Nez Percé

Former tribal area of ​​the Nez Percé and today's reservation in Idaho

The Nez Percé [ ˌnepɛʀˈse ] ( French , pierced nose ', English pronunciation: ˌnɛzˈpɜrs), also Nez Perce , official name Nimi'ipuu , are an Indian people of the Columbia River Plateau in the Pacific Northwest of the United States . Their language, the Niimiipuutímt , is one of the Sahaptian languages (also Sahaptin , Shahaptian ), a subgroup of the Plateau Penuti language family , alongside the Sahaptin . The Nez Percé are therefore linguistically and culturally closely related to the Sahaptin-speaking Palus (Palouse) , Walla Walla , Yakima , Umatilla and Wanapum (Wánapam).

residential area

Their traditional territory covered about 69,000 km² in the northwest and west of today's US state Idaho , in the northeast of Oregon and partly in the southeast of Washington and, after the acquisition of horses in early 1700, also the northwestern plains in western Montana . Their tribal area was part of the Columbia Plateau and characterized by deep canyons (sometimes deeper than the Grand Canyon ), plateaus and arid steppes and included the river valleys of the Snake River (Weyikespe) and Grand Ronde River (Waliwa / Willewah) in the west and northwest, of the Salmon River (Naco'x kuus) (“ King Salmon Water”) (and its numerous tributaries) in the south, the Clearwater River (Koos-Koos-Kai-Kai) (“clear water”) in the center and in the north. To the east it stretched to the Bitterroot Mountains (the gateway to the Northwestern Plains) and to the west to the Blue Mountains . However, large groups of the Nez Percé were often found along the Yellowstone River .

In 1800 there were more than 100 permanent Nez Percé settlements, ranging from 50 to 600 people depending on the season and social grouping. Of these, at least 27 were inhabited all year round; otherwise the Nez Percé alternated between permanent winter villages and changing summer camps (which were often just hunting camps). Archaeologists have identified a total of about 300 related sites, including camps and villages, mostly in the Salmon River Canyon. With a population of around 6,000 people and around 1,500 warriors, the Nez Percé were the largest and most militarily powerful tribe on the Columbia River Plateau at that time . By the early 20th century, the Nez Perce had declined to around 1,800 due to epidemics, conflicts with non-Indians, and other factors.

Its geographical location in the midst of four other North American cultural areas - the northwest coast (sedentary game predators (marine mammals) and fishermen (salmon); chiefdom , pronounced hierarchy , social institutions: slavery, potlatch : Chinook peoples and coastal Salish ), the prairie and plains (semi-nomadic Equestrian cultures or semi-sedentary horticulturists, bison hunt: mostly Sioux and Algonquin-speaking peoples: Absarokee , Plains Assiniboine , Lakota , Plains Cree , Blackfoot and Kutenai ), the Great Basin (nomadic (partly mounted) Numic-speaking collectors and hunters: Western and Northern Shoshone , Bannock and Northern Paiute ) and California (semi-sedentary gatherers and hunters: mostly Penuti and Hoka-speaking peoples: Klamath and Modoc , Karok , etc.) made the Columbia River Plateau an intersection of cultures. An extensive trade network enabled the exchange of goods, ideas, and even people, as slavery was widespread in the area.

Like other indigenous peoples of the Plateau Cultural Area ( Sahaptian-speaking peoples: Yakama , Umatilla and Tenino as well as inland Salish and Ktunaxa ), the Nez Percé were semi-nomadic salmon fishermen, hunters and gatherers (roots, tuberous plants) and had seasonal villages and camps around the whole Use natural resources year round. Their migration followed a recurring pattern of permanent winter villages (comprised of large communal houses covered by woven tulle mats ), through several makeshift camps (with simple shrub huts - similar to the Wickiups ), returning to the same locations almost every year. As the easternmost representatives of the plateau, the Nez Percé largely adopted the way of life and many cultural techniques of the Plains Indians : war honors ( Counting Coup ), war dances and battle tactics as well as other material forms of horse culture such as the travois (formerly pulled by dogs and people) and the tipi . The Nez Percé, Palus (Palouse) and Cayuse (Weyiiletpuu) ("The People of the Ryegrass ") were almost unique among Native Americans for conducting a selective horse breeding program and building one of the largest herds of horses on the continent. The Cayuse bred the lesser known "Cayuse Horse" and the Nez Percé and Palus (Palouse) were instrumental in creating the Appaloosa breed. The horses enabled considerably larger wars and raids against the smaller tribes, which remained settled, and enabled the Nez Percé to control politics and often the hunting and fishing grounds as well as the trade of the militarily weaker tribes. The Cayuse allies even took a toll . Together with allied plateau tribes (Sahaptin and inland Salish) they crossed the Lolo Pass (Khoo-say-ne-ise-kit) (in Salish : Naptnišaqs - "Nez Perce path") to the east on the plains (Khoo- sayn / Kuseyn) ("Buffalo Country") from Montana to hunt American bison (Qoq'a lx) and to trade with were active as middlemen in the west up to the Pacific coast ('Eteyekuus) ("Big Water").

Most important fishing grounds and annual meeting places of many tribes of the plateau (Sahaptin peoples, inland Salish) and the northwest coast (coastal Salish, Lower and Upper Chinook) were mostly narrowed river valleys or waterfalls, as the salmon (lé'wliks) and other fish easier to catch with fish weirs , poles and nets: Celilo Falls or Horseshoe Falls (Silayloo) (in Sahaptin: Wayám / Wyam - "Echo of the falling water", "Sound when water falls on rocks") and that about 12 miles downstream located in the Dalles along the Middle Columbia river (Xuyelp) ( "great river") (Been here among the most important and also the same time the border of the two cultural complexes) - west thereof, the tribes agreed by the commercial language Chinook Jargon , at Celilo Falls and east inland the Sahaptin of the Nez Percé was dominant. Other important salmon fishing grounds were: Cascade Falls, Priest Rapids and Rock Island Rapids on the Middle Columbia River and the Wenatshapam Fishery near the present-day city of Wenatchee . All major fishing grounds are in the meantime due to the construction of dams (1938-1973) for drinking water supply , power generation , industrial water supply (industry and agriculture), flood control and navigable rivers among several huge reservoirs disappeared - and also a centuries-old indigenous culture.

The Nez Percé can be divided into two large regional dialect groups, which also differ culturally:

• Upper / Upriver Nez Percé (the bands on the east side of the Snake River in Idaho were more oriented towards the Plains tribes; spoke the Upper Niimiipuutímt dialect (also: Upriver or Eastern dialect))
• Lower / Downriver Nez Percé (the bands on the west side of the Snake River were traditional representatives of the plateau culture; spoke the Lower Niimiipuutímt dialect (also: Downriver or Western dialect))

Names

Today's official name is Nimi'ipuu . The name Nez Percé is a foreign name that comes from a translator of the Lewis and Clark expedition of 1805. French Canadians interpreted - according to the official representation of the Nez Perce Tribe - the meaning of this designation as "pierced nose". Cecil Carter, an elder of the Nez Percé, recalled that the Nez Percé had the name Cuupn'itpel'uu before they used horses.

William C. Sturtevant writes that the Nez Percé were referred to as Chopunnish in the reports of the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1805 - this is an adaptation of the term cú pʼnitpeľu ('the pierced people', derived from cú pʼnit  - ' piercing with a pointed object' and peľu  - 'people'). Since the Nez Percé wore no nose piercings or other jewelry, the name "pierced noses" was an inappropriateness and was probably due to a confusion with the Chinook living on the lower reaches of the Columbia River . The various Chinook tribes that shared fishing grounds and trading places with the Nez Percé were particularly famous as great traders - so, based on their language, the Chinook Wawa established itself as the lingua franca among the tribes of the Northwest.

Candy Vyvey Moulton also mentions that, according to oral tradition, the Nez Percé called themselves Cuupn'itpel'uu before the introduction of the horse . In addition, she calls the name Tsoop-Nit-Pa-Loo - 'we went out of the forest' or 'we went out of the mountains'. Following the creation myth of the Nez Percé, the name Iceyeeye Niim Mama'yac ('Children of Coyote') is also common.

Traditional culture

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The following describes the culture of the Nez Percé as it presented itself up to the point of giving up self-determination and moving into the reserve. From that point on, it gradually adapted to the culture of European immigrants.

Political organization

Whenever possible, the Nez Percé built their villages along rivers. They organized themselves analogously to the river system. The individual villages on a tributary felt that they belonged together as a group and, if necessary - for bison hunting, for example - joined groups from the main river. It is controversial whether all of the Nez Percé felt they belonged together before they first came into contact with the European Americans. Certainly they united under a common chief after 1830 . Together they tried to withstand the increased pressure.

