The Kootenai Tribe of Idaho has lived in its aboriginal homeland of Idaho, Montana, and British Columbia for thousands of years. The Kootenais are known for a unique culture, including their distinctive sturgeon-nose canoe and their linguistically isolated language. After refusing to leave their aboriginal lands for a reservation, individual Kootenai Indians obtained allotments in the Bonners Ferry area. Many years of hardship led to a Declaration of War on the United States in 1974 to obtain a land base for the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho, and efforts to broaden that base continue.