The Salish Mountains cover a triangle-shaped land mass of about 4,125 square miles of lush forests and peaks.
[1] The Salish Mountains are named for the Native Americans who called this area their home for centuries before white man settled here.
The Salish originated in the Pacific Northwest and were called the Flathead Indians by the first white men who came to the Columbia River.
[1] Although never a large tribe, the Salish had a reputation for bravery, honesty, and general high character and for their friendly disposition towards the whites.
When first known, about the beginning of the last century, they subsisted chiefly by hunting and the gathering of wild roots, particularly camas, dwelt in skin tipis or mat-covered lodges, and were at peace with all tribes excepting their hereditary enemies, the powerful Blackfeet who lived across the continental divide on the Great Plains.