Flathead Lake: Difference between revisions

Once known as "Salish Lake", this body of water was named for the [[Flathead Indians|Salish Indians]]. Early European explorers, like [[David Thompson (explorer)|David Thompson]], called them the Flathead Indians because of a misinterpretation of early [[Plains Indian Sign Language|Native American sign language]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Partoll|first1=Albert|title=The Flathead-Salish Indian Name in Montana Nomenclature|journal=[[Montana: The Magazine of Western History]]|date=1951|volume=1|issue=1|pages=37–47}}</ref> A common misconception is that the name is derived from a practice of [[Artificial cranial deformation|head flattening]] more common among tribes such as the [[Chinookan peoples|Chinook]]. There is no evidence to show that the [[Flathead Indians|Salish]] ever had this custom.<ref>{{Cite journal |jstor = 4515711|title = The Flathead-Salish Indian Name in Montana Nomenclature|journal = The Montana Magazine of History|volume = 1|issue = 1|pages = 37–47|last1 = Partoll|first1 = Albert J.|year = 1951}}</ref> In 1855 the United States (US) made the [[Treaty of Hellgate]], by which it set aside the Flathead Reservation solely for use of the Flathead, encompassing an area including much of Flathead Lake.