A village consisted of several extended families and was led by a man - often the oldest capable man in the village. Usually a younger man assisted the leader. Usually the office passed from father to son; if he was incapable, the council chose a more capable man to head the village. In a few cases, a medicine man took the lead. The leader was expected to be a role model as official speakers appeared, settled disputes, and sought to make decisions that would benefit the villagers. The family leaders were represented in the council, the decisions of which the village leader had to follow. Usually the leader of the largest village in the group was in charge. The inhabitants of the various villages came together mainly for defense, but occasionally also for joint ceremonies or to obtain food.

If different groups met, the group leaders and outstanding warriors would come together to form a council. A man could be entrusted by the council with running a business, hunting or war. Rarely has a man held a permanent leadership role at this level, but only temporarily. Medicine men sometimes enjoyed great political influence. Although crimes were mostly punished within the extended family, the higher council sometimes exiled members of the tribe.

Food acquisition

The Nez Percé hunted large animals such as elk, deer, elk, mountain sheep, mountain goats, black and grizzly bears, as well as smaller animals such as rabbits, croissants, badgers and marmots. They usually circled the big game together or drove it into an enclosure or a river. Before they had horses, ambush attack was a popular hunting method, especially with bison. They also sometimes dripped rattlesnake venom on the arrowhead. They also caught ducks, geese, grouse and other birds for ceremonies. Various rivers supplied them with fish. They caught salmon at the beginning of spring, and mostly they had to trudge through the deep snow to the river with snowshoes.

Saddle pad, Nez Perce National Historical Park, circa 1900

After getting to horses after 1700, they would move to the plains of Montana once a year , hunt bison and trade goods with the prairie tribes. They were often accompanied by warriors from friendly tribes such as the Umatilla , Cayuse and Yakima .

The men were responsible for hunting and fishing. They fished with line and hook, with spears, harpoons, nets and weirs. The great weirs were built jointly. A specialist regulated the weir and divided the catch among the families. The women processed the booty. Fish were either eaten fresh or dried in the sun and smoked as winter supplies.

In addition, the women collected roots, wild beets and onions, various berries, pine seeds and sunflower seeds. Roots were ground up, stored as loaves or biscuits, and later used in soups and stews. The supplies were kept in baskets in dry pits covered with bark or grass.

Man of the Nez Percé, 1899

Material culture

For everyday use, the Nez Percé had objects made from materials that nature offered them. Much was made of wood, such as spoons and bowls. They sometimes made spoons from horn, just like drinking cups. Mortars were either woven with a stone floor or made of wood. They chiseled the pestles out of stone. The mortars were used for grinding and chopping meat and roots. They used baskets for cooking meat and large earth ovens for baking. The Nez Percé used antlers for wedges and, together with stone, wood and rawhide, for battle axes and clubs ( tomahawks ). They created bows from lilac, yew wood and sinews.

The Nez Percé lived in the mat-covered longhouses customary on the plateau. The length of the houses could be over 30 meters. In addition to these permanent residences, the Nez Percé had conical tents that they used when traveling, for example on hunting trips or fishing. Sweat lodges were found in all of the permanent settlements of the Nez Percé.

The clothing of the Nez Percé was typical of the northern plains with long suede shirts, leggings , belts, gloves, gauntlets and moccasins . Feather headdresses were popular with men. Women decorated their clothes with Wapiti -Zähnen and seashells, which they exchanged. Gender as well as age and social status could be read from the clothing. Both sexes painted their faces for special purposes.

Nez Percés with an Appaloosa horse (1895)

The Spanish immigrants brought horses with them, which quickly spread north from the area of ​​what is now Mexico and also came to the Nez Percé. Within a very short time, the Nez Percé became the most famous horse nation on the plateau. Men, women and children rode horses at every opportunity. When they moved from one storage location to the next, horses pulled their belongings on a travois . The central importance of the horse in the life of the Nez Percé was shown by the diverse material culture: The Nez Percé created different saddles depending on the use as well as horse rugs and harnesses decorated with porcupine bristles, pearls and horse hair. The number of horses made the difference between rich and poor; Influential families sometimes owned a herd of thousands of horses. The Nez Percé were widely known as breeders of strong and enduring horses; occasionally the Nez Percé also acquired horses through raids.

Life cycle

birth

Baby the Nez Percé, Edward Curtis , 1911

When a woman was pregnant, she received advice from her older female relatives on how to maintain her health and that of her child. This included hot and cold baths and the use of various herbs. It was considered taboo for pregnant women to look at, touch or mock deformed animals or people. The Nez Percé believed that the child would also be deformed if the mother-to-be did not adhere to the taboo. Further taboos restricted their actions.

For the birth, she went to a separate hut, where female relatives helped her. Only in the case of more serious complications was a male medicine man called in to help with herbs, rituals and physical actions. After the birth, the umbilical cord was stowed in a small container that was attached to the baby carrier (cradleboard). According to the Nez Percé belief, loss of the umbilical cord would bring bad luck.

In the hope that this would have a positive effect on the child's development, children were usually given names of significant ancestors. A formal name celebration did not take place until adolescence. Names could be changed at any time.

childhood

Infants were placed in the cradle until they could walk and breastfed for as long as possible, often for several years. If the mother died, the child was adopted by another wife of the father or by a relative of the deceased.

Whenever possible, the grandparents looked after the child as soon as the child was weaned. The children had to behave very respectfully towards their parents, but they were allowed to fool around with their grandparents. The grandfather taught his grandson to hunt, ride a horse and sweat . The grandmother taught her granddaughter. In addition, the grandparents spent a lot of time telling their grandchildren the myths of the tribe. The grandparents were supported by other older relatives. Uncles and aunts usually took children to a bath in a nearby body of water before daybreak.

At around three years of age, the children were included in everyday life. They were there while digging up roots or collecting berries and were once tied to a horse behind a rider and taken along to the hunt. At around six years of age, the children first helped with work, dug a root themselves or killed an animal with a toy bow. This event was celebrated with a transition ceremony. When an experienced hunter or fisherman ate the first game or fish, the Nez Percé believed that the boy would become a talented fisherman or hunter. Likewise, a successful collector should eat a girl's first root or berry so that she could later supply a family with these products.

In their youth, boys and girls were sent out to search for visions . If they weren't successful, they were often sent out more times. If a girl began to bleed for the first time, she was separated into a special hut for about a week. There it should not be idle and always cultivate positive thoughts. After this time the girl returned to her people and was welcomed as a young woman who was now ready to marry. She received gifts from friends and relatives.

Dances, games, competitions and horse races played an important role - both for children and adults.

marriage

The family leaders determined the partners of their children, sometimes already during their childhood, but often only at the request of the children themselves. Marriage between relatives - even between more distant relatives - was taboo. On the other hand, it was welcome when several children married into the same family. Relatives of the groom and the bride met and exchanged gifts. The higher the social status of the families, the more people took part in this meeting. The marriage took place in a second meeting. The young couple then moved in with either the woman's parents, but more often with those of the man. A man could have several wives. Female slaves captured in the war or sisters of women were popular second wives. If the woman or the man died, the widower or widow married a brother or sister of the deceased if possible.

death

If a person suspected their death, they determined who should receive their belongings and who should take over their offices after their death. If someone died, the herald made it known throughout the village. Relatives and friends of the dead man gathered to mourn his corpse and washed and decorated it. The body was buried in a cloak. In some cases, the dead man's favorite horse was shot and put into the grave. Finally, the medicine man held a ceremony to keep the deceased's soul from returning. In the future, memories of the dead were avoided as much as possible. For example, his name was no longer mentioned and sometimes his hut was even burned. After a year, the widower or widow was released from the mourning. Now he or she was allowed to marry again.

history

Early history

The oldest finds in the traditional area of ​​the tribe are estimated to be 8,000 years old. It is the Weis Rockshelter Site about eight miles south of Cottonwood . It was excavated by a lay archaeologist around 1960, the artifacts are at the University of Idaho . Lenore ( S'uuley ), which is around 40 km east of Lewiston, is similarly old . The Camas Prairie with the Tolo Lake ( Tepahlewam - "split rock"; also 'Alwan'iwetem called), where the Nez Perce several millennia Camas, so Edible Camassia harvested, is now under protection, as well as the excavation site. The other early site known by the Nez Perce Sa-w'ees-ne-ma / Séewi'snime and known today as Musselshell Meadow is located in the Clearwater National Forest 16 km east of Weippe ( 'Oyayp - "Place of the Many Bears") . Up to 2500 BC The petroglyphs are dated from the Buffalo Eddy site , about 30 km south of Lewiston.

James Mooney estimated the number of Nez Percé to be 4,000 around 1780. There were at least 27 villages, eleven of which were on the Snake River - the largest was Hasotino Village (Hesutiin) - between the confluence of the Clearwater and Imnaha Rivers. Three other permanent settlements were on the Salmon River and its tributaries, six were in the Wallowa Valley area, and three villages were in eastern Washington, between the Grande Ronde and Snake River.

