where did the Plateau Indians live?
The Columbia River Plateau is both a place and a culture. A plateau is a high flat piece of land. The Columbia River Plateau is a high relatively flat area that contain most of Eastern Washington, as well as parts of Oregon and Idaho. It is part of the drainage territory of the Columbia River. All the Native Americans who have lived in the Inland Columbia Plateau were “Plateau Indians.” But because of similarities in culture and language, many peoples who lived lived North of the Columbia and the Spokane Rivers are also considered “Plateau Indians”. They did not live on flat plains at all, but in the forested river valleys that drain into the Columbia. Here is a map showing the main tribes considered to be Plateau Indians.
