Interior Salish languages
The Interior Salish languages are one of the two main subgroups of the Salishan language family, the other being Coast Salish. It can be further subdivided into Northern and Southern Interior Salish. The first Salishan people encountered by American explorers were the Flathead people (Selish or seliš), among the most easterly of the group.
Peoples speaking an Interior Salish language
Northern
- Secwepemc, also known as Shuswap, Secwepemctsín, səxwəpməxcín (ʃəxwəpməxtʃín)
- St'at'imc, also known as Lillooet, Stlʼatlʼimx, Stlʼatlʼimc, Sƛ’aƛ’imxǝc (Stʼatʼimcets, also known as Ucwalmicwts)
- Nlaka'pamux, also known as Thompson River Salish, Ntlakapmuk, Ntleʼkepmxcín, Thompson River, Thompson Salish, Thompson, known in frontier times as the Hakamaugh, Klackarpun, Couteau or Knife Indians
Southern
- Colville, Sanpoil, Okanagan, Sinixt (Senjextee, Sin Aikst, or Lakes Band), and Methow all of whom speak nxsəlxcin.
- Entiat, Wenatchi, and Chelan all of whom speak Columbia-Moses, Nxaảmxcín, also known as Sinkiuse-Columbia, Sinkiuse, Columbia.
- Spokane, Kalispel, and the Flathead including the Bitterroot.
- Coeur D'Alene Tribe, also known as Schitsu'umsh or Skitswish (Coeur d'Alene language)
See also
Further reading
- Flucke, A. F. Interior Salish. 1952.
- Hanna, Darwin, and Mamie Henry. Our Tellings: Interior Salish Stories of the Nlhaʼkapmx People. Vancouver: UBC Press, 1995. ISBN 0774805250
- Orser, Brenda I. L. Stem-Initial Pharyngeal Resonants [Symbol for Central Pharyngeal Fricative, Followed by Symbol for Labialized Central Pharyngeal Fricative], in Spokane, Interior Salish. Ottawa: National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1993.
- Pickford, Arthur E. Interior Salish. British Columbia heritage series, v. 3. Victoria, [B.C.]: Province of British Columbia, Dept. of Education, Division of Curriculum, 1971.