During the 18C, the Salish & the Kootenai tribes shared gathering & hunting grounds. Flathead's original territory extended from the crest of the Bitterroot Range to the Continental Divide of the Rocky Mountains & centred on the upper reaches of the Clark Fork of the Columbia River. Although early accounts referred to all Salish-speaking tribes as “Flathead,” most of the people now known by this name never engaged in head flattening.
The Flathead were the easternmost of the Plateau Indians. Like other tribes that regularly traversed the Rocky Mountains, they shared many traits with nomadic Plains Indians. The Flathead acquired horses in great numbers & mounted annual fall expeditions to hunt bison on the Plains, often warring with tribes that were permanent residents of the area. Traditional Flathead culture also emphasized Plains-type warfare including staging war dances, killing enemies, counting coups (touching enemies to shame or insult them), kidnapping women & children, & stealing horses. Before European colonization, the Flathead usually lived in tepees. The A-framed mat-covered lodge, a typical Plateau structure, was also used. Western Flathead groups used bark canoes, while eastern groups preferred the round bison-skin vessels known as bullboats that were typical of the Plains. Traditional Flathead religion centered on Shamanism & guardian spirits, with whom individuals communicated in visions. A spirit could bring good fortune & health to the person it guarded or disease & misfortune to others.
