Interior Salish peoples

Interior Salish peoples are Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Plateau, who are centered in south British Columbia in Canada and northwestern Washington, northern Idaho, and western Montana in the United States. They speak Interior Salish languages, a branch of the Salishan language phylum. Salish language–speaking peoples to the West are the Coast Salish peoples. To the south are Sahaptian language–speaking tribes, especially the Nez Perce.

Historically, Interior Salish peoples had seasonal settlements to fish, hunt, and gather abundant wild plants. In the winter, they lived in round, semi-subterranean pit houses with thatched roofs. In summer, they built conical homes from tule reed (Schoenoplectus acutus) mats. Villages were politically autonomous.

Interior Salish peoples did not encounter Europeans until 1793, when Scottish-Canadian explorer Alexander Mackenzie entered Secwepemc territory. Canadian explorer and fur trader Simon Fraser met several Interior Salish peoples when traveling down the Fraser River in 1808. After contact, Interior Salish peoples adopted some cultural traits from Indigenous peoples of the Great Basin and Northern Plains to their south and west, but not linguistic traits.

In the 1870s, Canada established several Indian reserves for Interior Salish peoples that were a fraction of their historical homelands in British Columbia. The Interior Salish First Nations have fought to reclaim their lands ever since.