How a Young Brave Survived

Imagine a young man, alone and without supplies or tools, abandoned to his own wits in the middle of hostile enemy territory. This true story of the experiences of a young Kootenai Indian brave during the eighteenth century is an epic of survival and skill. Young Kootenai Indian warriors learned early how to obtain food, shelter, and clothing from the land around them.

 

This story of a young brave is told by Adeline Mathias, a Kootenai elder from Elmo, Montana, and is illustrated by Kootenai Indian artists. The Kootenai band now living on the Flathead Indian Reservation in western Montana is one part of the Kootenai nation which in the eighteenth century occupied the Northern Rocky Mountains and northwestern Great Plains. Other Kootenai bands now live in northern Idaho and southeastern British Columbia.

 

Told at the seventh grade reading level, this adventure story challenges young readers to think about what it took to survive without modern conveniences. It celebrates the skills and resourcefulness of the Kootenai Indian people.

 

Adeline Mathias (1910–2007) was a revered elder among the Kootenai Indian people. She was a priceless repository of traditional language, stories, and experience. Much of her knowledge has been preserved in the publications of the Kootenai Culture Committee of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.