History of the Sagebrush Sagebrush, which is part of the sunflower family, has long been associated with cowboy territory and like the tumble weed, has become a symbol of the West. There are in fact several different species of sagebrush and nearly all have held significant religious and medicinal value for Indian tribes within the Western region. The Kootenai tell of their cultural hero, Coyote, having smoked a type of sage as tobacco. Many tribes continue to use it in traditional purification rituals. There are a number of sagebrush varieties native to Montana but only rabbit brush, a distant relative of true sagebrush, grows on Blue Mountain's hillsides. In the Bitterroot Valley however, early settlers commented on this tall, dense plant which continues to thrive on some of the more arid hillsides and offers wildlife such as deer, elk and grouse an important winter food source. Close Window