friends of the Indian,” and passionate media all concluded with government-to-government negotiations. At the end of the negotiations, the Kootenai Nation had secured a reservation and funding to save the nation from extinction.