The Nez Percé acted as middlemen in the Pacific Northwest between the Flathead in the northeast and the groups on the Columbia River ( Xuyelp - "Big River") in the south and west, up to the coastal Salish on the Pacific ( 'Eteyekuus - "Big Water") ). On the other hand, relations with Bannock and Shoshone in the south and the Blackfeet in the northeast were less friendly. Since they began to breed horses around 1720, which enabled them to hunt for bison , the resulting competition may have been a cause of conflict with the Blackfeet. This was all the more true as the bison withdrew from the home of the Nez Percé in the first half of the 19th century and the Indians, who were often allied with other tribes, took them over the Rocky Mountains to the Northern Plains into the “Buffalo Country” ( Khoo-sayn / Kuseyn ) followed, but that was mostly tribal land of the Blackfoot and other hostile Plains tribes.

At the same time, this was the reason why part of the tribe approximated their way of life to that of the Plains tribes, while the others continued to live mainly on fish (especially salmon). In addition to these cultural changes, the internal organization also changed. The respective village was no longer a power center in itself, but a gathering of deserving men to vote on political decisions based on the principle of consensus. The boundary between the different living bands was about Lapwai Creek. The buffalo hunters ( Khoo-say-hu-tot-iqan / Kuseyhutotiqan ) mostly followed the 160 km long Lolo Trail ( Khoo-say-ne-ise-kit ) through the Bitterroot Mountains (now Highway 12).

Horse and fur trade, British and American

19th century war club

This route was also used by the expedition led by Lewis and Clark (1804-1806). They estimated the Nez Percé at 6,000 people, making them the largest group on the plateau. They also noticed British and Spanish trade goods from the Pacific coast. Prophecies of the Nez Percé had heralded the arrival of the whites and emphasized the great impact this would have on their culture.

From 1811 they were in contact with white traders, from 1813 they regularly visited the trading post of the North West Company on the Upper Columbia River . In September 1812 Donald Mackenzie had founded a trading post about 12 km north of what would later become Lewiston for the competing Pacific Fur Company . But there were hardly any beavers in the region, the " War of 1812 " between the USA and Great Britain hampered his trade, and so he gave up in May 1813.

Horse and fur trade made the Nez Percé relatively wealthy in the first half of the 19th century, but epidemics decimated them to around 1,800 people. In 1827 an employee of the Hudson's Bay Company estimated them to be only 1,450, but their number has now remained largely constant, as their relatively isolated location protected them from the severe smallpox epidemics (such as that of 1862 ). They also mingled much less with the white population, so that in 1950 608 Nez Percé only had Indian ancestors.

Missionaries, William Craig

In 1831 a delegation went to St. Louis to obtain the White Man's Book of Heaven. They turned to Clark, one of the two leaders of the expedition that was over 25 years ago. The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions responded immediately and dispatched a first missionary, a Presbyterian , in 1832 . From November 29, 1836 to 1847, Presbyterian missionaries resided permanently at Lapwai, with Henry Harmon Spalding in charge . On the edge there were contacts with Catholic missionaries. The first school was set up just two months after the missionaries arrived. It was directed by Spalding's wife, Eliza Spalding.

In December 1842, the tribal leaders negotiated with the Indian agent Elijah White. The government imposed US laws on the Indians and prohibited polygyny , games, healing rituals, war, robbery rides and most ceremonies. Instead, they introduced western medicine, planted gardens and mills to settle the Nez Percé near the mission and make them farmers. They taught them to read and write, and bought a printing press. In 1839 a second mission was established in Kamiah by Asa Bower Smith, who stayed from May 10, 1839 to April 19, 1841. One of the first to be baptized was Old Joseph, who died in 1870. He was the father of Chief Joseph, who tried to get his tribe to safety across the Canadian border in 1877. Only after 1842 did a chief headman appear for the first time, who led all of the Nez Percé.

Presbyterian influence came to an abrupt end with the Whitman massacre , in which missionaries were murdered in the Walla Walla Valley in 1847; only at the end of the 1850s did they resume their work with the Nez Percé. Spalding returned in September 1859 and went to Lapwai in 1862. In 1871 he founded a boarding school, but died on August 3, 1874. He is said to have baptized 900 Indians. The Presbyterians remained the dominant religion and an important political force until 1940.

In 1874, the Catholic competition built a church, the Saint Joseph's Mission (also called Slickpoo Mission). The Jesuit Joseph M. Cataldo worked here since 1867. He later founded Gonzaga University in Spokane . A chapel was built on Mission Creek in 1868, but it did not last long.

William Craig was the first white man allowed to live among the Nez Percé. He had been in the fur trade since 1829, married a Nez Percé woman in 1838 and lived with the Lapwai group from 1840. When the Oregon Donation Land Act was passed in 1850 , which began the forced relocation of coastal Indians in what was then the Oregon Country, which included the Nez Percé area, Craig applied for 640 acres of farmland that the government allowed him. Although it was within the reservation, the Indians trusted the settler and allowed him to stay.

Gold prospectors, settlers and missionaries, assignments of territory

By 1850 the beavers were almost wiped out on the plateau, so that the fur trade came to a standstill. Instead, prospectors came to the area from 1860 after gold was found on the reservation. The city of Lewiston was born. There were clashes between the Nez Percé and white gold prospectors as well as settlers who permanently settled there. In treaties of 1855 (the content of which they recorded in their language), 1863 and 1868, the Indians were forced to leave almost their entire land to the whites. Its vast traditional area was reduced from around 11 million to 7,694,270 acres in the Treaty of Walla Walla in 1855 .

At the same time, there was a deep rift through society, as anti-American traditionalists and Christian-pro-American faced each other. The former supported insurgents during the 1850s. In the Treaty of Walla Walla , the US government assured the Nez Percé in 1855 the land in a defined area as a reservation . According to the contract, however, they were also allowed to stay outside the reserve limits and hunt and fish there as they wanted. On April 10, 1861, however, the government reduced the reserve area by opening the northern part, i.e. the area north of the Snake and Clearwater Rivers, to whites as well. An army unit was assigned to the area south of this line. She remained stationed from 1862 to 1885, Fort Lapwai is now a listed building as part of the Nez Perce National Historical Park . At the same time, an Indian agency , the Northern Idaho Indian Agency , was established on the reservation and was based in Spalding and relocated to Fort Lapwai in 1904.

On June 9, 1863, ratified April 17, 1867, the reserve was drastically reduced to 1,182.76 square miles , or around 760,000 acres . At this point at the latest, the rift deepened between Christian Nez Percé in the reserve and non-Christian outside. The tribe abandoned the headman system imposed by the Indian agent .

At the end of the 1860s, the Nez Percé only owned the greatly reduced reserve in the Wallowa Valley, and this land was also coveted by white settlers. In 1870 missionaries returned after more than twenty years of absence and reorganized the Presbyterian mission against the traditionalists and the Catholic mission. They were given the overall supervision of the reservation. Old Joseph tore up his New Testament after thirty years .

On June 16, 1873, a reservation was set up in Wallowa Country, but it was dissolved on June 10, 1875. This embittered Old Joseph's son, Young Joseph, who became known as Chief Joseph.

Resistance, Chief Joseph

Chief Joseph , White Bird , Looking Glass, and other chiefs were ready to give in, but young warriors disagreed and attacked white ranchers. General Howard was assigned to punish the Nez Percé for it. It came to the Nez-Percé War with a first battle on June 17, 1877 on the White Bird Battlefield , about 25 km south of Grangeville. Led by Chief Joseph, the Indians withdrew through what is now Yellowstone National Park towards the Canadian border; hard pressed by the army. On the approximately 2900 km long march they fought several battles with the army. Shortly before the border, the last 450 remaining Nez Percé had to surrender. 375 of them were deported to Oklahoma (see also Nez Percé War). The rest were able to flee to Canada. In 1885, 118 adults were given access to a reservation in Washington State, the Colville Reservation . Some of them converted to Christianity and returned to Idaho.

The Christianized Nez Percé in Idaho clearly adapted to the Euro-American culture. They launched various economics and educational programs supported by the Presbyterian Church.

In 1885 the official number of tribesmen was 1,437. In 1906 there were 1,534 Nez Percé in the Lapwai reservation and 83 in the Colville reservation.

In 1895 the Dawes Act came into force, which parceled out the reservation land and distributed it to the residents. The size of the individual parcels was determined so that over half of the reserve land was freely distributed to whites. From the original tribal area around 1800 of around 50,000 km², the Nez Percé remained a good 320 km² (80,000 acres ) until 1975 . On May 1, 1893 alone, 549,559 of the 762,000 acres were lost.

