This is part of the Smithsonian Institution’s Handbook of North American Indians series, the ultimate resource for Native American history across various regions of North America. The set is intended to give an encyclopedic summary of what is know about the prehistory, history, and cultures of the aboriginal peoples of North America north of the urban civilizations of central Mexico. Volume 12 provides a summary of what is known about the prehistory, history, and culture of the American Indians of the Plateau Culture area. This area is defined by the region in northwestern United States and southwestern Canada drained by the Columbia and Fraser rivers. The Plateau culture area includes the Interior Salishan peoples, the Sahaptian peoples, and several cultural isolates, Athapaskan outliers, and the Kootenai and Cayuse.