Nez Perce
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| United States (Idaho) | |
| Languages | |
| English, Nez Perce | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity, other | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| other Penutian peoples |
The Nez Perce or Nez Percé (pronounced /nɛz pɝs/, or /ne pɛrˈse/ as in French) are a tribe of Native Americans who inhabited the Pacific Northwest region of the United States at the time of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The Nez Perce's name for themselves is Ni-Mii-Puu (pronounced nee-mee-poo), which means simply "the People." This self-designation is a common practice of aboriginal peoples the world over. Although "Nez Perce" is the correct spelling, preferred by the overwhelming majority of the tribe's members, as well as by the most knowledgeable historians, many older works use the French spelling "Nez Percé," with the diacritic.
Nez Perce is a misnomer given by the interpreter of the Lewis and Clark expedition at the time they first encountered the tribe 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. They are commonly called the Chinook tribe by historians and anthropologists. They were a salmon people as were the Nez Perce, and shared fishing and trading sites, but were much more hierarchical in their social arrangements.
The Nez Perce language belongs to the Sahaptian language family.
Traditional lands
The Nez Perce territory at the time of Lewis and Clark was approximately 17,000,000 acr (69,000 km²). It covered parts of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, in an area surrounding the Snake River and the Clearwater River. 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. They relied heavily on quamash or camas gathered in the region between the Salmon and Clearwater River drainages as a food source.
University of Washington Digital Collections
Chief Joseph's surrender
On October 5, 1877 Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce Nation surrendered to units of the U.S. Cavalry. Before this retreat the Nez Perce fought a cunning strategic retreat toward refuge in Canada from about 2,000 Army soldiers. This surrender, after fighting 13 battles and going about 1,600 miles toward Canada, marked the last great battle between the U.S. government and an Indian nation.
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.S. encroachments on their land. One notable Nez Perce scholar was Archie Phinney (1903-1949); 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. Actress Elaine Miles, best known from her role in television's Northern Exposure, is Nez Perce. Silent film actors Jack and Al Hoxie are the sons of a half Nez Perce mother.
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. 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, which promotes such businesses in Indian country.
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