Editing Nez Perce

{{Short description|Indigenous peoples of North America}}
{{Other uses|Nez Perce (disambiguation){{!}}Nez Perce}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group            = Nez Perce Tribe<br /> Nimíipuu
| native_name      = nimíipuu
| image            = No Horn on His Head.jpg
| caption          = No Horn on His Head, a Nez Perce man painted in 1832 by [[George Catlin]]
| native_name_lang = nez
| flag             = 
| flag_caption     = 
| total            = 3,500+
| total_ref        = <ref name="tribe"/>
| total_year       = 
| popplace         = [[United States]] ([[Idaho]])
| rels             = [[Native American Religions#Waashat Religion|Seven Drum (Walasat)]], [[Christianity]]
| langs            = English, nimipuutímt aka [[Nez Perce language|Nez Perce]]
| related          = [[Sahaptin|Sahaptin peoples]]
}}

The '''Nez Perce''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|n|ɛ|z|_|ˈ|p|ɜr|s|,_|ˌ|n|ɛ|s|_|-|audio=LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Nez Perce.wav}}; [[Exonym and endonym|autonym]] in [[Nez Perce language]]: {{lang|nez|'''nimíipuu'''}}, meaning 'we, the people')<ref>Aoki, Haruo. 1994. ''Nez Perce Dictionary''. Berkeley: University of California Press.</ref> are an [[Indigenous people of the Plateau]] who still live on a fraction of the lands on the southeastern [[Columbia River Plateau]] in the [[Pacific Northwest]]. This region has been occupied for at least 11,500 years.<ref name="Ames 1980">Ames, Kenneth and Alan Marshall. 1980. "Villages, Demography and Subsistence Intensification on the Southern Columbia Plateau". ''North American Archaeologist'', 2(1): 25–52."</ref>

Members of the [[Sahaptian languages|Sahaptin language group]],<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.britannica.com/topic/Plateau-Indian#ref931682| title = Map: Distribution of North American Plateau Indians}}</ref> the Nimíipuu were the dominant people of the [[Columbia Plateau]] for much of that time,<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nez-Perce-people| title = Encyclopædia Britannica: Nez Perce People}}</ref> especially after acquiring the horses that led them to breed the [[Appaloosa]] horse in the 18th century.

Prior to first contact with [[European colonial]] people the Nimíipuu were economically and culturally influential in trade and war, interacting with other indigenous nations in a vast network from the western shores of [[Oregon]] and [[Washington (state)|Washington]], the high plains of [[Montana]], and the northern [[Great Basin]] in southern [[Idaho]] and northern [[Nevada]].<ref>Hunn, Eugene and James Selam. 2001. ''Nch’i-wána, 'the Big River': Mid-Columbia Indians and Their Land.'' Seattle: University of Washington Press. p. 4.</ref><ref>"Stern, Theodore. 1998. 'Columbia River Trade Network,' Pp. 641–652 in Handbook of North American Indians: Volume 12, Plateau. Deward E. Walker, Jr., Volume Editor. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution."</ref>

French explorers and trappers indiscriminately used and popularized the name "Nez Percé" for the Nimíipuu and nearby [[Chinookan peoples|Chinook]]. The name translates as "[[Nose piercing|pierced nose]]", but only the Chinook used that form of body modification.<ref name="Slickpoo, Allen P. 1973">Slickpoo, Allen P., Sr. 1973. ''Noon Nee-Me-Poo (We, The Nez Perces): Culture and History of the Nez Perces, Vol. 1''. Lewiston, Idaho: The Nez Percé Tribe of Idaho.</ref>

Cut off from most of their horticultural sites throughout the [[Camas Prairie]]<ref name="Ames 1980"/> by an 1863 treaty (subsequently known as the "Thief Treaty" or "Steal Treaty" among the Nimíipuu),<ref>{{cite web |title=The Treaty Period |url=https://www.nps.gov/nepe/learn/historyculture/the-treaty-era.htm |website=Nez Perce National Historical Park |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=June 9, 2021}}</ref><ref name="Slickpoo, Allen P. 1973"/> confinement to reservations in Idaho, Washington and Oklahoma [[Indian Territory]] after the [[Nez Perce War]] of 1877, and [[Dawes Act of 1887]] land allotments, the Nez Perce remain as a distinct culture and political economic influence within and outside their reservation.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://boiseplanning.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/nezperce.jpg| title = Map: Shrinkage of the Nez Perce lands after 1855}}</ref><ref>Colombi, Benedict. 2005. "Dammed in Region Six: The Nez Perce Tribe, Agricultural Development, and the Inequality of Scale". ''American Indian Quarterly'', 29(3&4): 560–589.</ref><ref name="Colombi, Benedict 2012">Colombi, Benedict. 2012. "Salmon and the Adaptive Capacity of Nimiipuu (Nez Perce) Culture to Cope with Change". ''American Indian Quarterly'', 36(1): 75–97.</ref><ref>Colombi, Benedict. 2012. "The Economics of Dam Building: Nez Perce Tribe and Global-Scale Development". ''American Indian Culture and Research Journal'', 36(1): 123–149.</ref><ref>Hormel, Leontina M. 2016. "Nez Perce Defending Treaty Lands in Northern Idaho". ''Peace Review: A Journal of Social Justice'', 28(1): 76–83.</ref>

As a [[federally recognized tribe]], the '''Nez Perce Tribe of Idaho''' govern their [[Indian reservation|Native reservation]] in [[Idaho]] through a central government headquartered in [[Lapwai, Idaho|Lapwai]] known as the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee (NPTEC).<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.nezperce.org/| title = Nez Perce Tribe official website}}</ref><ref name="Edmunds">R. David Edmunds, "[http://www.americanheritage.com/content/nez-perce-flight-justice The Nez Perce Flight for Justice]", ''American Heritage'', Fall 2008.</ref> They are one of five federally recognized tribes in the state of Idaho. The Nez Perce only own 12% of their own reservation and some Nez Perce lease land to farmers or loggers. Today, hatching, harvesting and eating salmon is an important cultural and economic strength of the Nez Perce through full ownership or co-management of various salmon fish hatcheries, such as the [[Kooskia National Fish Hatchery]] in [[Kooskia, Idaho|Kooskia]] or the [[Dworshak National Fish Hatchery]] in [[Orofino, Idaho|Orofino]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.nptfisheries.org/ |title=Nez Perce Tribe Department of Fisheries & Resources Management |access-date=December 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226202231/http://nptfisheries.org/ |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>Landeen, Dan and Allen Pinkham. 1999. ''Salmon and His People: Fish and Fishing in Nez Perce Culture''. Winchester, Idaho: Confluence Press.</ref><ref name="Nez Perce Tribe 2003">Nez Perce Tribe (2003). ''Treaties: Nez Perce Perspectives''. The Nez Perce Tribe Environmental Restoration & Waste Management Program, in association with the United States Department of Energy. Lewiston, Idaho: Confluence Press.</ref>

