Native Americans have lived in Montana for more than 14,000 years, based on
archaeological findings. The Bitteroot Salish came from the West Coast, whereas
the Kootenai lived mostly in the interior of present-day Idaho, Montana, and
Canada. The Kootenai left artifacts in prehistoric time. One group of the
Kootenai in the northeast lived mainly on buffalo hunting. Another group lived
on the rivers and lakes of the mountains in the west. When they moved east,
they could rely less on salmon fishing, but turned to eating plants and
buffalo. During the 18th century, the Salish and the Kootenai tribes shared
gathering and
