(SAL ish) American Indian tribe living in western Montana at the time of Lewis and Clark. Their principal subsistence came from hunting buffalo and other game. The Salish are also known as Flathead Indians. This nickname came from a practice used by some neighboring tribes in which the heads of infants were deformed so that they appeared to have sloped foreheads. The Flatheads (Salish) did not do this, however, so their heads were "flat" by comparison. The Salish were friendly toward the Corps of Discovery and even supplied them with horses when they met on the trail.