Some still speak their traditional language. The Tribe owns and operates two casinos along the [[Clearwater River (Idaho)|Clearwater River]] (in [[Kamiah, Idaho|Kamiah]] and east of [[Lewiston, Idaho|Lewiston]]),<ref name=cactdn>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SrZeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=TjAMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5182%2C1339865 |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |location=(Idaho) |last=Abrams |first=Joan |title=Casino countdown is on |date=August 21, 1996 |page=1A}}</ref><ref name=atcrptt>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=BtfE7wd9KvMC&dat=19980310&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |location=(Idaho) |last=Tuchscherer |first=Tara |title=Nez Perce at a crossroads (part 2) |date=March 10, 1998 |page=1A}}</ref> health clinics, a police force and court, community centers, salmon fisheries, radio station, and other institutions that promote economic and cultural [[self-determination]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nezperce.org/|title=Official Home of the Nez Perce Tribal Web Site|website=www.nezperce.org|access-date=December 20, 2017}}</ref>

== Name and history ==
[[File: Edward S. Curtis Collection People 007.jpg|thumb|Nez Perce baby in cradleboard, 1911]]
Their name for themselves is ''nimíipuu'' (pronounced {{IPA|sal|nimiːpuː|}}), meaning, "we, the people", in their language, part of the [[Sahaptin language|Sahaptin]] family.<ref name="aoki">Aoki, Haruo. ''Nez Perce Dictionary''. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994. {{ISBN|978-0-520-09763-6}}.</ref>

''Nez Percé'' is an [[exonym]] given by [[French Canadian]] [[fur trade]]rs who visited the area regularly in the late 18th&nbsp;century, meaning literally "pierced nose". English-speaking traders and settlers adopted the name in turn. Since the late 20th century, the Nez Perce identify most often as '''Nimíipuu''' in Sahaptin.<ref name=aoki/> This has also been spelled Nee-Me-Poo. The Lakota/Dakota named them the ''Watopala'', or ''Canoe'' people, from ''Watopa''. After Nez Perce became a more common name, they changed it to ''Watopahlute''. This comes from ''pahlute'', nasal passage, and is simply a play on words. If translated literally, it would come out as either "Nasal Passage of the Canoe" (Watopa-pahlute) or "Nasal Passage of the Grass" (Wato-pahlute).<ref>Buechel, Eugene & Manhart S.J., Paul "Lakota Dictionary: Lakota-English / English-Lakota, New Comprehensive Edition" 2002.</ref> The Assiniboine called them ''Pasú oȟnógA wįcaštA'', the Arikara ''sinitčiškataríwiš''.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://zia.aisri.indiana.edu/~dictsearch/cgi-bin/testgetdetailsNP.pl?pass=&hasfont=&database=assin&onelang=&host=zia&key=Assin003942&glossnum=1&srchstring=tribe&sndformat=mp3&nexthit=0&maxhits=20&data=examples| title = AISRI Dictionary}}</ref> The tribe also uses the term "Nez Perce", as does the United States Government in its official dealings with them, and contemporary historians. Older historical [[Ethnology|ethnological]] works and documents use the French spelling of ''Nez Percé'', with the [[diacritic]]. The original French pronunciation is {{IPA|fr|ne pɛʁse|}}, with three syllables.

The interpreters [[Sacagawea]] and [[Toussaint Charbonneau]] of the [[Lewis and Clark Expedition]] mistakenly identified this people as the Nez Perce when the team encountered the tribe in 1805. Writing in 1889, anthropologist [[Alice Fletcher]], who the U.S. government had sent to Idaho to allot the Nez Perce Reservation, explained the mistaken naming. She wrote,

{{blockquote|It is never easy to come at the name of an Indian or even of an Indian tribe. A tribe has always at least two names; one they call themselves by and one by which they are known to other tribes. All the tribes living west of the Rocky Mountains were called "Chupnit-pa-lu", which means people of the pierced noses; it also means emerging from the bushes or forest; the people from the woods. The tribes on the Columbia river used to pierce the nose and wear in it some ornament as you have seen some old fashioned white ladies wear in their ears. Lewis and Clark had with them an interpreter whose [[Sacagawea|wife was a Shoshone or Snake woman]] and so it came about that when it was asked "What Indians are these?" the answer was "They are 'Chupnit-pa-lu{{'"}} and it was written down in the journal; spelled rather queerly, for white people's ears do not always catch Indian tones and of course the Indians could not spell any word.<ref>{{cite web|title=Selections from WITH THE NEZ PERCES Alice Fletcher in the Field, 1889–92 by E. Jane Gay|url=http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/resources/archives/eight/fletcher.htm|website=PBS|access-date=September 20, 2017}}</ref>}}

In his journals, [[William Clark (explorer)|William Clark]] referred to the people as the Chopunnish {{IPAc-en|ˈ|tʃ|oʊ|p|ə|n|ɪ|ʃ}}, a transliteration of a Sahaptin term. According to D.E. Walker in 1998, writing for the [[Smithsonian]], this term is an adaptation of the term ''cú·pŉitpeľu'' (the Nez Perce people). The term is formed from ''cú·pŉit'' (piercing with a pointed object) and ''peľu'' (people).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Walker |first=Deward |title=Plateau |series=[[Handbook of North American Indians]] v. 12 |publisher= [[Smithsonian Institution]] |year=1998 |pages=437–438 |isbn=0-16-049514-8 }}</ref> By contrast, the ''Nez Perce Language Dictionary''<ref>University of California Press, 1994</ref> has a different analysis than did Walker for the term ''cú·pŉitpeľu''. The prefix ''cú''- means "in single file". This prefix, combined with the verb ''-piní'', "to come out (e.g. of forest, bushes, ice)". Finally, with the suffix of ''-pelú'', meaning "people or inhabitants of". Together, these three elements: ''cú''- + -''piní'' + ''pelú'' = ''cú·pŉitpeľu'', or "the People Walking Single File Out of the Forest".<ref>{{cite book|last=Aoki|first=Haruo|title=Nez Perce Dictionary|year=1994|publisher=University of California Press|location=Berkeley|isbn=978-0-520-09763-6|pages=52, 527, 542}}</ref> Nez Perce [[oral tradition]] indicates the name "cú·pŉitpeľu" meant "we walked out of the woods or walked out of the mountains" and referred to the time before the Nez Perce had horses.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/L3/ShowOneObjectSiteID34ObjectID79ExpeditionID.html|title=Since Time Immemorial|work=Lewis & Clark Rediscovery Project|publisher=Nez Perce Tribe|access-date=May 23, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160403104923/http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/L3/ShowOneObjectSiteID34ObjectID79ExpeditionID.html|archive-date=April 3, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Language==
{{main||Nez Perce language}}
The [[Nez Perce language]], or Nimiipuutímt, is a [[Sahaptian languages|Sahaptian]] language related to the several dialects of [[Sahaptin language|Sahaptin]]. The Sahaptian sub-family is one of the branches of the [[Plateau Penutian languages|Plateau Penutian]] family, which in turn may be related to a larger [[Penutian languages|Penutian]] grouping.