Todays situation

Constitution and compensation lawsuits

The Nez Perce Tribe of Idaho, Nez Perce Reservation, Idaho adopted a constitution in 1948 that was ratified by the federal government and the tribe on April 2nd and 30th of that year. The General Council elects the members to the leading body, the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee .

In July 1951, the tribe filed a lawsuit with the Indian Claims Commission . Docket 175 sought redress for the reduction of the tribal area in 1855. At the same time, the Chief Joseph, Nez Percés of the Colville Reservation sued for compensation on the same occasion (Docket 180). On February 27, 1953, the lawsuits were merged as Docket 175. On August 25, 1971, the two groups received compensation of $ 3,550,000, with exactly 86.5854 percent going to the Idaho plaintiffs. In another lawsuit dated July 1951 (Docket 179), the Confederated Tribes of the Colville appealed against the mismanagement of the Bureau of Indian Affairs on behalf of the Colville Nez Percés . On November 5, 1968, the Joseph Group filed a lawsuit in Idaho. On April 29, 1970, the court offered $ 119,071.78, of which the Colville Group received two-thirds and the Idaho Group received one-third. The latter single-handedly sued for mismanagement since June 30, 1951. When the Indian Claims Commission was dissolved on September 30, 1978, the case went to the Court of Claims . After all, since 1941 an action had been taken against the dissolution of the area in Wallowa Country, and thus the destruction of the Joseph Group. Initially rejected, the two groups received compensation on October 31, 1974. Of the $ 725,000, $ 406,542.07 went to the Colville Group and $ 318,457.93 to Idaho.

Docket 175-A was separated from Docket 175 and judged separately. For the nearly 7 million acres that the tribe had to cede in 1863, the Nez Percé received compensation of 4,157,605.06 dollars on June 17, 1960. The tribe also complained about the drastic downsizing of the reserve in 1894, as well as about the gold stolen from their land and the loss of fishing rights.

In 1977, a hundred years after Chief Joseph's defeat, the tribe held a celebration on the White Bird battlefield in Idaho to commemorate the event.

Nez Perce National Historical Park

→ Main article : Nez Perce National Historical Park

In 1965 the Nez Perce National Historical Park was established. This included 24 historic sites that are located in north central Idaho. Four of them were administered by the National Park Service . In 1992 another 14 sites were added in the neighboring states of Oregon, Washington and Montana.

Buying back tribal areas and revitalizing culture

Since 1980 the Nez Percé have been trying to buy back land. By 1998, their land area increased to just under 450 km² (110,000 acres). In 2005 they bought back 962 acres of their former land in the Wallowa Valley in northeast Oregon for $ 278,865 .

Under the Treaty of 1855, the Nez Percé are still allowed to hunt and fish outside of their reserve, between the Columbia River in the west, the upper Salmon River in the south, and the border with Montana in the east. They also have the right to participate in mineral resources, water and forest management in the area that they had contractually assigned between 1855 and 1863.

The conflict between Christian and non-Christian Nez Percé is still palpable. The influence of the Presbyterians has been decreasing since the 1930s, with the influence of the non-Christian Nez Percé in the reservation increasing instead. After World War II , old ceremonies that had been banned for 50 years were reintroduced.

Their traditional tribal language, Niimiipuutímt , was still spoken by 100 to 300 people in 1997. By 1980 the linguist Haruo Aoki developed a dictionary and grammar of the language.

In 1985 there were 2,015 tribesmen, in 1989 there were already 2,455. The US census of 2000 identified 6,535 tribesmen, of whom 3,983 were both parents Nez Percé.

The revitalization of the culture also includes the right granted in 2006 to hunt buffalo again north of Yellowstone National Park in parts of the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness .

Chiefs and warriors of the Nez Percé

Peo Peo Tholekt (Landing Bird), a warrior of the Nez Percé

Alpowna (Alpowai) or Alpowe'ma (Alpoweyma / Alpowamino) band

• Tamootsin (better known as Chief Timothy , approx. * 1808 - † 1891): leader of the “treaty / contract faction” of the Alpowna (Alpowai) band along the Snake River above today's Lewiston; was the first Christian baptized in the tribe, his wife Tamer, was a sister of Tuekakas (Old Chief Joseph) , who was baptized on the same day as Tamootsin. Tamootsin did not participate in the 1877 war and died in 1891, his grave is in Clarkston, Asotin, Washington.
• 'Apáswahayqt ( Apash Wyakaikt , often rendered as: Appushwahite - "Flint Necklace" or Ippakness Wayhayken - "Looking Glass Around Neck", better known as Chief Looking Glass the Elder ): better known and one of the leading chiefs of the Alpowna (Alpowai) band, father of 'Elelímyeté'qenin ("wrapped in the wind"), who later took his name and was therefore also referred to as Chief Looking Glass the Younger for distinction. In 1855 he said: "I want my hunting and fishing rights in the usual and familiar places".
• 'Elelímyeté'qenin ( Háatyata'qanin' mostly reproduced as Allalimya Takanin - “wrapped in the wind”, better known as Looking Glass or Chief Looking Glass the Younger , approx. * 1832 - † October 5, 1877 in the Battle of Bear Paw ): Son of the famous chief named 'Apáswahayqt ("Flint Necklace"), since he took over his other name Ippakness Wayhayken ("Looking Glass Around Neck"), the father was therefore now referred to as Chief Looking Glass the Elder . Chief of the settlements of Asotin, Alpowa and Sapachesap along the Clearwater River as well as leading war chief of the “non-treaty faction” of the Alpowna (Alpowai) band, originally against a war with the USA, which planned all Nez Perce bands in the new reduced reservation Lapwai, Idaho, as his village of around 140 people was already within the reserve's boundaries. General Oliver Otis Howard believed rumors that Looking Glass wanted to join the Nez Perce led by Chief Joseph and Ollokot (who opposed the move) and dispatched Captain Stephen Whipple with 66 soldiers to arrest Looking Glass. When the soldiers arrived, a shot was accidentally fired by a party, now the soldiers opened fire on the village with Gatling bolt-action guns . Looking Glass and most of his people escaped, but the village and supplies were destroyed by the soldiers. After the attack, Looking Glass actually joined the “non-treaty faction” and convinced the other chiefs to take refuge with the Absarokee (Crow) in Montana via the Bitterroot Mountains to the east (he regarded them as friends since he had helped them defeat the Dakota Sioux in a battle in 1874). Thus began the three-month long 2,300 km (1,400 mile) escape (accompanied by victorious battles and tactically excellent retreat battles). Because of his experience, Looking Glass became the military leader of all bands; However, his reputation was diminished when he allowed the Nez Percé to be surprised in the Battle of the Big Hole by the US Army and suffered heavy losses (about 70-90 dead, including about 30 warriors; the US Army lost 23 soldiers and six civilians, another 40 were wounded). When the Absarokee (Crow) refused to give them refuge for fear of retaliation by the US military, they turned north and tried to get to safety in Canada. However, the US Army surrounded the Nez Percé in the Bear Paw Mountains on September 29, 1877 about 40 miles (64 km) from Canada, and after the five-day Battle of Bear Paw Chief Joseph proposed surrender (the Nez Percé lost among others also Toohoolhoolzote and Joseph's brother Ollokot). White Bird and Looking Glass, however, tried to break out with their bands to join the Lakota and Teton Sioux chief Sitting Bull in Canada . White Bird and 150 Nez Perce succeeded, but Looking Glass was killed by a Cheyenne Indian scout who was employed by the Army.
• Koolkool Snehee (Salish: "Red Owl", hence mostly known as the Red Owl ): War chief and leader of a local group of the “non-treaty faction” of the Alpowna (Alpowai) band.
• Piyopyóot'alikt (better known as Peo Peo Tholekt - “Bird Alightning” or “White Swan / Goose Alighting”, also: Keets-soo Too-lee-kah-cine - “Goldene Feder”, * approx. 1800? Near Lapwai, Idaho - †): Son of Peo peo Iy-iy-tomin (“? Pelican / goose”) and (W) Ah-um-not , the sister of Chief Joseph . an eminent Nez Percé warrior who fought with honors in every battle of the Nez Percé War, wounded in the Battle of Camas Creek, later became chief of the Alpowna (Alpowai) band.

