Nez Perce
Total population
2,700
Regions with significant populations
United States (Idaho)
Languages
English, Nez Perce
Religions
Christianity, other
Related ethnic groups
other Penutian peoples

The Nez Perce (IPA: /ˌnɛzˈpɝs/) are a tribe of Native Americans who live in the Pacific Northwest region (Columbia River Plateau) of the United States. A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally consists of a Social group existing before the development of or outside of States Many anthropologists use Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States The Pacific Northwest is a region in the northwest of North America (the term refers to the land not the ocean The Columbia River Plateau is a geologic and geographic region that lies across parts of the U The United States of America —commonly referred to as the It is estimated that at the time of the Lewis and Clark Expedition the native people had been in the area for over 10,000 years. ^[1] The tribe currently govern and inhabit a reservation in Idaho. The State of Idaho ( is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States of America. The Nez Perce's name for themselves is Nimi'ipuu (IPA: [nimiʔipuː]), which means simply "the people", or "we the people". ^[2] The name "Nez Percé" (meaning "pierced nose") is derived from the French, a name inspired by nose pendants some of them wore, although this practice was more common among tribes downriver. ^[3]

Contents 1 Name, language, and culture 2 Traditional lands 3 Chief Joseph's surrender 4 Notable people 5 Nez Perce horse breeding program 6 Fishing 7 Nez Perce Indian Reservation 7.1 Communities 8 Notes 9 References 10 Further reading 11 External links

Name, language, and culture

"Nez Perce" is the spelling of the name used by the tribe itself, the United States Government, and by contemporary historians. Older historical and ethnological works use the French spelling "Nez Percé," with the diacritic. Ethnology (from the Greek ἔθνος, ethnos meaning "habit custom convention" is the branch of Anthropology that compares and A diacritic ( also called a diacritic or diacritical mark, point, or sign, is a small sign added to a letter to alter pronunciation

In the journals of William Clark, the people are referred to as Chopunnish (IPA: ['ʧopənɪʃ]). William Clark ( August 1, 1770 &ndash September 1, 1838) was an American explorer soldier Indian agent, and territorial governor This term is an adaptation of the term cú·pʼnitpeľu (The Nez Perce people) which is formed from cú·pʼnit (piercing with a pointed object) and peľu (people). ^[4] Nez Perce oral tradition indicates the name Cuupn'itpel'uu meant “we walked out of the woods or walked out of the mountains" and referred to the time before the Nez Perce had horses. Oral tradition, oral culture and oral lore is a way for a society to transmit history, literature, law and other Knowledges The most common self designation used today by the Nez Perce is Nimi'ipuu. ^[5] Nez Perce is a misnomer given by the interpreter of the Lewis and Clark Expedition at the time they first encountered the Nez Perce in 1805. It is from the French, "pierced nose. " This is an inaccurate description of the tribe. They did not practice nose piercing or wearing ornaments. The actual "pierced nose" tribe lived on and around the lower Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest and are commonly called the Chinook tribe by historians and anthropologists. The Columbia River (known as The Pacific Northwest is a region in the northwest of North America (the term refers to the land not the ocean Chinookan refers to several groups of Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Chinook relied heavily upon salmon as did the Nez Perce and shared fishing and trading sites but were much more hierarchical in their social arrangements.

The Nez Perce National Historical Park includes a research center which has the park's historical archives and library collection. The Nez Perce National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park comprising 38 sites located throughout the states of Idaho, It is available for on-site use in the study and interpretation of Nez Perce history and culture. ^[6]

Traditional lands

The Nez Perce territory at the time of Lewis and Clark was approximately 17,000,000 acres (69,000 km²). The acre is a unit of Area in a number of different systems including the imperial and U It covered parts of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, in an area surrounding the Snake, Salmon and the Clear Water Rivers. Washington ( is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Oregon ( is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The State of Idaho ( is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States of America. The Snake River is a major Tributary of the Columbia River in the U The Salmon River is located in Idaho in the northwestern United States. The Clearwater River is a river in North Central Idaho, which flows from the Bitterroot Mountains along the Idaho- Montana border westward joining the The tribal area extended from the Bitterroots in the east to the Blue Mountains in the west between latitude 45°N and 47°N. This article is about the Bitterroot Mountains a subrange of the larger Bitterroot Range. The Blue Mountains are a Mountain range located largely in eastern Oregon and stretching into southeastern Washington in the United States Latitude, usually denoted symbolically by the Greek letter phi ( Φ) gives the location of a place on Earth (or other planetary body north or south of the ^[7]