== Aboriginal territory ==
[[File:Nezperce01.png|thumb|220px|Original Nez Perce territory (green) and the reduced reservation of 1863 (brown)]]
The Nez Perce territory at the time of Lewis and Clark (1804–1806) was approximately {{convert|17000000|acre|km2}} and covered parts of present-day [[Washington (state)|Washington]], [[Oregon]], [[Montana]], and [[Idaho]], in an area surrounding the [[Snake River|Snake (Weyikespe)]], [[Grande Ronde River]], [[Salmon River (Idaho)|Salmon (Naco’x kuus)]] ("[[Chinook salmon]] Water") and the [[Clearwater River (Idaho)|Clearwater (Koos-Kai-Kai)]] ("Clear Water") rivers. The tribal area extended from the [[Bitterroot Mountains|Bitterroots]] in the east (the door to the Northwestern Plains of Montana) to the [[Blue Mountains (Oregon)|Blue Mountains]] in the west between [[latitude]]s 45°N and 47°N.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Spinden |first=Herbert Joseph |title=Nez Percé Indians |series= Memoirs of the American Anthropological Association, v.2 pt.3 |year=1908 |publisher=American Anthropological Association | oclc = 4760170 |page=172}}</ref>

In 1800, the Nez Perce had more than 70 permanent villages, ranging from 30 to&nbsp;200 individuals, depending on the season and social grouping. Archeologists have identified a total of about 300 related sites including camps and villages, mostly in the Salmon River Canyon. In 1805, the Nez Perce were the largest tribe on the [[Columbia River Plateau]], with a population of about 6,000. By the beginning of the 20th&nbsp;century, the Nez Perce had declined to about 1,800 due to [[epidemics]], conflicts with non-Indians, and other factors.<ref>{{Cite book | last1=Walker | first1=Deward E. Jr. |last2=Jones |first2= Peter N. |title= he Nez Perce |year=1964 |publisher=University of Washington Press |location=Seattle |url=http://content.lib.washington.edu/aipnw/walker.html}}</ref> The tribe reports having more than 3,500 members in 2021.<ref name="tribe">{{Cite web|title=Nez Perce Tribe|url=https://nezperce.org/|access-date=April 23, 2021|language=en}}</ref>

Like other [[Indigenous peoples of the Plateau|Plateau tribes]], the Nez Perce had seasonal villages and camps to take advantage of natural resources throughout the year. Their migration followed a recurring pattern from permanent winter villages through several temporary camps, nearly always returning to the same locations each year. The Nez Perce traveled via the [[Lolo Pass (Idaho–Montana)|Lolo Trail (Salish: Naptnišaqs – "Nez Perce Trail")]] (Khoo-say-ne-ise-kit) as far east as the [[Great Plains|Plains (Khoo-sayn / Kuseyn)]] ("Buffalo country") of [[Montana]] to hunt [[American Bison|buffalo (Qoq'a lx)]] and as far west as the [[West Coast of the United States|Pacific Coast (’Eteyekuus)]] ("Big Water"). Before the 1957 construction of [[The Dalles Dam]], which flooded this area, [[Celilo Falls|Celilo Falls (Silayloo)]] was a favored location on the [[Columbia River|Columbia River (Xuyelp)]] ("The Great River") for [[salmon|salmon (lé'wliks)]]-fishing. The [[Columbia Basin Initiative]] aims to improve salmon-fishing for the tribe.

== Enemies and allies ==
The Nez Perce had many allies and trading partners among neighboring peoples, but also enemies and ongoing antagonist tribes. To the north of them lived the [[Coeur d'Alene people|Coeur d’Alene (Schitsu'umsh)]] (’Iskíicu’mix), [[Spokane people|Spokane (Sqeliz)]] (Heyéeynimuu/Heyeynimu - "Steelhead [Eating] People"), and further north the [[Pend d'Oreilles|Kalispel (Ql̓ispé)]] (Qem’éespel’uu/Q'emespelu, both meaning "Camas People" or "Camas Eaters"), [[Colville people|Colville]] (Páapspaloo/Papspelu - "Fir Tree People") and [[Ktunaxa|Kootenay / Kootenai (Ktunaxa)]] (Kuuspel’úu/Kuuspelu - "Water People", lit. "River People"), to the northwest lived the [[Palus people|Palus]] (Pelúucpuu/Peluutspu - "People of Pa-luš-sa/Palus [village]") and to the west the [[Cayuse people|Cayuse (Lik-si-yu)]] (Weyíiletpuu – "Ryegrass People"), west bound there were found the [[Umatilla people|Umatilla (Imatalamłáma)]] (Hiyówatalampoo/Hiyuwatalampo), [[Walla Walla people|Walla Walla]], [[Wasco-Wishram|Wasco]] (Wecq’úupuu) and Sk'in (Tike’éspel’uu) and northwest of the latter various [[Yakama]] bands (Lexéyuu), to the south lived the [[Snake Indians]] (various [[Northern Paiute|Northern Paiute (Numu)]] bands (Hey’ǘuxcpel’uu) in the southwest and [[Bannock people|Bannock (Nimi Pan a'kwati)]]-[[Northern Shoshone|Northern Shoshone (Newe)]] bands<ref>Paiute-speakers (i.e. Bannocks) called themselves ''Pan a'kwati/Panákwate'' – ″on the water side or on the west side″ and their Shoshone kin within the mixed Bannock-Shoshone bands as ''Wihínakwate'' – ″on the knife side or on the iron side″ (the equivalent Shoshone words are ''WihiN'naite'' and ''Bannaite'')</ref> (Tiwélqe/Tewelk'a, later Sosona') in the southeast), to the east lived the [[Lemhi Shoshone]] (Lémhaay), north of them the [[Bitterroot Salish|Bitterroot Salish / Flathead (Seliš)]] (Séelix/Se'lix), further east and northeast on the Northern Plains were the [[Crow Nation|Crow (Apsáalooke)]] (’Isúuxe/Isuuxh'e - "Crow People") and two powerful alliances – the [[Iron Confederacy|Iron Confederacy (Nehiyaw-Pwat)]] (named after the dominating [[Cree|Plains and Woods Cree (Paskwāwiyiniwak and Sakāwithiniwak)]] and [[Assiniboine|Assiniboine (Nakoda)]] (Wihnen’íipel’uu), an alliance of northern plains Native American nations based around the fur trade, and later included the [[Nakoda (Stoney)|Stoney (Nakoda)]], [[Saulteaux|Western Saulteaux / Plains Ojibwe (Bungi or Nakawē)]] (Sat'sashipunu/Sat'sashipuun - "Porcupine People" or "Porcupine Eater"), and [[Métis]]) and the [[Blackfoot Confederacy|Blackfoot Confederacy (Niitsitapi or Siksikaitsitapi)]] (’Isq’óyxnix/Issq-oykinix - "Blackfooted People") (composed of three Blackfoot speaking peoples – the [[Piegan Blackfeet|Piegan or Peigan (Piikáni)]], the [[Kainai Nation|Kainai or Bloods (Káínaa)]], and the [[Siksika Nation|Siksika or Blackfoot (Siksikáwa)]], later joined by the unrelated [[Tsuu T'ina Nation|Sarcee (Tsuu T'ina)]] and (for a time) by [[Gros Ventre|Gros Ventre or Atsina (A'aninin)]] (H'elutiin)).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nimipuutimt.org/uploads/1/4/0/6/14060280/nimipuutimt_volume_3.pdf|title=Nimipuutímt Volume 3 Names of Tribes}}</ref> The feared Blackfoot Confederacy and the various [[Lakota people|Teton Sioux (Lakota)]] (Iseq'uulkt - "Cut Throats") and their later allies, the [[Cheyenne|Cheyenne (Suhtai/Sutaio Tsitsistas)]] (T'septitimeni'n - "[People with] Painted arrows"), were the main enemies of the Plateau peoples when entering the Northwestern Plains to hunt buffalo.