Kămiăhpu (Kimmooenim) band

• Hallalhotsoot ( Hal-hal-tlos-tsot , better known because of his eloquence under his nickname Lawyer or Chief Lawyer , approx. * 1796 - † January 3, 1876): son of a Salish-speaking Flathead and chief Walammottinin (“Hair or Forelock Bunched and Tied ”, better known as“ Twisted Hair ”), the Nez Percé, who welcomed Lewis and Clark in the fall of 1805 and became friends, this positive experience of his father greatly influenced him, chief of the bands in the Stites-Kamiah area and Leader of the “treaty faction” of the Nez Percé, signed the Walla Walla Treaty of 1855. As early as 1832 he had supported the US Army in the fight against hostile Ni-tsi-ta-pi-ksi ( Blackfoot ), including in the Coeur d ' Alene War of 1858, he and his Nez Perce scouts reinforced a US army of 600 soldiers under Colonel George Wright and on September 1, 1858, defeated the allied Indians in the Battle of Four Lakes (consisting of: Skitswish / Schitsu'umsh ( "Coeur d'Alene" ), Ql̓ispé (" Pend d'Oreille "), Sqeliz ( " Spokane " ), the Palouse and Numa / Numu ( " Northern Paiute " )). The Americans proclaimed him a reliable partner as the chief chief of all Nez Percé, then lost more and more the trust of the other bands, so that soon Tuekakas (Old Chief Joseph) took over the position of the leading chief in the negotiations.

Lamtáma (Lamátta) or Lamatama Band

• Xáxaac 'ilp'ilp (mostly reproduced as Hohots Ilppilp - Red (Grizzly) Bear , later known as ' Ilexni 'éewteesin' , Ehlexni Ehtashin - "Many Wounds", by the Americans mostly as Many Wounds or referred to as Bloody Chief , * approx. 17 ?? - † shortly after 1842): more importantly known and feared chief because of his courage and his acts of war far among the neighboring tribes. He wore 80 different scars, which he had received in conflicts with hostile tribes (mostly Shoshone, Bannock and Blackfoot) (comparable to Oglala chief Red Cloud who also had 80 coups for personal bravery in combat). He was probably the leader of the Nipihama (Nipĕhĕmă) band ; met with Chief Walammottinin (“Twisted Hair”) (the father of the later Chief Hallalhotsoot / Hal-hal-tlos-tsot (Chief Lawyer) ), Chief Yoom-park-kar-tim (“Five Big Hears”) and Chief We -ark-koomt / Apash Wyakaikt ("Flint Necklace") (grandfather and father of chiefs Chief Looking Glass the Elder and Chief Looking Glass the Younger of the same inherited name) Meriwether Lewis and William Clark during the famous Lewis and -Clark expedition (1804 to 1806), last mentioned during the negotiations by the missionary and Indian agent, Dr. Elijah White (1806–1879) when he tried to negotiate a peaceful livelihood between the settlers and Nez Percé in 1842; his son of the same name, Chief “Red Grizzly Bear”, was one of the signatories of the Treaty of Walla Walla of 1855, where his name was written “Ha-ha Still-pilp” .
• Tipiyelehne Ka Awpo ( Tipyahlanah Ka-ou-pu - “Eagle from the Light”, “Eagle from the Light”, “Eagle of Delight”, hence mostly referred to in English as Eagle from the Light ), chief of the non-treaty Lamátta band , often went buffalo hunting east over the Bitterroot Mountains with Looking Glass' Alpowai Band , participated in the Walla Walla Council in 1855 and supported the “non-treaty faction” during the Lapwai Council, refusing to sign the 1855 and 1866 treaties , left his homeland in 1875 with a part of the Lamátta Band and joined the Shoshone under Chief Eagle's Eye in Weiser County (Montana), the leadership of the Lamátta, who remained on the Snake River, was taken over by the old Chief White Bird. Because of the too great distance, Eagle From the Light did not take part in the war of 1877.
• Piyóopiyo x̣ayx̣áyx̣ ( Piyoop'yoo xayxayx , mostly reproduced as Peo peo Hih Hih ; more correct, however: Peopeo Kiskiok Hihih - "Wei0e Gans", better known in English as White Bird ("White Bird") or White Pelican ("White Pelican") , *? - murdered 1892): Chief, war chief and tooat (medicine man and prophet ) from the “non-treaty faction” Lamátta ( Lamtáama , Lam'tama ) band escaped with about 120 Nez Percé before the surrender to Canada, made camp with the Lakota Sitting Bulls . A few families, including White Bird, remained in Canada even after Sitting Bull and most of the Nez Percé returned to the United States.
• Cúuɫim maqsmáqs ( Chuslum Moxmox - probably from the Salish, better known as Yellow Bull ): war chief of the non-treaty Lamátta (Lamtáama, Lam'tama) band.
• Wacamyos ( Wahchumyus - "rainbow", hence known as rainbow in English ): war chief of the non-treaty Lamátta (Lamtáama, Lam'tama) band, killed during the Battle of Big Hole.

Wallowa (Willewah) band or Walwáma (Walwáama) band

• Tuekakas ( Ta-weet Tu-eka-kas - “(Elder) Grizzly” or Tiwi-teqis - “Experienced Warrior”, better known as Old Chief Joseph or Joseph the Elder , approx. * 1785 - † 1871): Chief of the Wallowa Band and one of the first converts to Christianity of the Nez Percé as well as an advocate of early peace with the whites, was the maternal half-brother of Five Crows , the chief of the Cayuse (who was also brother-in-law of Piupiumaksmaks / Peopeomoxmox , the chief of the Walla Walla). Father of Chief Joseph (hence the name Young Joseph ) and Ollokot.
• Hinmatóoyalahtq'it ( Hinmaton-Yalaktit , Hinmuuttu-yalatlat , Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt , mostly rendered as Heinmot Tooyalakekt - " thunder that wanders to higher areas" or "thunder rolls over the mountains", better known as Chief Joseph , in his youth as Young Joseph or Joseph the Younger , * March 3, 1840 - † September 21, 1904): son of Tuekakas / Old Chief Joseph and Khapkhaponimi , siblings: Sousouquee (older brother), Ollokot (younger brother) and four sisters, most famous chief of the Nez Percé, succeeded his father Tuekakas / Old Chief Joseph as chief of the Wallowa Band (was therefore also called Young Joseph ), led together under the military leadership of his younger brother Ollokot, several non-treaty Nez Percé as well two groups of the Palus (also called Palouse) in the Nez Percé War .
• 'Álok'at ( Ollikut , better known as Ollokot - “frog”, approx. * 1840 - † September 30, 1877 in the Battle of Bear Paw): originally a great advocate for peaceful coexistence, accompanied his father and older brother , Chief Joseph, on the treaty negotiations between the United States and Nez Percé in 1855 and 1863. Is described as tall, graceful, intelligent, fun-loving and at the same time an important hunter and warrior; As war chief of the “non-treaty faction” of the Wallowa (Willewah) Band, he - and not Chief Joseph - was responsible for the strategy, tactics and organization during the war, together with the other military leaders. On the first day of the “Battle of Bear Paw ”on Snake Creek, the last battle with the US Army.
• Himíin maqsmáqs ( Hîmiin maqs maqs ), mostly rendered as He – Mene Mox Mox or Hemene Moxmox - "Yellow Wolf" - hence mostly known as Yellow Wolf , but his true name, common among the Nez Percé, was Heinmot Hihhih - "White Thunder" or "White Lightning", another war name was Pahkar Tamkikeechet or Paxaat Tamkikeechet - "Five Times Looking Through", "Fifteen Lightnings" - "Fifteen Lightning", approx. * 1855 in the Wallowa Valley, Oregon - † approx. August 21, 1935 on the Colville Indian Reservation): Son of Seekumses Kunnin / Sikem Ciicqan (Horse Blanket) and Yiyik Wasumwah (m) (Swans Lighting on Water) , a sister (or cousin of Chief Joseph , his first wife was Pe- Tol-Von-Nan-Ick (called Helen) , his second wife Ayatootonmi (Little Mountain Woman) , had several children and was a famous intrepid warrior of the “non-treaty faction” of the Wallowa Band who fought in the Nez-Percé- war of 1877. could during the Battle of Bear Paw successfully break through with several Nez Perce enemy lines and escape to Canada to the Lakota Sioux, but returned to Idaho back, was arrested and the Indian Territory deported. In 1885 he was allowed along with Another Nez Percé returned north and became part of the twelve associated tribes of the Colville Indian Reservation as Nez Perce of Chief Joseph's Band in the area of ​​what is now the small town of Nespelem .

