What Is The History Of The Native American People Of Northeastern Washington Region?
Who Are The Colville Confederate Tribes? For hundreds of years before explorers and settlers reached the lands of the Columbia Plateau, numerous tribes of native people occupied the territory of Eastern Washington. Up to the mid 1850s the ancestors of the Colville Confederated Tribes were nomadic, but life changed for them with the coming of settlers in the 1800s. Today, the Colville Confederated Tribes is made up of 11 different bands of Indians. Ten bands are from Eastern Washington State, and one band, the Nez Perce, is from Northeast Oregon. The 11 bands are: Wenatchee, Entiat, Chelan, Methow, Okanogan, Nespelen, San Poil, Lakes, Moses, Palouse, and Nez Perce. How Did These Native Americans Live? As nomadic peoples, the different bands followed the seasons and their sources of food. Deer and other big game, plus dried salmon were the primary food of winter. Small groups lived in the mountains and hunted the abundant game. In the spring the native people congregated in slightly larg