== Historic regional bands, bands, local groups, and villages ==
* '''Almotipu Band'''
:Territories along [[Snake River]] in [[Hells Canyon]] up to about 80 miles south of today's [[Lewiston, Idaho]] (''Simiinekem'' – "confluence of two rivers" or "river fork", as the Clearwater flows into the Snake River here), in [[Wallowa Mountains]] and in the [[Seven Devils Mountains]] in Oregon and Idaho. Their fishing and hunting grounds were also used by the ''Pelloatpallah Band'' (comprising the "Palus (or Palus proper) Band" and "Wawawai Band" of the [[Palus people|Upper Palus Regional Band]]), who formed bilingual Palus-Nez-Percé bands due to many mixed marriages.
:several village based bands are counted among them: 
:*the ''Nuksiwepu Band''
:*the ''Palótpu Band'' (their village Palót was on the north bank of the Snake River – about 2 to 3 miles above Sáhatp)
:*the ''Pinewewixpu (Pinăwăwipu) Band'' (their village Pinăwăwi was located at Penawawa Creek)
:*the ''Sahatpu (Sáhatpu) Band'' (their village Sáhatp was located on the north bank of the Snake River, above Wawáwih)
:*the ''Siminekempu (Shimínĕkĕmpu) Band'' (their village Shimínĕkĕm – "confluence", was located in the area of present-day 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 located at Wawawai Creek, a tributary of the Snake River)
* '''Alpowna (Alpowai) Band''' or '''Alpowe'ma (Alpoweyma/Alpowamino) Band''' ("People along [[Alpowa Creek|Alpaha (Alpowa) Creek]]" or "People of ’Al’pawawaii, i.e. [[Clarkston, Washington|Clarkston]]")
:Territories along the South and Middle Fork of the Clearwater River downstream to the city of Lewiston (and south of it) in eastern Washington and the Idaho Panhandle. They also spent much time east of the Bitterroot Mountains and camped along the Yellowstone River, their main meeting place and one of the most important fishing grounds was the area of [[Kooskia, Idaho]] (''Leewikees''). Their fishing and hunting grounds were also used by the "Wawawai Band" of the Upper Palus Regional Band, who lived directly to the west and formed a bilingual Palus-Nez-Percé Band due to many intermarriages. They were the ''third largest Nez Percé regional group'' and their tribal area was one of the four centres for the large regional groups of the Nez Percé.
:several village based bands are counted among them: 
:*the ''Alpowna (Alpowai) Band'' or ''Alpowe'ma (Alpoweyma/Alpowamino) Band'' (largest and most important band, along the Alpaha (Alpowa) Creek, a small tributary of the Clearwater), west of Clarkston, Washington ('Al'pawawaii = People of a "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 at Asotin Creek (Héesutine – "eel river") on the Snake River in Nez Perce County, Idaho, directly opposite the present town of [[Asotin, Washington]])
:**the ''Heswéiwewipu/Hăsweiwăwihpu local group'' (their village Hăsweiwăwih was also located opposite Asotin, along a small creek whose upper reaches were called Heswé/Hăsiwĕ) 
:**the ''Anatōinnu local group'' (their village Ánatōin was located at the confluence of Mill Creek and the Snake River)
:*the ''Sapachesap Band''
:*the ''Witkispu Band'' (about 3 miles below Alpowa Creek, along the eastern bank of the Snake River)
:*the ''Sálwepu Band'' (at the Middle Fork of the Clearwater River, about 5 miles above present-day Kooskia, Idaho, Chief Looking Glass Group) 
* '''Assuti Band''' ("People along Assuti Creek" in Idaho, joined Chief Joseph in the war of 1877.)
* '''Atskaaiwawipu Band''' or '''Asahkaiowaipu Band''' ("People at the confluence, People from the river mouth, i.e. [[Ahsahka, Idaho|Ahsahka]]")
:Territories from their winter village Ahsahka/Asaqa ("river mouth" or "confluence") up to the Salmon Ridge along the [[North Fork Clearwater River]] up to its mouth into the Clearwater River, hunted sometimes near Peck, Idaho (''Pipyuuninma'') in the territory of the ''Painima Band''. An important fishing ground was Bruce Eddy in Clearwater County, Idaho, which was traditionally owned by the ''Atskaaiwawipu (Asahkaiowaipu)'', but was shared by neighboring bands upon invitation: the ''Tewepu Band'', 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 along Hatweh Creek", a tributary of the Clearwater River, about four to five miles east of Lewiston)
* '''Hinsepu Band''' (lived along the [[Grande Ronde River]] in Oregon.)
* '''Kămiăhpu Band''' or '''Kimmooenim Band''' ("People of Kămiăhp", "People of the Many Rope Litters Place, i.e. [[Kamiah, Idaho|Kamiah]]")
:Their main village Kămiăhp was located on the south side of the Clearwater River and the confluence of Lawyer Creek near today's [[Kamiah, Idaho]] ("many rope litters") in the Kamiah Valley. They used with other bands the important fishing grounds near Bruce Eddy in Clearwater County, Idaho, which was in the territory of the ''Atskaaiwawipu (Asahkaiowaipu) Band''. Other Nez Perce bands often grouped them under the collective name '''Uyame''' or '''Uyămă'''; the closely related and neighboring ''Atskaaiwawipu (Asahkaiowaipu) Band'' referred to all bands around Kamiah as '''Matalaimo''' ("People further upstream"). Their tribal area was one of the four centers for the major regional groups of the Nez Percé.
:several village based bands are counted among them: 
:*the ''Kămiăhpu (Kimmooenim) Band'' (was the biggest and most important band of the Kamiah Valley area)
:*the ''Tewepu Band'' ("People of Téewe, i.e. [[Orofino, Idaho]]" at the confluence of Orofino Creek and Clearwater River)
:*the ''Tuke'liklikespu (Tukē'lĭklĭkespu) Band'' (near Big Eddy on the north bank of the Clearwater River, some miles upstream from Orofino)
:*the ''Pipu'inimu Band'' (at Big Canyon Creek in Camas Prairie, which flows into the Clearwater River north of today's Peck; they were therefore direct neighbours of the southern Painima Band), 
:*the ''Painima Band'' (near present-day [[Peck, Idaho]] (''Pipyuuninma'') in Nez Perce County, on the Clearwater River in Idaho)
* '''Kannah Band''' or '''Kam'nakka Band''' ("People of Kannah (along Clearwater River)" in Idaho) 
* '''Lamtáma (Lamátta) Band''' or '''Lamatama Band''' ("People of a region with little snow, i.e. Lamtáma (Lamátta) region")
:Territories were between the ''Alpowai Band'' in the north and downstream in the northwest the ''Pikunan (Pikunin) Band'' and extended in the Idaho Panhandle north along the [[Salmon River (Idaho)|Upper Salmon River]] (''Naco'x kuus'' – "Salmon River") and one of its tributaries, the White Bird Creek, and to the Snake River in the southwest, and also included the White Bird Canyon (deeper than the Grand Canyon) in the southwest of the [[Clearwater Mountains]] and southeast of the [[Camas prairie]]. Their tribal area and band name is derived from ''Lamtáma (Lamátta)'' ("area with little snow") and refers to its excellent climatic conditions, which were particularly suitable for horse breeding. They were the ''second largest Nez Percé regional group''; also called ''Salmon River Band''.
:*the ''Esnime (Iyăsnimă) Band'' (along Slate Creek ('Iyeesnime) and Upper Salmon River, therefore often simply called ''Slate Creek Band'' or ''Upper Salmon River Indians'')
:*the ''Nipihama (Nipĕhĕmă) Band'' (from Lower Salmon River to White Bird Creek)
:*the ''Tamanmu Band'' (their settlement Tamanma was located at the mouth of the Salmon River in Idaho)
* '''Lapwai Band''' or '''Lapwēme Band''' ("People of the Butterfly Place, i.e. [[Lapwai, Idaho|Lapwai]]")
:Territories along Sweetwater Creek and Lapwai Creek up to its confluence with the Clearwater River near today's [[Spalding, Idaho]]. One of their traditional settlements (as well as an important meeting place for neighbouring bands) was on the site of today's [[Lapwai, Idaho]] (''Thlap-Thlap'', also: ''Léepwey'' – "Place of the Butterflies"), the tribal and administrative centre of the Nez Percé Tribe of Idaho. Their tribal area was one of the four centers for the major regional groups of the Nez Percé.
* '''Mákapu Band''' ("People from Máka/Maaqa along Cottonwood Creek (formerly: Maka Creek"), a tributary of the Clearwater River, Idaho.)
* '''Pikunan (Pikunin) Band''' or '''Pikhininmu Band''' ("Snake River People")
:Territories encompassed the vast mountain wilderness between the Snake River in the south and the Lower Salmon River in the north until it met the Snake River, were direct neighbours of the ''Wallowa (Willewah) Band'' on the opposite bank of the Snake River in the west and the ''Lamtáma (Lamátta) Band'' living further southeast of them. They could be classified as buffalo hunters, but they were also true mountain dwellers, also called the ''Snake River tribe''.
* '''Saiksaikinpu Band''' (on the upper portion of the Southern Fork Clearwater; their immediate neighbors downstream was the ''Tukpame Band'')
* '''Saxsano Band''' (about 4 miles above Asotin, Washington, on the east side of Snake River.)   
* '''Taksehepu Band''' ("People of ''Tukeespe/Tu-kehs-pa APS'', i.e. [[Ghost town]] Agatha")
* '''Tukpame Band''' (on the lower portion of the Southern Fork Clearwater; their immediate neighbors upstream was the ''Saiksaikinpu Band''.)
*'''Wallowa (Willewah) Band''' or '''Walwáma (Walwáama) Band''' ("People along the Wallowa River" or "People along the Grand Ronde River")<ref>[http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fsbdev3_055619.pdf Wallowa Valley, Oregon, to Kooskia, Idaho – Discover the Nez Perce Trail] (PDF)</ref><ref>Thomas E. Churchill: [https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1957/10912/Churchill_Thomas_E_1984.pdf?sequence=1 Inner Bark Utilization: A Nez Perce Example.] (PDF) Oregon State University, Commencement June 1984</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wallowanezperce.org/|title=Home – Nez Perce Wallowa Homeland|website=www.wallowanezperce.org}}</ref>
:Territories in northeastern Oregon and northwestern Idaho with tribal centre in the river valleys of the [[Imnaha River]], the [[Minam River]] and the [[Wallowa River]] (''Wal'awa'' – "the winding river"). Their territory extended into the [[Blue Mountains (Pacific Northwest)|Blue Mountains]] (already claimed by the Cayuse) in the west, to the [[Wallowa Mountains]] in the southwest, to both sides of the [[Grande Ronde River]] (''Waliwa'' or ''Willewah'') and its confluence with the Snake River in the north, and almost to the Snake River in the east. Their area was widely known as an excellent grazing ground for the large herds of horses and was therefore often used by the neighbouring and related ''Weyiiletpuu (Wailetpu) Band'' ("Ryegrass People, i.e. the [[Cayuse people]]). They were often grouped under the collective name '''Kămúinnu''' or '''Qéemuynu''' ("People of the [[Indian Hemp]]"). They were the ''largest Nez Percé group'' and their tribal area was one of the four centers for the major regional groups of the Nez Percé. Today most are part of the [[Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation]].
:several village based bands are counted among them:
:*the ''Wallowa (Willewah) Band'' (the largest band with several local groups, in the Wallowa River Valley and [[Zumwalt Prairie]])
:*the ''Imnáma (Imnámma) Band'' (lived with several local groups isolated in the Imnaha River Valley)
:*the ''Weliwe (Wewi'me) Band'' (their settlement Williwewix was located at the mouth of the Grande Ronde River)
:*the ''Inantoinu Band'' (in [[Joseph Canyon]] – known as ''saqánma'' ("long, wild canyon") or ''an-an-a-soc-um'' ("long, rough canyon") – and along Lower Joseph Creek to its mouth into 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 the present Zindel, at 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 and the band name Sakánma refers to an area where the cliffs rise close to the water – this could be Joseph Canyon (Saqánma))
* '''Yakama Band''' or '''Yăkámă Band''' ("People of the Yăká River, i.e.[[Potlatch River]] (above its mouth into the Clearwater River)", not to confused with the [[Yakama]] peoples)<ref>''The North American Indian. Volume 8 – The Nez Perces. Wallawalla. Umatilla. Cayuse. The Chinookan tries''. Classic Books Company. {{ISBN|978-0-7426-9808-6}}, page 158 – 160 (Source for regional bands, bands and villages)</ref>
:Territories along the Potlatch River (which was called Yăká above its mouth into the Clearwater River) in Idaho.
:several village based bands are counted among them:
:*the ''Yakto'inu (Yaktōinu) Band'' (their village Yaktōin was located at the mouth of the Potlatch River into 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 located on the north bank of the Potlatch River near today's Kendrick in Latah County) 
:*the ''Tunèhepu (Tunĕhĕpu) Band'' (their village Tunĕhĕ was located at the mouth of Middle Potlatch Creek into the Potlatch River, near [[Juliaetta, Idaho]] (''Yeqe''))

