Native Americans
Several different groups of Native Americans, including the
Crows, Cheyenne, Blackfeet, Assiniboine, Gros Ventres, Kootenai,
Salish, and Pend d'Oreille, first inhabited the Montana lands.
They claimed different territories and lived in tribes and
groups throughout. In a city bare land they hunted and followed
close tribal traditions.
Whites
In 1804 Lewis and Clark made their way in their travels into the
Montana lands. They traveled the rivers and across land and
documented much of what they saw. Trappers and traders followed
and began to lay claim on the lands until the trapping business
nearly fell apart. Missionaries, gold seekers, woodsmen, and
others soon found the area to be rich in what they sought.
Conflict
The natives and the white soon found that they were on opposing
grounds because of the use of the land and conflicting
interests. Battles brought victory and defeat to each group and
soon treatise were formed to bring peace. Over time hunters,
trappers, miners, and others began to settle the territory.
Growth
As the country grew out of the east it grew into Montana
(meaning mountainous). A
railroad came into the territory to transport people and goods.
Because of the abundance of goods, crops, and land, the
territory became the 41st state in 1889. Through wars and other
challenging times Montana has always had economic struggles. Its
growth has never really been great and sometimes its growth is
negative. Crops such as sheep, cattle, ore, grains, etc have
been hamper by many factors and other industries have not been
able to take hold. Many people favor this because Montana has
remained as an outdoor haven. Its variety in season as well as
its wild life reserves have drawn many as adventuring tourists.
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