Description
The Bitterroot Salish are a Salish-speaking group of Native Americans, and one of three tribes of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Nation in Montana. The Flathead Reservation is home to the Kootenai and Pend d'Oreilles tribes also. Bitterroot Salish or Flathead originally lived in an area west of Billings, Montana extending to the continental divide in the west and south of Great Falls, Montana extending to the Montana-Wyoming border. From there they later moved west into the Bitterroot Valley. The tribes' oral history tells of having been placed in their Indigenous homelands, which is now present-day Montana, from when Coyote killed the na?isqelixw, which literally translates into people-eaters.
Language
Their language is also called Salish, and is the namesake of the entire Salishan languages group. The Spokane language spoken by the Spokane people, the Kalispel language spoken by the Pend d'Oreilles tribe and the Bitterroot Salish languages are all dialects of the same language.
Culture
Like other tribes that regularly traversed the Rocky Mountains, they shared many traits with nomadic Plains Indians. The Flathead acquired horses in great numbers and 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 and its honours, including staging war dances, killing enemies, counting coups (touching enemies to shame or insult them), kidnapping women and children, and stealing horses. Traditional religion centred on guardian spirits, with whom individuals communicated in visions; a spirit could bring good fortune and health to the person it guarded or disease and misfortune to others. Shamanism was also important to traditional religious and healing practices.