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When explorers and traders moved west across the United States in the 1800s, they found many nations of American Indians already living in the Plateau region near the Columbia River. These nations had their own languages and governments, and they were experts at living in this land surrounded by mountains and filled with rivers.

- The Nez Perce could catch salmon with their bare hands.
- The Modoc wore woven skullcap basket hats.
- The Kootenai made paintings on huge rocks and cliffs using red ocher and fish eggs.

Many Plateau Indians still live in this region. They work in a variety of industries, from fishing and logging to hospitality. Read more about the history and culture of the native peoples of the Plateau.

Krystyna Poray Goddu has been a writer and editor for more than thirty years; her books include Dollmakers and Their Stories: Women Who Changed the World of Play, and A Girl Called Vincent: A Biography of Poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, both middle-grade nonfiction. Her writing for children has also appeared in American Girl magazine. She reviews and writes about children's books for Publishers Weekly and The New York Times Book Review. In addition to her writing and editing experience, she has worked in school libraries and taught writing to middle-school students in independent schools in New York City. She holds a degree in comparative literature from Brown University.