The Flathead peoples now live on a tract of land south of Flathead Lake, Montana, which they share with the Kootenai tribe. Native Americans have lived in Montana for more than 14,000 years, based on archaeological findings. The Flathead Native Americans were not just one tribe. The term Flathead was the nickname given by Europeans to any Native Americans who intentionally changed the shape of their heads to a flat, elongated profile. These tribes included the Coast Salish, the Chinooks, the Clatsop, Kathlamet, Killamuck, Winnapa, Cowlitz, Kwalhioquas and the Wahkiakum tribes. The Bitterroot Salish came from the West Coast, whereas the Kootenai lived mostly in the interior of present-day Idaho, Montana, & Canada & left artifacts there from prehistoric time. One group of the Kootenai in the northeast lived mainly on bison hunting. Another group relied primarily on fishing & lived on the rivers & lakes of the mountains in the west. When they moved east, they could not rely on fishing & turned to eating plants & bison.
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.