Pikunan (Pikunin) or Pikhininmu Band

• Tuxúulxulc'ut ( Tuhúulhulc'ut , Too-hul-hul-sote , mostly reproduced as Toohoolhoolzote , transliteration from the Salish Tukulkulcú ᐧ t for "Antelope" or "Red Mountain", approx. * 1820s - † September 30, 1877 in the Battle of Bear Paw): Chief and tooat (medicine man and prophet ) of the “non-treaty faction” Pikunan Band, as a follower of the Waashat religion he first stood up for peace and was elected by the other chiefs as spokesman for the treaty negotiations, surrendered a heated battle of words with General Howard and was then thrown into prison by him (this event was one of the triggers of the Nez Percé War), led in the war together with the other military leaders the warriors while fleeing from the US Army, died during the Battle of Bear Paw.

other known warriors

• Wottolen (“Hair Combed Over Eyes”): grandson of the famous chief Xáxaac 'ilp'ilp / Hohots Ilppilp (“Red (Grizzly) Bear”) and father of the warrior and scouts on the side of the US Army 'Ilexni' éewteesin '/ Ehlexni Ehtashin (“Many Wounds”) , extremely famous warrior and tooat (medicine man and prophet); in a vision he saw Snake Creek stained red by the blood of US soldiers and Nez-Percé, but his dream was not taken seriously as some warriors had seen no signs of soldiers during a scouting ride the day before, even several war leaders like that Looking Glass felt safe in the region. The next day, the Nez-Percé were attacked unexpectedly and killed many people. Wottolen was wounded at Camas Meadows and refused to surrender to Chief Joseph at Bear's Paw, so he decided to flee to Canada, where he and several other Nez-Percé find refuge in a Sioux village owned by Sitting Bull.
• Pahkatos Owyeen (“Five Wounds”, hence known as Five Wounds in English ): son of tooat (medicine man and prophet) and extremely famous warrior Wottolen . Accompanied his father in the war and became one of the most famous Nez Percé warriors, wounded in the Battle of the Clearwater and killed in the Battle of the Big Hole.
• 'Ilexni' éewteesin ' ( Ehlexni Ehtashin - “Many Wounds”, therefore mostly known as Many Wounds , later Sam Lott ): Son of tooat (medicine man and prophet) Wottolen (“Hair Combed Over Eyes”) , inherited and took over the war name of his Great-grandfather of Xáxaac 'ilp'ilp / Hohots Ilppilp (“Red (Grizzly) Bear”) or "Bloody Chief", famous for his bravery .
• Wewúkye wasa'aw (no translation known, also Lean Elk - “Slim Elk”, his birth name was Joe Hale , other nicknames were Little Tobacco , Hototo and Nez Perces Joe ; but best known as Poker Joe , * approx. 18 ?? - † 1877): Warrior and sub-chief of French Canadian and Nez Perce origins, was elected supreme military leader and scout after the loss-making Battle of the Big Hole (and the recall of Looking Glass ), was chosen for a Cheyenne or Lakota -Scout and was accidentally killed by a Nez Percé in the Battle of Bear Paw in Montana.

Bands of the Nez Percé

The Nez Percé were organized in bands (groups) . These consisted of several settlements and were mostly named after the largest or politically and culturally most influential settlement. When more and more settlers penetrated into the territory of the Nez Percé in the early 19th century, they had organized themselves into four large regional groups to better defend themselves against hostile Plains and Great Basin tribes and to organize the annual bison hunt in enemy territory: The bands along the Clearwater River (Koos-Koos-Kai-Kai) ('clear water'), which had their center in the area of ​​today's Kamiah in the Kamiah Valley, the large bands south around today's Lapwai, others along the Lower Snake River and more isolated Salmon - Wallowa River areas . In addition to Kamiah and Lapwai, other authors also name the confluence of the Grand Ronde River and Snake River and the Alpoway region south of today's cities of Lewiston and Clarkston along the Snake River as centers.

The individual settlements of a band sent stewards to a tribal council, which bore political responsibility. Members of the band emerging through persuasiveness, prestige, prosperity and the luck of the war represented the political interests of the band as chiefs ( band leaders ) to outsiders. The four large groups mentioned, however, had no common political organization or leadership; nor did the Nez Percé recognize a chief .

Since the immigrant settlers were looking for a single contact person for each band, they named a band after their most famous leader, without taking into account the Indian names after place names, mythical or historical events. Examples are: White Bird's band (actually: Lamtáma (Lamátta) Band), Joseph's band (actually: Wallowa Band), Looking Glass' band (actually: non-treaty Alpowna (Alpowai) Band) or Timothy's band (actually: treaty Alpowna (Alpowai) Band) etc.

Almotipu band

Their tribal areas were in the northern border area of ​​Oregon and Idaho along the Snake River in Hells Canyon (deepest canyon in North America, deeper than the Grand Canyon ) to about 130 km (80 miles) south of today's Lewiston (Simiinekem) (" Confluence of two Rivers ", as the Clearwater flows into the Snake River here ), in the Wallowa Mountains and in the Seven Devils Mountains . Their fishing and hunting grounds were also used by the Pelloatpallah Band (the "Palus (actual) Palus Band" and "Wawawai Band" of the Upper Palus (Palouse) ), who live in the west and are bilingual Palus-Nez-Percé due to many mixed marriages Bands formed.

several smaller bands, mostly named after settlements or rivers, are counted among them:

• the Nuksiwepu Band
• the Palótpu Band (their village Palót - about 2 to 3 miles above Sáhatp - was on the north bank of the Snake River)
• the Pinewewewixpu (Pinăwăwipu) band (their village Pinăwăwi was on Penawawa Creek)
• the Sahatpu (Sáhatpu) Band (their village Sáhatp was on the north bank of the Snake River, above Wawáwih )
• the Siminekempu (Shimínĕkĕmpu) band (their village Shimínĕkĕm - "confluence" or "river fork" - was in the area of ​​today's Lewiston)
• the Tokalatoinu (Tukálatuinu) Band (along the Tucannon River (Took-kahl-la-toin) , a tributary of the Snake River)
• the Wawawipu Band (their village Wawáwih was on Wawawai Creek, a tributary of the Snake River).

Alpowna (Alpowai) ("People of Alpaha (Alpowa) Creek") or Alpowe'ma (Alpoweyma / Alpowamino) Band ("People of 'Al'pawaii, i.e. Clarkston, Washington ")

Their tribal areas lay in east Washington and in the Idaho Panhandle along the South and Middle Fork of the Clearwater River downriver to south of today's city of Lewiston; they were also often found east of the Bitterroot Mountains and along the Yellowstone River in Montana. Their main meeting place and one of the most important fishing grounds was the area of ​​today's Kooskia (Leewikees) . Their fishing and hunting grounds were also used by the Wawawai Band of the Upper Palus (Palouse) , who lived directly to the west and formed a bilingual Palus-Nez-Percé band due to many mixed marriages . They were the third largest Nez Percé band . Their tribal area was one of the four centers for the large regional groups of the Nez Percé.

several smaller bands, mostly named after settlements or rivers, are counted among them:

• the Alpowa Band (the largest and most important, along Alpaha (Alpowa) Creek, a small tributary of the Clearwater), west of Clarkston, Washington ( 'Al'pawawaii = "place of a plant called Ahl-pa-ha ")
• the Tsokolaikiinma Band (between Lewiston and Alpowa Creek)
• the Hasotino (Hăsotōinu) Band (their settlement Hasutin / Hăsotōin was an important fishing ground on Asotin Creek ( Héesutine - "Eel River") on the Snake River in Nez Perce County , Idaho, directly opposite the present-day city of Asotin in the county of the same name , Washington)

• the Heswéiwewipu / Hăsweiwăwihpu local group (their village Hăsweiwăwih was also opposite Asotin, along a small stream, the upper reaches of which was called Heswé / Hăsiwĕ )
• the Anatōinnu local group (their village Ánatōin was at the confluence of Mill Creek in Snake River)

• the Sapachesap band
• the Witkispu Band (about 5 km (3 miles) below Alpowa Creek, along the east bank of the Snake River)
• the Sálwepu Band (at the Middle Fork of the Clearwater River, about 8 km (5 miles) above today's Kooskia, Idaho)

Assuti Band ("People of Assuti Creek")

They lived along the Assuti Creek of the same name in Idaho, joining Joseph in the war in 1877.

Atskaaiwawipu (Asahkaiowaipu) Band ("People at the confluence / mouth of the river, i.e. from Ahsahka ")

Their tribal areas in northwest Idaho stretched from their winter settlement Ahsahka / 'Asaqa ("estuary" or "confluence") to the Salmon River Mountains along the Northern Fork to its confluence with the Clearwater River; In addition, they sometimes hunted near Peck in the territory of the Painima Band , their main meeting place and an important fishing ground was Bruce Eddy in Clearwater County , but this could be shared at the invitation of neighboring bands: the Tewepu Band (who were close relatives), the Ilasotino ( Hasotino) Band , the Nipihama (Nipĕhĕmă) Band , the Alpowna (Alpowai) Band and the Matalaimo (“people further upstream”, a collective term for bands that had their center around Kamiah).

Hatweme (Hatwēme) Band or Hatwai (Héetwey) Band ("People of Hatweh Creek")

They lived along Hatweh Creek, a tributary of the Clearwater River, about four to five miles east of Lewiston.

Hinsepu band

They lived near what is now Hansen's Ferry along the Grande Ronde River in Oregon.