In 1800, there were over 70 permanent villages ranging from 30 to 200 individuals, depending on the season and social grouping. About 300 total sites have been identified, including both camps and villages. In 1805 the Nez Perce were the largest tribes on the Columbia River Plateau, with a population of about 6,000. The Columbia River Plateau is a geologic and geographic region that lies across parts of the U By the beginning of the twentieth century the Nez Perce had declined to about 1,800 because of epidemics, conflicts with non-Indians, and other factors. ^[8]

The Nez Perce, as many western Native American tribes, were migratory and would travel with the seasons, according to where the most abundant food was to be found at a given time of year. This migration followed a predictable pattern from permanent winter villages through several temporary camps, nearly always returning to the same locations year after year. They were known to go as far east as the Great Plains, hunting American Bison and fishing for salmon at Celilo Falls on the Columbia River. The Great Plains are the broad expanse of Prairie and Steppe which lie east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada The American bison ( Bison bison) is a Bovine Mammal, also commonly known as the American buffalo. Salmon is the common name for several species of Fish of the family Salmonidae. Celilo Falls ( Wyam, meaning "echo of falling water" or "sound of water upon the rocks" in several native languages was a tribal fishing They relied heavily on quamash or camas gathered in the region between the Salmon and Clearwater River drainages as a food source. Quamash ( Camassia quamash) syn Camaridium leichtlinii Var watsoni M Camassia is a Genus of six species native to western North America, from southern British Columbia to northern California, and The Salmon River is a 339 mile (55 km River in Oregon 's Cascade Range and drains a portion of southwestern Mount Hood. Clearwater River For other rivers called Clearwater see Clearwater River The Clearwater River is a river located in the Clearwater

Chief Joseph's surrender

On October 5, 1877, Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce Nation surrendered to units of the U.S. Cavalry near Chinook in the north of what is now Montana. Events 869 - The Fourth Council of Constantinople is convened to decide about what to do about Patriarch Photius of Constantinople Year 1877 ( MDCCCLXXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Chief Joseph (March 3 1840 &ndash September 21 1904 was the chief of the Wal-lam-wat-kain (Wallowa band of Nez Perce Indians during General Chinook is a city in and the County seat of Blaine County, Montana, United States. Montana ( is a state in the Western United States. One-third of the state in the western part contains numerous mountain ranges (approximately 77 named of the northern Before this surrender the Nez Perce fought a cunning strategic retreat toward refuge in Canada from about 2,000 soldiers. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page This surrender, after fighting 13 battles and going about 1,300 miles (2,090 km) toward Canada, marked the last great battle between the U. S. government and an Indian nation. ^[9] After surrendering, Chief Joseph stated his famous quote "Hear me, my chiefs, I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever. " The flight path is reproduced by the Nez Perce National Historic Trail. The Nez Perce National Historical Trail follows the same journey undertaken by a band of the Nez Perce Indian tribe in 1877 during their attempt to flee the U ^[10] The annual Cypress Hills ride in June commemorates the Nez Perce people's crossing into Canada. ^[11]

Notable people

• Probably the best known leader of the Nez Perce was Chief Joseph, who led his people in their struggle to retain their identity in the face of U. Chief Joseph (March 3 1840 &ndash September 21 1904 was the chief of the Wal-lam-wat-kain (Wallowa band of Nez Perce Indians during General S. encroachments on their land.
• One notable Nez Perce scholar was Archie Phinney. He studied under Franz Boas at Columbia University and produced a published collection of Nez Perce myths and legends from the oral tradition, Nez Perce Texts. Franz Boas ( July 9, 1858 &ndash December 21, 1942) was a German - American anthropologist and a pioneer of modern Columbia University is a private University in the United States and a member of the Ivy League.
• Actress Elaine Miles, best known from her role in television's Northern Exposure is Nez Perce. Elaine Miles (born April 7, 1960 in Pendleton Oregon) is a Cayuse / Nez Perce Actress best known for her role as Marilyn Northern Exposure is a Dramedy series. It was created by Brand - Falsey Productions which was recognized with a rare pair of consecutive
• Silent film actors Jack and Al Hoxie are the sons of a half Nez Perce mother. Jack Hoxie ( January 11, 1885 - March 28, 1965) was an American Rodeo performer and motion picture Actor whose career was
• Nez Perce War veteran and rodeo champion Jackson Sundown

Nez Perce horse breeding program

The Nez Perce tribe began a breeding program in 1995 based on crossbreeding the Appaloosa and a Central Asian breed called Akhal-Teke to produce the Nez Perce Horse. The Nez Perce Horse is a spotted horse breed of the Nez Perce tribe of Idaho This is a program to re-establish the horse culture of the Nez Perce, a proud tradition of selective breeding and horsemanship that was destroyed in the 19th century. The breeding program was financed by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, the Nez Perce tribe and a nonprofit group called the First Nations Development Institute (Based in Washington D. The United States Department of Health and Human Services ( HHS) is a Cabinet department of the United States government with the goal of protecting C. ), which promotes such businesses in Indian country.

