Salish-Pend d'Oreille Culture Committee - Lewis & Clark Research Database https://lewisandclarkresearch.org/contributor/salish-pend-doreille-culture-committee/ A digital archive of treaties, documents, artwork, and 360° trail panoramas from the Corps of Discovery Wed, 11 Feb 2026 01:27:39 +0000 en-US hourly 1 The Salish People and the Lewis and Clark Expedition https://lewisandclarkresearch.org/research-articles/the-salish-people-and-the-lewis-and-clark-expedition/ Wed, 11 Feb 2026 01:27:39 +0000 https://research.lewisandclarktrust.org/research-articles/the-salish-people-and-the-lewis-and-clark-expedition/ A tribal perspective on the Lewis and Clark Expedition's encounter with the Flathead Salish people in September 1805, presenting oral traditions and alternative interpretations of the meeting.

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]]> This article presents the Salish (Flathead) people’s own account of their encounter with the Lewis and Clark Expedition at Ross’s Hole in September 1805, drawing on oral traditions maintained by the Salish-Pend d’Oreille Culture Committee. The piece offers a significant counterpoint to the expedition journals’ perspective, describing how the Salish first observed the strangers and debated how to respond to their arrival. The article details the Salish understanding of the exchange of horses and information, noting discrepancies between the tribal oral history and the captains’ written accounts. It also addresses the broader context of Salish-European contact and the profound changes that followed the expedition’s passage through their homeland, including increased Euro-American presence, the arrival of missionaries, and eventual confinement to the Flathead Reservation.

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