Because of large amount of inter-marriage between Nez Perce bands and neighboring tribes or bands to forge alliances and peace (often living in mixed bilingual villages together), the following bands were also counted to the Nez Perce (which today are viewed as being linguistically and culturally closely related, but separate ethnic groups):
; Walla Walla Band
: These were the [[Walla Walla people]] which lived along the Walla Walla River and along the confluence of the Snake and Columbia River rivers, today they are enrolled in the [[Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation]].
; Pelloatpallah Band {{nobold|or}} Palous Band
: These were the ''Palus (or Palus proper) Band'' and ''Wawawai Band'' of the Upper Palus Band, which constituted together with the Middle Palus Band und Lower Palus Band – one of the three main groups of the [[Palus people]], which lived along the Columbia, Snake and Palouse Rivers to the northwest of the Nez Perce. Today the majority is enrolled in the [[Yakama|Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation]] and some are part of the [[Colville Reservation|Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation]].
; Weyiiletpuu (Wailetpu) Band {{nobold|or}} Yeletpo Band
: These were the [[Cayuse people]] which lived to the west of the Nez Perce at the headwaters of the Walla Walla, Umatilla and Grande Ronde River and from the Blue Mountains westwards up to the Deschutes River, they oft shared village sites with the Nez Perce and Palus and were feared by neighboring tribes, as early as 1805, most Cayuse had given up their mother tongue and had switched to ''Weyíiletpuu'', a variety of the Lower Nez Perce/Lower Nimiipuutímt dialect of the [[Nez Perce language]]. They called themselves by their Nez-Percé name as ''Weyiiletpuu'' ("Ryegrass People"); today most Cayuse are enrolled into the [[Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation]], some as [[Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs]] or [[Nez Perce Tribe of Idaho]].

