Answer:
Many different groups of Native Americans, with distinct cultures based on their resource allocation and climate, inhabited the western region of North America.
Hunting, gathering, and fishing supplied most of the food for indigenous people throughout the West, especially along the Columbia and Colorado Rivers.
Although hunting and gathering could be challenging and unpredictable, the bountiful West provided ample food and trading goods, which allowed Native Americans to establish sedentary villages.
Geographic and temporal setting: the diverse West
The western part of the present-day United States, extending from the top corner of Washington, through California and into parts of Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and Idaho, was home to a diverse array of Native American groups. They lived off the region's rich natural resources.
It's hard to generalize about the cultural practices of indigenous people in the West since its climate and resources varied immensely, creating microenvironments which different groups used to their advantage. Over one hundred federally-recognized tribes lived in modern California. The Great Basin—the vast expanse of land between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevadas—was home to the Mono, Paiute, Bannock, Shoshone, Ute, and Gosiute peoples, among others