The Assiniboine people are originally from the Northern Great Plains area of North America, specifically in Montana around the US/Canadian border. This particular tribe was well known throughout much of the late 1700s and early 1800s. Images of tribal members were painted by such 19th century artists as Karl Bodmer and George Catlin. Their tribe has many similarities to the Sioux people in lifestyle, linguistics, and cultural habits. The life style of this group was semi nodmaic, and they would follow the herds of Bison during the warmer months. They did do a considerable amount of trading with European traders, and worked with the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Indians, and that factor is strongly attached to their life style. Though their description of the group was not all together favorable, the tribe's existance was noted in the Journals of Lewis and Clark on their return journey from Fort Clatsop in what is today Oregon back down the Missouri River. They had heard rumors that this was a "vicious" group, and hoped to avoid contact with them. They did not see any sign of these people, and were not able to prove those rumors.