- some east, some west of continental divide
- long-time residents
- written record of contact with British & Canadian traders in the mid to late 1700s
- Kootenai may be some of the longest residents of Montana
- originate in Puget Sound, migrate east
- by 1700, Salish in west and southwest Montana
- Bitteroot & Big Hole River Valley
- Seasonal stays near Three Forks
- originate out west
- migrate into Idaho and western Montana
- originate in Great Lakes Region
- migrate west before 1700s
- as of 1700, almost entirely in Canada
- early 1700s, push down into northern MT
- near Milk River, Marias River, Sweetgrass Hills
- closely aligned with the Blackfeet
- just east of the Blackfeet
- early 1700s, push down into north, central MT
- enter MT in late 1600s from the east
- developed out of Hidatsa Indians on the Great Plains, North Dakota
- Crow are westernmost band of Hidatsu, but disband into south & SE Montana
- friendly with the Shoshone
- further east of Gros Ventre, in Canada
- served as middlemen between English, French traders and the Gros Ventre, Blackfeet
- this is how Gros Ventre & Blackfeet gain access to European goods
- origins in Utah & the Great Basin region
- move into SW Montana in the 1500s
- settle near headwaters of the Missouri River
- summer forays into Judith River Basin to hunt bison
- occupy Idaho & NE Washington
- seasonal forays into Montana to hunt bison
- combined hunts with Salish
The big take away
Modern Montana tribes enter the region as part of a ripple effect of expanding Atlantic settlements of Europeans.
Native American begin to be displaced by European settlement