Welcome to the Flathead Reservation

Published: 2022
By Brenda Richey

The MSU Extension Flathead Reservation office (FREO) recognizes that we live and work within the homelands of the Séliš-Ql?ispé and Ksanka People. Our staff extends gratitude to the indigenous people who call this place home. We understand it is our responsibility to support diversity, honoring the culture and traditions of our native community. “The Flathead Indian Reservation is home to three tribes, the Bitterroot Salish, Upper Pend d’Oreille, and the Kootenai. The territories of these three tribes covered all of western Montana and extended into parts of Idaho, British Columbia, and Wyoming. The Hellgate Treaty of 1855 established the Flathead Reservation, but over a half million acres passed out of Tribal ownership during land allotment which began in 1904. The subsistence patterns of our Tribal people developed over generations of observation, experimentation, and spiritual interaction with the natural world, creating a body of knowledge about the environment closely tied to seasons, locations, and biology. This way of life was suffused with rich oral history and a spiritual tradition in which people respected the animals, plants, and other elements of the natural environment. By learning from our Elders and teaching our children, those Tribal ways of life continue to this day.” – CSKT.org For more than 20 years, MSU Extension has worked to support the Confederated Salish, Pend d'Oreille and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT). With over 1.317 million acres, reaching into four counties; program staff work to bring educational resources to reservation communities. The office is grant funded, offering engagement in Positive Youth Development, Food and Nutrition, Security, Safety, and Agriculture and Natural Resources. Quality programs are successful due to the collaboration between our local community members, partners, and tribal support.