Kămiăhpu (Kimmooenim) Band ("People of Kămiăhp", "People from the place of many nets / horse-knit throws, i.e. from Kamiah")

Their tribal area was in the Kamiah Valley in northern Idaho, named after their main village, Kămiăhp ("many nets (fishing)" and "many horse ropes (horse breeding)") on the south bank of the Clearwater River and the confluence of Lawyer Creek near present-day Kamiah has been. They also used the important fishing grounds with Bruce Eddy of the closely related neighboring Atskaaiwawipu (Asahkaiowaipu) band , who referred to all bands around Kamiah as Matalaimo ("people further upriver"). Other Nez Perce bands often used the collective name Uyame or Uyămă . Their tribal area was one of the four centers for the large regional groups of the Nez Percé.

several smaller bands, mostly named after settlements or rivers, are counted among them:

• the Kămiăhpu (Kimmooenim) Band (was the largest and most important band in the Kamiah Valley)
• the Tewepu Band (at the confluence of Orofino Creek and Clearwater River at the location of the town of Orofino (Téewe) )
• the Tuke'liklikespu (Tukē'lĭklĭkespu) band (near Big Eddy on the north bank of the Clearwater River, a few miles upstream from Orofino)
• the Pipu'inimu Band (at Big Canyon Creek in the Camas Prairie, which flows north of today's Peck into the Clearwater River; they were therefore direct neighbors of the southern Painima Band )
• the Painima Band (near present-day Peck (Pipyuuninma) on the Clearwater River in Nez Perce County )

Kannah (Kam'nakka) Band ("People of Kannah (on the Clearwater River)")

They lived near what is now the city of the same name on the Clearwater River in Idaho.

Lamtáma (Lamátta) Band or Lamatama Band ("People in an area with little snow, i.e. in the Lamtáma (Lamátta) area")

Their tribal area lay between the territories of the Alpowai Band in the north and downstream in the northwest of the Pikunan (Pikunin) Band and extended in the north of the Idaho Panhandle along the Upper Salmon River and one of its tributaries, the White Bird Creek, to the Snake River and the Clearwater Mountains in the southwest, as well as the eponymous White Bird Canyon (Lamtáma / Lamátta) ("area with little snow") and the Camas Prairie . The band name and the entire tribal area as Lamtáma (Lamátta) ("area with little snow") refers to the excellent climatic conditions, which were particularly suitable for horse breeding . They were the second largest Nez Percé band.

several smaller bands, mostly named after settlements or rivers, are counted among them:

• the Lamtáma (Lamátta) Band (was the largest and most important and inhabited the eponymous White Bird Canyon)
• the Esnime (Iyăsnimă) Band (along Slate Creek (Iyeesnime) and Upper Salmon Rivers)
• the Nipihama (Nipĕhĕmă) Band (from the Lower Salmon River to the White Bird Creek)
• the Tamanmu Band (their settlement Tamanma was at the mouth of the Salmon River (Naco'x kuus) (" King Salmon Water"))

Lapwai (Lapwēme) Band ("People from the place of butterflies, ie from Lapwai")

Their tribal areas stretched in northwest Idaho along the Sweetwater Creek and Lapwai Creeks up to its confluence with the Clearwater River at today's Spalding . One of their traditional settlements (as well as an important meeting place for neighboring bands) was on the site of today's Lapwai (Thlap-Thlap / Léepwey) ("Place of the Butterflies "), the tribal and administrative center of the Nez Percé Tribe of Idaho. Their tribal area was one of the four centers for the large regional groups of the Nez Percé.

Mákapu Band ("People of Máka / Maaqa along Cottonwood Creek (formerly: Maka Creek"))

Your village of Máka / Maaqa was on Cottonwood Creek (formerly: Maka Creek) in Nez Perce County , a tributary of the Clearwater River, Idaho.

Pikunan (Pikunin) Band or Pikhininmu Band ("People of the Snake River")

Their tribal area comprised the vast mountain wilderness between the Snake River in the south and the Lower Salmon River in the north up to its confluence with the Snake River, were direct neighbors of the Wallowa (Willewah) Band on the opposite bank of the Snake River in the west and that further southeast of them living Lamtáma (Lamátta) band . They could be classified as buffalo hunters, but they were also true mountain dwellers, sometimes referred to as the Snake River tribe .

Saiksaikinpu band

They lived along the upper reaches of the South Forks Clearwater River; their immediate neighbor downstream was the Tukpame Band .

Saxsano band

They lived about 6 km (4 miles) above what is now Asotin City, Washington, along the east bank of the Snake River.

Taksehepu Band ("People of Tukeespe / Tu-kehs-pa APS, i.e. from Agatha")

They lived near what is now the ghost town of Agatha ( tukeespe / tu-kehs-pa APS ) on the north bank of the Clearwater River, a few miles east of Big Eddy.

Tukpame ribbon

They lived along the lower reaches of the South Fork Clearwater River; their immediate neighbor upstream was the Saiksaikinpu Band .

Wallowa (Willewah) Band ("People of the Grand Ronde River") or Walwáma (Walwáama) Band ("People of the Wallowa River")

Their tribal areas were in northeast Oregon, northwest Idaho and south Washington, the river valleys of the Imnaha River, the Minam River and the Wallowa River ( Wal'awa - "the meandering river") were their tribal center. However, their territory extended to the Blue Mountains (already claimed by the Cayuse) in the west, into the Wallowa Mountains (Wal'wáamaxs) in the southwest, in the north and northwest both banks of the Grand Ronde River (Waliwa / Willewah) and its confluence with the Snake River and in the east almost to the Snake River. The area was widely known as a well-known grazing area for large herds of horses and was therefore often used by the neighboring and related Weyiiletpuu (Wailetpu) band (the Cayuse who were also great horse breeders). From other Nez Percé bands they were often summarized under the collective name Kămúinnu or Qéemuynu ("People of the Quamash or Indian Hemp"), at the same time they were the largest Nez Percé band . Their tribal area was one of the four centers for the large regional groups of the Nez Percé; now largely part of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation in Washington.

Several smaller bands, mostly named after settlements or rivers, are counted among them:

• the Wallowa (Willewah) Band (largest and most important band with several local groups in the Wallowa River Valley and the Zumwalt Prairie)
• the Imnáma (Imnámma) Band (lived in isolation with several local groups in the Imnaha River Valley)
• the Weliwe (Wewi'me) Band (their settlement Williwewix was at the mouth of the Grande Ronde River)
• the Inantoinu Band (in Joseph Canyon (Saqánma) ("long, wild canyon") and along the Lower Joseph Creek to its confluence with the Grande Ronde River)
• the Toiknimapu Band (above Joseph Creek and along the north bank of the Grande Ronde River),
• the Isäwisnemepu (Isawisnemepu) band (near today's Zindel, on the Grande Ronde River in Oregon)
• the Sakánma Band (several local groups along the Snake River between the mouth of the Salmon River in the south and the Grande Ronde River in the north, the name of their main village Sakán refers to an area where the cliffs protrude close to the water - this could be the Joseph Canyon ( Saqánma ).

Yakama (Yăkámă) Band ("People of the Yăká River, i.e. the Potlatch River (above its confluence with the Clearwater River)")

Their tribal territory stretched along the Potlatch River (which was called Yăká above its confluence with the Clearwater River ) in Idaho; they must not be confused with the linguistically and culturally related Yakama peoples .

several smaller bands, mostly named after settlements or rivers, are counted among them:

• the Yakto'inu (Yaktōinu) Band (their village Yaktōin was at the mouth of the Potlatch River in the Clearwater River)
• the Yatóinu Band (lived along Pine Creek, a small right tributary of the Potlatch River)
• the Iwatoinu (Iwatōinu) Band (their village Iwatōin was on the north bank of the Potlatch River near today's Kendrick in Latah County )
• the Tunèhepu (Tunĕhĕpu) Band (their village Tunĕhĕ was at the mouth of the Middle Potlatch Creek in the Potlatch River, near Juliaetta (Yeqe) ).

In the past, the following bands were also counted among the Nez Percé, which today are regarded as linguistically and culturally and due to many mixed marriages as closely related, but separate ethnic groups :

Walla Walla Band

This is the Walla Walla , which along the Walla Walla River ("many waters") and at the confluence of the Snake and Columbia River Rivers had their fishing, planting and hunting grounds; today they are largely part of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) as well as some of the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation .

Pelloatpallah Band or Palous Band

This actually only referred to the Palus (actual Palus) Band and Wawawai Band of the Upper Palus Band - together with the Middle Palus and Lower Palus they formed one of the three regional tribal groups of the Palus (Palouse) , which their tribal areas along the Columbia, Snake and Palouse River in the northwest of the Nez Percé. Today the majority are part of the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation , and a minority are part of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation .

Weyiiletpuu (Wailetpu) band ( "The people of ryegrass ") or Yeletpo band

This refers to the Cayuse , who had adopted the dialect of the Lower Nez Percé and therefore introduced themselves to outsiders under their Nez-Percé name as Weyiiletpuu . They lived in the west of the Nez Percé along the upper reaches of the Walla Walla River, Umatilla River and Grande Ronde River and from the Blue Mountains westward to the Deschutes River in Washington and Oregon; now part of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) .