Fishing

Fishing is an important ceremonial, subsistence, and commercial activity for the Nez Perce tribe. A hunter-gatherer society is one whose primary subsistence method involves the direct procurement of edible plants and animals from the wild Foraging and Hunting Nez Perce fishers participate in tribal fisheries in the mainstem Columbia River between Bonneville Dam and McNary Dam. Bonneville Lock and Dam (ˈbɑnəvɪl consists of several Dam structures that together complete a span of the Columbia River between the U McNary Dam is a 14 mile (22 km long hydroelectric Dam which spans the Columbia River. The Nez Perce also fish for spring/summer Chinook salmon and steelhead in the Snake River and its tributaries. The rainbow trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss) is a species of Salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America The Snake River is a major Tributary of the Columbia River in the U The Nez Perce tribe runs the Nez Perce Tribal Hatchery on the Clearwater River as well as several satellite hatchery programs.

Nez Perce Indian Reservation

The current tribal lands consist of a reservation comprising parts of four counties in northern Idaho; in descending order of surface area they are Nez Perce County, Lewis County, Idaho County, and Clearwater County. Nez Perce County is a County located in the US state of Idaho. Lewis County is a County located in the US state of Idaho. The county was established in 1911 Idaho County is a County located in the US state of Idaho. As of the 2000 Census the county had a population of 15511 (2005 estimate 15697. Clearwater County is a County located in the US state of Idaho. The total land area is 3,095. 299 km² (1,195. 102 sq mi), and the reservation's population as of the 2000 census was 17,959 residents. ^[12] Its largest community is the city of Orofino, near its northeast corner. Orofino ( "fine gold" in Spanish is a city in Clearwater County, Idaho, along the Clearwater River.

Communities

Notes

References

Further reading

• Beal, Merrill D. "I Will Fight No More Forever"; Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce War. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1963.
• Bial, Raymond. The Nez Perce. New York: Benchmark Books, 2002. ISBN 0761412107
• Boas, Franz (1917). Franz Boas ( July 9, 1858 &ndash December 21, 1942) was a German - American anthropologist and a pioneer of modern Folk-tales of Salishan and Sahaptin tribes (DJVU), Washington State Library's Classics in Washington History collection, Published for the American Folk-Lore Society by G. E. Stechert & Co. . OCLC 2322072. The OCLC Online Computer Library Center is according to its website a "nonprofit membership computer library service and research organization dedicated to the public purpose  
• Humphrey, Seth K (1906). The Indian dispossessed (DJVU), Washington State Library's Classics in Washington History collection, Revised, Little, Brown and Co. . OCLC 4450366. The OCLC Online Computer Library Center is according to its website a "nonprofit membership computer library service and research organization dedicated to the public purpose  
• Josephy, Alvin M. The Nez Perce Indians and the Opening of the Northwest. Yale western Americana series, 10. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965.
• Judson, Katharine Berry (1912). Myths and legends of the Pacific Northwest, especially of Washington and Oregon (DJVU), Washington State Library's Classics in Washington History collection, 2nd, McClurg. OCLC 10363767. The OCLC Online Computer Library Center is according to its website a "nonprofit membership computer library service and research organization dedicated to the public purpose   Oral traditions from the Chinook, Nez Perce, Klickitat and other tribes of the Pacific Northwest.
• Lavender, David Sievert. Let Me Be Free: The Nez Perce Tragedy. New York: HarperCollins, 1992. ISBN 0060167076
• Nerburn, Kent. Chief Joseph & the Flight of the Nez Perce: The Untold Story of an American Tragedy. New York, NY: HarperSanFrancicso, 2005. ISBN 0060513012
• Stout, Mary. Nez Perce. Native American peoples. Milwaukee, WI: Gareth Stevens Pub, 2003. ISBN 0836836669
• Warren, Robert Penn. Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce, Who Called Themselves the Nimipu, "the Real People": A Poem. New York: Random House, 1983. ISBN 0394530195

External links

• Official tribal site
• Friends of the Bear Paw, Big Hole & Canyon Creek Battlefields
• Nez Perce Horse Registry
• Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission - member tribes include the Nez Perce
• Nez Perce National Historic Park
• Nez Perce National Historic Trail

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