Editing Nez Perce (section)

== Culture ==
[[File:Nez Perce beaded shirt.jpg|thumb|A traditional Nez Perce beaded shirt]]

The semi-sedentary Nez Percés were [[Hunter-gatherer]]s, living in a society in which most or all food is obtained by [[foraging]] (collecting wild plants and roots and pursuing wild animals). They depended on hunting, fishing, and the gathering of wild roots and berries.

Nez Perce people historically depended on various [[Oncorhynchus|Pacific salmon and Pacific trout]] for their food: [[Chinook salmon]] or "''nacoox''" ([[Oncorhynchus tschawytscha]]) were eaten the most, but other species such as [[Pacific lamprey]] (Entosphenus tridentatus or Lampetra tridentata), and [[chiselmouth]] were eaten too.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Landeen |first1=Dan |last2=Pinkham |first2=Allen |year=1999 |title=Salmon and His People: Fish & Fishing in Nez Perce Culture |location=Lewiston, Idaho |publisher=Confluence Press |page=1 |isbn=1881090329 |oclc=41433913}}</ref> Other important fishes included the [[Sockeye salmon]] ([[Oncorhynchus nerka]]), [[Coho salmon|Silver salmon]] or ''ka'llay'' ([[Oncorhynchus kisutch]]), [[Chum salmon|Chum salmon or dog salmon]] or ''ka'llay'' ([[Oncorhynchus keta]]), [[Mountain whitefish]] or "''ci'mey''" ([[Prosopium williamsoni]]), [[White sturgeon]] ([[Acipenser transmontanus]]), [[White sucker]] or "''mu'quc''" ([[Catostomus commersonii]]), and varieties of trout – [[Rainbow trout|West Coast steelhead]] or "''heyey''" ([[Oncorhynchus mykiss]]), [[brook trout]] or "''pi'ckatyo''" ([[Salvelinus fontinalis]]), [[bull trout]] or "''i'slam''" ([[Salvelinus confluentus]]), and [[Cutthroat trout]] or "''wawa'lam''" ([[Oncorhynchus clarkii]]).<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.nps.gov/nepe/learn/nature/fish.htm| title = Nez Perce National Historical Park (Source for Nez Perce names for Fishes, Animals and Plants}}</ref>

Prior to contact with Europeans, the Nez Perce's traditional hunting and fishing areas spanned from the [[Cascade Range]] in the west to the [[Bitterroot Mountains]] in the east.<ref>Landeen (1999), ''Salmon and His People'', p. 92</ref>

Historically, in late May and early June, Nez Perce villagers crowded to communal fishing sites to trap eels, steelhead, and chinook salmon, or haul in fish with large dip nets. Fishing took place throughout the summer and fall, first on the lower streams and then on the higher tributaries, and catches also included salmon, sturgeon, whitefish, suckers, and varieties of trout. Most of the supplies for winter use came from a second run in the fall, when large numbers of Sockeye salmon, silver, and dog salmon appeared in the rivers.

Fishing is traditionally an important ceremonial and commercial activity for the Nez Perce tribe. Today Nez Perce fishers participate in tribal fisheries in the mainstream Columbia River between [[Bonneville Dam|Bonneville]] and [[McNary Dam|McNary]] dams. The Nez Perce also fish for spring and summer Chinook salmon and Rainbow trout/steelhead in the [[Snake River]] and its tributaries. The Nez Perce tribe runs the Nez Perce Tribal Hatchery on the Clearwater River, as well as several satellite hatchery programs. 
[[File:Nez.Perce.Camp.Lapwai.1899.jpg|thumb|left|Nez Perce encampment, Lapwai, Idaho, ca. 1899]]

The first fishing of the season was accompanied by prescribed rituals and a ceremonial feast known as "''kooyit''". Thanksgiving was offered to the Creator and to the fish for having returned and given themselves to the people as food. In this way, it was hoped that the fish would return the next year.

Like salmon, plants contributed to traditional Nez Perce culture in both material and spiritual dimensions.<ref name="NPS">{{citation-attribution|1={{cite web|title=Plants – Nez Perce National Historical Park|url=https://home.nps.gov/nepe/learn/nature/plants.htm|publisher=U.S. National Park Service|language=en}} }}</ref>

Aside from fish and game, Plant foods provided over half of the dietary calories, with winter survival depending largely on dried roots, especially [[Kouse root|Kouse]], or "''qáamsit''" (when fresh) and "''qáaws''" (when peeled and dried) ([[Lomatium]] especially [[Lomatium cous]]), and [[Camassia|Camas]], or "''[[qém'es]]''" (Nez Perce: "sweet") ([[Camassia quamash]]), the first being roasted in pits, while the other was ground in mortars and molded into cakes for future use, both plants had been traditionally an important food and trade item.<ref name="NPS"/> Women were primarily responsible for the gathering and preparing of these root crops. Camas bulbs were gathered in the region between the [[Salmon River (Idaho)|Salmon]] and [[Clearwater River (Idaho)|Clearwater river]] drainages.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Kephart|first1=Susan|title=Camas|url=http://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/camas/#.VwG03sefXiU|website=The Oregon Encyclopedia|access-date=April 4, 2016}}</ref> Techniques for preparing and storing winter foods enabled people to survive times of colder winters with little or no fresh foods.<ref name="NPS"/>