See also

• United States Indian Policy
• List of North American Indian tribes

literature

• Werner J. Egli : When the fires went out. The fall of the Nez Percé Indians. Novel. Bertelsmann, Munich 1977, ISBN 3-570-00025-7 .
• Elmar Engel: Chief Joseph, chief of the Nez Percé (= Lamuv-Taschenbuch. 235). Lamuv, Göttingen 1998, ISBN 3-88977-505-5 .
• Steven Ross Evans: Voice of the Old Wolf. Lucullus Virgil McWhorter and the Nez Perce Indians. Washington State University Press, Pullman WA 1996, ISBN 0-87422-129-3 .
• Jerome A. Greene: Nez Perce Summer, 1877. The US Army and the Nee-Me-Poo Crisis. Montana Historical Society Press, Helena MT 2000, ISBN 0-917298-68-3 .
• Will Henry : From Where the Sun now stands. Bantam Books, New York NY 1976, ISBN 0-553-02581-3 .
• Theodore Mathieson: The Nez Percé Indian War. Monarch, Derby CT 1964.
• Robert H. Ruby, John A. Brown: A Guide to the Indian Tribes of the Pacific Northwest (= The Civilization of the American Indian Series . 173). Revised edition. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman OK et al. a. 1992, ISBN 0-8061-1967-5 , pp. 144-149.
• William C. Sturtevant (Ed.): Handbook of North American Indians . Volume 12: Deward E. Walker Jr. (Ed.): Plateau. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington DC et al. a. 1998, ISBN 0-16-049514-8 .
• John R. Swanton : The Indian Tribes of North America (= Smithsonian Institution. Bureau of American Ethnology. Bulletin. 145, ZDB -ID 799398-5 ). Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington DC et al. a. 1969.
• Elliott West : The Last Indian War: The Nez Perce Story. Oxford University Press, New York 2011, ISBN 978-0-1997-6918-6 .

• The television film I will never fight again (original title: I Will Fight No More Forever ) from 1975, which, according to its own judgment, follows an authentic script.

Web links

Commons : Nez Percé  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Official website
• US Department of the Interior or National Park Service Nez Perce Museum Collections
• Spalding Site
• Nez Perce National Historical Park

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Ruby and Brown (p. 144) cite flat nose .
2. ↑ http://www.nezperce.org/
3. ↑ it is estimated that the population was made up roughly as follows: combat-capable men / warriors (25 percent), women (35 percent) and children (40 percent)
4. ↑ History of Celilo Falls (suh-LIE-low)
5. ↑ Center for theStudy of Migrant and Indian Education YAKIMA INDIAN NATION
6. ^ Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission - YAKAMA - UMATILLA - WARM SPRINGS - NEZ PERCE
7. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from January 7, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Nez Perce Tribe Information Systems: information by the Nez Perce language department and the cultural department department 
8. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from January 7, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Nez Perce Tribe Information Systems Department: information by the Nez Perce language department and the cultural department 
9. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from January 7, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Nez Perce Tribe Information Systems Department: information by the Nez Perce language department and the cultural department 
10. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from January 7, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Nez Perce Tribe Information Systems: information by the Nez Perce language department and the cultural department department 
11. ^ William C. Sturtevant: Plateau: Handbook of North American Indians: 12 . Govt Printing Office, 1999, ISBN 978-0-16-049514-4 .
12. ↑ Candy Vyvey Moulton: Chief Joseph: Guardian of the People . Forge, 2005, ISBN 978-0-7653-1063-7 .
13. ↑ Weis Rockshelter
14. ↑ Lenore
15. ↑ Buffalo Eddy
16. ↑ Nimipuutimt (Volume 3) - Name Places (PDF)
17. ↑ Lolo Trail
18. ^ Missionaries Come to Nez Perce Country, Nez Perce National Historic Park, Spalding site
19. ^ Asa Smith Mission and Lewis and Clark Long Camp sites
20. ↑ His grave site, the Old Chief Joseph Gravesite , is now under protection.
21. ↑ In the fort, an Indian school was later built , from which a tuberculosis sanatorium, a hospital, bedrooms for boys and girls and a school were built.
22. ^ For example, on July 4, 1877 at the Cottonwood Skirmishes Site , on July 12 at the Clearwater Battlefield .
23. ↑ Robert H. Ruby, John Arthur Brown: A guide to the Indian tribes of the Pacific Northwest , page 148. ISBN 0-8061-2479-2 (English, limited preview in Google Book Search queried on June 16, 2010)
24. ^ Ruby / Brown, p. 146.
25. ↑ Sean Reichard: Crow Tribe Wants to Join Tribal Hunts of Yellowstone Bison. Article on yellowstoneinsider.com, February 16, 2018, accessed February 18, 2020.
26. ↑ the names of the chiefs and warriors were changed or updated as follows: first the indigenous name, second the usual English transcription, third (if known) the translation / interpretation of the name and sometimes fourth or third the name by which the person is best known is as well as additional names by which these were known
27. ↑ Nimipuutímt Volume 1 - Niimiipuu Chiefs, Warriors and Women (PDF)
28. ^ Treaty Trail
29. ↑ in a vision a bloodstained grizzly appeared to him, who prophesied to him to become a great warrior and chief and to prove himself through dozens of wars and to bear many wounds as evidence of it, but not to die
30. ^ Robert R. McCoy: Chief Joseph, Yellow Wolf and the Creation of Nez Perce History in the Pacific Northwest (Indigenous Peoples and Politics), Publisher: Routledge Chapman & Hall (March 2004), ISBN 978-0-415-94889-0
31. ^ Alvin M. Josephy, Jr .: The Nez Perce Indians and the Opening of the Northwest , Mariner Books, November 5, 1997, ISBN 978-0-395-85011-4
32. ↑ The Nez Percé warriors all had at least two names, some even more (including a name inherited from a famous previous year, a nickname, a war name or a proper name adopted on the basis of a vision). Often they had different names as children than later as men or warriors. Yellow Wolf didn't want to talk about his childhood names because he kept focus on his adult life. But when he talked about her, he revealed that you changed names until you found a name that suited you. Yellow Wolf admitted that he was known by two names and "Yellow Wolf" was not his preferred one - but was mostly so well known among whites. This name arose from his search for a vision as a 13-year-old boy: "It was a spirit of a wolf that appeared to me. Yellow as the color, it floated, so to speak, in the air. Like a human being, he spoke to me and gave me his power .. So I was called "Yellow Wolf" . It was colored yellow and gave me the power of the wolf ". The "Yellow Wolf" was the Weyekin ( " guardian spirit ") for him. "The whites call me Yellow Wolf , but I take that as a nickname . My real name is different, after the spirit who promised me his power as a warrior. I'm Heinmot Hihhih , which means" white thunder "(or "White lightning") means. Yellow Wolf is not my chosen name ".
33. ↑ The nickname Poker Joe got from his obsession with gambling and poker
34. ↑ Idaho State Historical Society Reference Series - Lawyer and the 1863 Nez Perce Treaty ( Memento of the original of June 24, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF) 
35. ^ William C. Sturtevant: Handbook of North American Indians, v. 12, Plateau, Volume 8, Government Printing Office, 1978, ISBN 0-16-049514-8 , 800 pages
36. ↑ According to tradition, the name of the Kamiah Valley is derived from the fact that many nets and ropes were made in this area for catching rainbow trout and the first Appaloosa were bred here
37. ↑ In English, therefore, often simply as Slate Creek band and Upper Salmon River Indians designated
38. ^ Website of the Wallowa Band Nez Perce Trail Interpretive Center
39. ↑ Wallowa Valley, Oregon, to Kooskia, Idaho - Discover the Nez Perce Trail (PDF)
40. ↑ Thomas E. Churchill: Inner Bark Utilization: A Nez Perce Example. (PDF) Oregon State University, Commencement June 1984
41. ^ The North American Indian. Volume 8 - The Nez Perces. Wallawalla. Umatilla. Cayuse. The Chinookan tribes, Publisher: Classic Books Company, ISBN 978-0-7426-9808-6 , pages 158 to 160 (as a source for the grouping of the smaller bands into regional bands and their individual villages)
42. ↑ With maps and references, which also serve as a bibliography, around 70 titles, illustrations by protagonists.
43. ↑ Fundamental to the history of the Nez Perce between the 1880s and the 1940s.

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This article is based on the article Nez Percé ( memento of July 1, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) from the free encyclopedia Indianer Wiki ( memento of March 18, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) and is under Creative Commons by-sa 3.0 . A list of the authors was available in the Indian Wiki ( Memento from July 1, 2007 in the Internet Archive ).