== 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"/>

==History==

===European contact===

In 1805 [[William Clark (explorer)|William Clark]] was the first known Euro-American to meet any of the tribe, excluding the aforementioned French Canadian traders. While he, [[Meriwether Lewis]] and their men were crossing the [[Bitterroot Mountains]], they ran low of food, and Clark took six hunters and hurried ahead to hunt. On September&nbsp;20, 1805, near the western end of the [[Lolo Trail]], he found a small camp at the edge of the camas-digging ground, which is now called [[Weippe Prairie]]. The explorers were favorably impressed by the Nez Perce whom they met. Preparing to make the remainder of their journey to the Pacific by boats on rivers, they entrusted the keeping of their horses until they returned to "2 brothers and one son of one of the Chiefs." One of these Indians was ''Walammottinin'' (meaning "Hair Bunched and tied," but more commonly known as Twisted Hair). He was the father of [[Hallalhotsoot|Chief Lawyer]], who by 1877 was a prominent member of the "Treaty" faction of the tribe. The Nez Perce were generally faithful to the trust; the party recovered their horses without serious difficulty when they returned.<ref name="josephy">{{cite book |last=Josephy |first=Alvin |title=The Nez Perce Indians and the Opening of the Northwest |publisher=Yale University Press |year=1971 |isbn=0-300-01494-5 }}</ref>

Recollecting the Nez Perce encounter with the Lewis and Clark party, in 1889 anthropologist Alice Fletcher wrote that "the Lewis and Clark explorers were the first white men that many of the people had ever seen and the women thought them beautiful." She wrote that the Nez Perce "were kind to the tired and hungry party. They furnished fresh horses and dried meat and fish with wild potatoes and other roots which were good to eat, and the refreshed white men went further on, westward, leaving their bony, wornout horses for the Indians to take care of and have fat and strong when Lewis and Clark should come back on their way home." On their return trip they arrived at the Nez Perce encampment the following spring, again hungry and exhausted. The tribe constructed a large tent for them and again fed them. Desiring fresh red meat, the party offered an exchange for a Nez Perce horse. Quoting from the Lewis and Clark diary, Fletcher writes, "The hospitality of the Chiefs was offended at the idea of an exchange. He observed that his people had an abundance of young horses and that if we were disposed to use that food, we might have as many as we wanted." The party stayed with the Nez Perce for a month before moving on.<ref>{{cite web|title=Selections from WITH THE NEZ PERCES Alice Fletcher in the Field, 1889–92 by E. Jane Gay|url=http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/resources/archives/eight/fletcher.htm|website=PBS|access-date=September 21, 2017}}</ref>

===Flight of the Nez Perce===
{{Further|Nez Perce War}}

[[File:Flight of the Nez Perce-1877-map.jpg|thumb|Map showing the flight of the Nez Perce and key battle sites]]
The Nez Perce were one of the tribal nations at the [[Walla Walla Council (1855)]] (along with the [[Cayuse people|Cayuse]], [[Umatilla people|Umatilla]], [[Walla Walla people|Walla Walla]], and [[Yakama]]), which signed the Treaty of Walla Walla.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Trafzer |first=Clifford E. |date=Fall 2005 |url=http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/ohq/106.3/trafzer.html |title=Legacy of the Walla Walla Council, 1955 |journal=Oregon Historical Quarterly |volume=106 |issue=3 |pages=398–411 |doi=10.1353/ohq.2005.0006 |s2cid=166019157 |issn=0030-4727 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070105201203/http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/ohq/106.3/trafzer.html |archive-date=January 5, 2007 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Under pressure from the [[European Americans]], in the late 19th&nbsp;century the Nez Perce split into two groups: one side accepted the coerced relocation to a reservation and the other refused to give up their fertile land in Washington and Oregon. Those willing to go to a reservation made a treaty in 1877. The flight of the non-treaty Nez Perce began on June&nbsp;15, 1877, with [[Chief Joseph]], [[Looking Glass (Native American leader)|Looking Glass]], [[White Bird (Native American leader)|White Bird]], [[Ollokot]], Lean Elk ([[Poker Joe]]) and [[Toohoolhoolzote]] leading 750 men, women and children in an attempt to reach a peaceful sanctuary. They intended to seek shelter with their allies the [[Crow people|Crow]] but, upon the Crow's refusal to offer help, the Nez Perce tried to reach the camp in Canada of [[Lakota people|Lakota]] Chief [[Sitting Bull]]. He had migrated there instead of surrendering after the Indian victory at the [[Battle of the Little Bighorn]].
[[File:Chief Joseph-3 weeks after surrender-Oct.1877.jpg|thumb|left|140px|[[Chief Joseph]], 1877]]

The Nez Perce were pursued by over 2,000 soldiers of the [[United States Army|U.S. Army]] on an epic flight to freedom of more than {{convert|1170|mi|km|-1}} across four states and multiple mountain ranges. The 250 Nez Perce warriors defeated or held off the pursuing troops in 18 battles, skirmishes, and engagements. More than 100 US soldiers and 100 Nez Perce (including women and children) were killed in these conflicts.<ref>Josephy, Jr., Alvin M. ''The Nez Perce and the Opening of the Northwest.'' New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965, pp. 632–633.</ref>

A majority of the surviving Nez Perce were finally forced to surrender on October&nbsp;5, 1877, after the [[Battle of Bear Paw|Battle of the Bear Paw Mountains]] in Montana, {{convert|40|mi}} from the Canada–US border. [[Chief Joseph]] surrendered to General [[Oliver O. Howard]] of the [[United States Cavalry|U.S. Cavalry]].<ref>{{cite web|publisher=U.S. Forest Service|title=Letters and Quotations of the Nez Perce Flight |url=http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/npnht/learningcenter/?cid=fsbdev3_055704|access-date=April 14, 2012}}</ref> During the surrender negotiations, Chief Joseph sent a message, usually described as a speech, to the US soldiers. It has become renowned as one of the greatest American speeches: "...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."<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Great Speeches|title=Chief Joseph Surrenders |url=http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/joseph.htm|access-date=April 14, 2012}}</ref>

