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Flathead people/Salish
Flathead
(people), also known as the Salish North American tribe
originally inhabiting the region in the vicinity of Flathead
Lake and Flathead River, in what is now northwestern Montana.
The
name Flatheads was given to the Salish by other North American
tribes along the Columbia River to the west, who compressed
the heads of their babies into a peak by means of a cone-shaped
wicker headpiece.
By contrast, the heads of the Salish, which were normal
in shape, had a flat appearance.
Although
not warlike, the Salish defended themselves with great bravery
against their enemies, the Blackfoot.
In
1885, after ceding their land by treaty to the United States,
the Salish, Kootenai, and Upper Pend d'Oreille people were
placed on reservations in northwestern Montana.
The
name Flathead has been applied also to several tribes that
actually practiced head-flattening: the Chinook
of Oregon and Washington, and the Catawba,
Choctaw, and Waxhaw
of the southern United States.
"Flathead
(people)," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2000
http://encarta.msn.com
© 1997-2000 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
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