Favorite fruits dried for winter were [[Amelanchier|serviceberries]] or "''kel''" ([[Amelanchier alnifolia]] or [[Saskatoon berry]]), [[Black huckleberry|black huckleberries]] or "''cemi'tk''" ([[Vaccinium membranaceum]]), [[Sambucus|red elderberries]] or "''mi'ttip''" ([[Sambucus racemosa|Sambucus racemosa var. melanocarpa]]), and [[chokecherries]] or "''ti'ms''" ([[Prunus virginiana|Prunus virginiana var. melanocarpa]]). Nez Perce textiles were made primarily from [[dogbane]] or "''qeemu''" ([[Apocynum cannabinum]] or [[Indian hemp]]), [[tule]]s or "''to'ko''" ([[Schoenoplectus acutus|Schoenoplectus acutus var. acutus]]), and [[western redcedar]] or "''tala'tat''" ([[Thuja plicata]]). The most important industrial woods were redcedar, [[ponderosa pine]] or "''la'qa''" ([[Pinus ponderosa]]), [[Douglas fir]] or "''pa'ps''" ([[Pseudotsuga menziesii]]), [[Willow|sandbar willow]] or "''tax's''" ([[Salix exigua]]), and hard woods such as [[Yew|Pacific yew]] or "''ta'mqay''" ([[Taxus brevifolia]]) and syringa or "''sise'qiy''" ([[Philadelphus lewisii]] or [[Indian arrowwood]]).<ref name="NPS"/>

Many fishes and plants important to Nez Perce culture are today state symbols: the black huckleberry or "''cemi'tk''" is the [[List of U.S. state foods|official state fruit]] and the Indian arrowwood or "''sise'qiy''", the Douglas fir or "''pa'ps''" is the [[List of U.S. state trees|state tree]] of Oregon and the ponderosa pine or "''la'qa''" of Montana, the Chinook salmon is the [[List of U.S. state fish|state fish]] of Oregon, the cutthroat trout or "''wawa'lam''" of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, and the West Coast steelhead or "heyey" of Washington.
[[File:HeartOfTheMonsterByPhilKonstantin.jpg|thumb|"The [[Heart of the Monster]]", described in the Nez Perce origin story]]
 
The Nez Perce believed in spirits called ''[[weyekin]]s'' (Wie-a-kins) which would, they thought, offer a link to the invisible world of spiritual power".<ref name="newberry">{{Cite book|title=Lewis & Clark and the Indian Country: the Native American Perspective|year=2007|first1=Frederick E.|last1=Hoxie|first2=Jay T.|last2=Nelson|pages=[https://archive.org/details/lewisclarkindian00fred/page/66 66–67]|publisher=University of Illinois Press|location=Urbana, Illinois|isbn=978-0252074851|oclc=132681406|url=https://archive.org/details/lewisclarkindian00fred/page/66}}</ref> The weyekin would protect one from harm and become a personal guardian spirit. To receive a weyekin, a seeker would go to the mountains alone on a vision quest. This included fasting and meditation over several days. While on the quest, the individual may receive a vision of a spirit, which would take the form of a mammal or bird. This vision could appear physically or in a dream or trance. The weyekin was to bestow the animal's powers on its bearer—for example; a deer might give its bearer swiftness. A person's weyekin was very personal. It was rarely shared with anyone and was contemplated in private. The weyekin stayed with the person until death.

[[Helen Hunt Jackson]], author of "[[A Century of Dishonor]]", written in 1881 refers to the Nez Perce as "the richest, noblest, and most gentle" of Indian peoples as well as the most industrious.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qRmSCwAAQBAJ |title=A Century of Dishonor|last=Jackson|first=Helen Hunt|date=January 1, 2001|publisher=Digital Scanning Inc|isbn=9781582182896|language=en}}</ref>

The museum at the [[Nez Perce National Historical Park]], headquartered in [[Spalding, Idaho]], and managed by the [[National Park Service]], includes a research center, archives, and library. Historical records are available for on-site study and interpretation of Nez Perce history and culture.<ref name="percepark">{{cite web|publisher=Nez Perce National Historic Park|title= Research Center |url=http://www.nps.gov/nepe/historyculture/research-center.htm|access-date=April 14, 2012}}</ref> The park includes 38 sites associated with the Nez Perce in the states of Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington, many of which are managed by local and state agencies.<ref name="percepark"/>