Chief Joseph went to Washington, D.C., in January 1879 to meet with the President and Congress, after which his account was published in the ''[[North American Review]]''.<ref>Joseph, Young, and William H. Hare. “An Indian's Views of Indian Affairs.” The North American Review, vol. 128, no. 269, 1879, pp. 412–433. JSTOR,  www.jstor.org/stable/25100745. Accessed August 19, 2020.</ref>

The route of the Nez Perce flight is preserved by the [[Nez Perce National Historic Trail]].<ref>{{cite web|publisher=U.S. Forest Service|title=Maps of the Nez Perce National Historic Trail|url=http://www.fs.usda.gov/main/npnht/maps-pubs|access-date=April 14, 2012}}</ref> The annual Cypress Hills ride in June commemorates the Nez Perce people's attempt to escape to Canada.<ref>{{Cite web|url= http://www.horsesall.com/equine-horse-history/nez-perce-ride-to-freedom-713.html |title= Nez Perce Ride to Freedom | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080517105118/http://www.horsesall.com/equine-horse-history/nez-perce-ride-to-freedom-713.html |archive-date= May 17, 2008 |first1= Gail |last1= Praharenka |first2= Bernice |last2= Niemeyer}}</ref>

===Horse breeding program ===
[[File:Nez Perce warrior on horse.jpg|thumb|120px|Nez Perce warrior<br />on horse, 1910]]

In 1994 the Nez Perce tribe began a breeding program, based on crossbreeding the [[Appaloosa]] and a Central Asian breed called [[Akhal-Teke]], to produce what they called the [[Nez Perce Horse]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Nez Perce horse culture resurrected through new breed|url=http://www.buffalogirlsproductions.com/idahonatives/nez/horse.html|publisher=Idaho Natives|access-date=May 22, 2013}}</ref> They wanted to restore part of their traditional horse culture, where they had conducted selective breeding of their horses, long considered a marker of wealth and status, and trained their members in a high quality of horsemanship. Social disruption due to reservation life and assimilationist pressures by Americans and the government resulted in the destruction of their horse culture in the 19th&nbsp;century. The 20th-century breeding program was financed by the [[United States Department of Health and Human Services]], the Nez Perce tribe, and the nonprofit called the [[First Nations Development Institute]]. It has promoted businesses in Native American country that reflect values and traditions of the peoples. The Nez Perce Horse breed is noted for its speed.

== Current tribal lands ==
[[File:2445R Nez Perce Reservation Locator Map.svg|thumb|180px|Location of Nez Perce Reservation]]
[[Image:Nezperceindians1895ish.jpg|thumb|Nez Perce Indians with Appaloosa horse, around 1895]]

The current tribal lands consist of a [[Indian reservation|reservation]] in [[North Central Idaho]] at {{Coord|46|18|N|116|24|W|scale:1000000|display=inline}}, primarily in the [[Camas Prairie#Idaho|Camas Prairie]] region south of the [[Clearwater River (Idaho)|Clearwater River]], in parts of four counties.<ref name=nptpdfmp>{{cite news |url=http://www.nezpercegis.org/PDF/IdahoReservation.pdf |publisher=Nez Perce Tribe |agency=Geographic Information Systems |title=The Nez Perce Reservation with a Map Insert of Idaho |access-date=April 5, 2016}}</ref> In descending order of surface area, the counties are [[Nez Perce County, Idaho|Nez Perce]], [[Lewis County, Idaho|Lewis]], [[Idaho County, Idaho|Idaho]], and [[Clearwater County, Idaho|Clearwater]]. The total land area is about {{convert|1195|sqmi|km2|-1}}, and the reservation's population at the [[United States Census, 2000|2000 census]] was 17,959.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nez Perce Reservation Census of Population |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |year=2000 |url=https://www.census.gov }}</ref>

Due to tribal loss of lands, the population on the reservation is predominantly white, nearly 90% in 1988.<ref name="nptbwoecn">{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=d5QrAAAAIBAJ&sjid=69AFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6141%2C3675584 |newspaper=Idahonian |location=Moscow |agency=Associated Press |last=Popkey |first=Dan |title=Nez Perce Tribe battling whites over economics |date=October 29, 1988 |page=10A }}</ref> The largest community is the city of [[Orofino, Idaho|Orofino]], near its northeast corner. [[Lapwai, Idaho|Lapwai]] is the seat of tribal government, and it has the highest percentage of Nez Perce people as residents, at about 81.4&nbsp;percent.

Similar to the opening of Native American lands in [[Oklahoma]] by allowing acquisition of surplus by non-natives after households received plots, the U.S. government opened the Nez Percé reservation for general settlement on November&nbsp;18, 1895. The proclamation had been signed less than two weeks earlier by President [[Grover Cleveland]].<ref name="np61">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=lYNfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=uzAMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3160,3901168|newspaper=Lewiston Morning Tribune|location=Idaho|last=Hamilton|first=Ladd|title=Heads were popping up all over the place|date=June 25, 1961|page=14}}</ref> Thousands rushed to grab land on the reservation, staking out their claims even on land owned by Nez Perce families.<ref name="unrul77">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=qJxfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=nzEMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4374,7048300|newspaper=Lewiston Morning Tribune|location=Idaho|last=Brammer|first=Rhonda|title=Unruly mobs dashed to grab land when reservation opened|date=July 24, 1977|page=6E}}</ref><ref name="npop31">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=OZ5fAAAAIBAJ&sjid=uzEMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1072,1295368|newspaper=Lewiston Morning Tribune|location=Idaho|title=3,000 took part in "sneak" when Nez Perce Reservation was opened|date=November 19, 1931|page=3}}</ref><ref name="21np">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=cgpWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=veEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4420,8604920|newspaper=Spokesman-Review|title=Nez Perce Reservation|date=December 11, 1921|page=5}}</ref>

The Nez Perce Wallowa Homeland<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wallowanezperce.org/ |title=Nez Perce Wallowa Homeland |website=Nez Perce Wallowa Homeland |access-date=May 10, 2021}}</ref> at [[Wallowa, Oregon|Wallowa]] in northeast Oregon is in the historic territory of the large Wallowa Band. The Homeland has owned {{convert|320| acres}} and a visitor center since 2000, to "enrich relationships among the descendants of indigenous people and the contemporary inhabitants of the Wallowa Valley ... [and to] preserve and celebrate the customs and culture of the indigenous inhabitants." A Methodist church was established in Wallowa in 1877, and in 2021 the United Methodist Church returned a small parcel of land and the church building to the Nez Perce Tribe.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Caldwell |first1=Kristen |title=Oregon-Idaho Conference Returns Church to the Nez Perce |url=https://um-insight.net/in-the-world/advocating-justice/oregon-idaho-conference-returns-church-to-the-nez-perce/ |website=United Methodist Insight |date=May 6, 2021 |access-date=May 10, 2021}}</ref>

==Annual cultural events==
The Tamkaliks Celebration is a powwow named after the Nez Perce word for where you can see the mountains. It began in 1991 to welcome the Nez Perce back home to the Wallowa Valley.<ref name="NPR">{{Cite news |last=Sierra |first=Antonio |date=August 13, 2022 |title=The Nez Perce tribe resumes annual powwows after pandemic hiatus |language=en |work=NPR News |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/08/13/1117347660/the-nez-perce-tribe-resumes-annual-powwows-after-pandemic-hiatus |access-date=August 14, 2022}}</ref>

===Communities===
{{col-begin}}{{col-break}}
* [[Craigmont, Idaho|Craigmont]]
* [[Culdesac, Idaho|Culdesac]]
* [[Ferdinand, Idaho|Ferdinand]]
* [[Kamiah, Idaho|Kamiah]]
{{col-break|gap=3em}}
* [[Kooskia, Idaho|Kooskia]]
* [[Lapwai, Idaho|Lapwai]]
* [[Nezperce, Idaho|Nezperce]]
{{col-break|gap=3em}}
* [[Orofino, Idaho|Orofino]]
* [[Peck, Idaho|Peck]]
* [[Reubens, Idaho|Reubens]]
{{col-break|gap=3em}}
* [[Stites, Idaho|Stites]]
* [[Sweetwater, Idaho|Sweetwater]]
* [[Winchester, Idaho|Winchester]]
{{col-end}}

In addition, the [[Colville Indian Reservation]] in eastern Washington contains the [[Chief Joseph|Joseph]] band of Nez Percé.

==Notable people==
* [[Archie Phinney]] (1904–1949), scholar and administrator who studied under [[Franz Boas]] at [[Columbia University]] and produced ''Nez Perce Texts'', a published collection of Nez Perce myths and legends from the oral tradition<ref name="arph90">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Q3ZfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=fy8MAAAAIBAJ&pg=4335%2C850275|newspaper=Lewiston Morning Tribune|location=Idaho|last=Rigby|first=Barry|title=Archie Phinney was a champion of Indian rights |date=July 3, 1990|page=4-Centennial}}</ref>
* [[Chief Joseph]] (''hinmatóoyalahtq'it'' – "Thunder traveling to higher areas") (1840–1904), also known as Young Joseph, the best-known leader of the Nez Perce, who led his people in their struggle to retain their identity, with about 60 warriors, he commanded the greatest following of the non-treaty chiefs.
* Chief Lawyer ([[Hallalhotsoot]], ''Halalhot'suut'') (c. 1796–1876), son of a Salish-speaking Flathead woman and Twisted Hair, the Nez Perce who welcomed and befriended the exhausted [[Lewis and Clark Expedition]] in the September 1805. His father's positive experiences with the whites greatly influenced him, leader of the treaty faction of the Nez Percé, <!--* Chief Lawyer "Hal-hal-hoot-soot" (c. 1801–76) was the son of Twisted Hair and was designated as Head Chief of the Nez Perce for--> and signed the 1855 Walla Walla Treaty and controversial 1863 treaty.<ref name="llnp">{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-PxHAAAAIBAJ&sjid=7PgDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6746%2C1846829 |newspaper=Spokane Daily Chronicle |location=Washington |last=Ruark |first=Janice |title=Lawyer led Nez Perce in peace before war |date=February 23, 1977 |page=3}}</ref> He was called the Lawyer by fur trappers because of his oratory and ability to speak several languages. He defended the actions of the 1863 Treaty which cost the Nez Perce nearly 90% of their lands after gold was discovered because he knew it was futile to resist the US government and its military power. He tried to negotiate the best outcome which still allowed the majority of Nez Perce to live in their usual village locations. He died, frustrated that the U.S. government failed to follow through on the promises made in both treaties, even making a trip to Washington, D.C. to express his frustration.<ref name=llnp/><!--{{citation needed|date=August 2013}}--> He is buried at the Nikesa Cemetery at the Presbyterian church in [[Kamiah, Idaho|Kamiah]].<ref name=llnp/>
* [[Claudia Kauffman]], a politician in [[Washington (state)|Washington]] state
* Eagle from the Light,<ref>{{cite book|last=McCoy|first=Robert R.|title=Chief Joseph, Yellow Wolf and the Creation of Nez Perce History in the Pacific Northwest|series=Indigenous Peoples and Politics|publisher=Routledge|location=New York |year=2004|pages=103–109|isbn=0-415-94889-4}}</ref> (''Tipiyelehne Ka Awpo'') chief of the non-treaty Lam'tama band, that traveled east over the [[Bitterroot Mountains]] along with Looking Glass' band to hunt buffalo, was present at the Walla Walla Council in 1855 and supported the non-treaty faction at the Lapwai Council, refused to sign the Treaty of 1855 and 1866, left his territory on Salmon River (two miles south of Corvallis) in 1875 with part of his band, and did settle down in Weiser County (Montana), joined with Shoshone Chief's Eagle's Eye. The leadership of the other Lam'tama that rested on the Salmon River was taken by old chief White Bird. Eagle From the Light didn't participate in the War of 1877 because he was too far away.
* [[Elaine Miles]], actress best known from her role in television's ''[[Northern Exposure]]''
* [[Ellis (Nez Perce)|Ellis]] (c. 1810–1848) was the first united leader of the Nez Perce. He was the grandson of the leader Hohots Ilppilp (also known as Red Grizzly Bear), who met with Lewis and Clark.
* Five Wounds (''Pahkatos Owyeen''), wounded in right hand at the [[Battle of the Clearwater]] and killed in the [[Battle of the Big Hole]]
* [[Jack Hoxie|Jack]] and Al Hoxie, silent film actors; mother was Nez Perce
* [[Jackson Sundown]], war veteran and rodeo champion
* [[Lily Gladstone]], actress; her mother is white and her father is [[Blackfeet Nation|Blackfeet]] and Nez Perce<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/a43978462/who-is-lily-gladsone/ | title=Lily Gladstone is the Breakout Star of Killers of the Flower Moon | date=October 20, 2023 }}</ref>
* [[Looking Glass (Native American leader)|Looking Glass (younger)]] or ’Eelelimyeteqenin’ (also: ''Allalimya Takanin'' – "Wrapped in the wind") (c. 1832–1877), leader of the non-treaty Alpowai band and war leader, who was killed during the tribe's final battle with the US Army; his following was third and did not exceed 40 men.
* [[Michael Wasson]], poet
* [[Old Chief Joseph]] (''Tuekakas''), (also: tiwíiteq'is) (c. 1785–1871), was leader of the Wallowa Band and one of the first Nez Percé converts to Christianity and vigorous advocate of the tribe's early peace with whites, father of Chief Joseph (also known as Young Joseph).
* [[Ollokot]], (''’álok'at'', also known as Ollikut) (1840s–1877), younger brother of Chief Joseph, war chief of the Wallowa band, was killed while fighting at the final battle on Snake Creek, near the Bear Paw Mountains on October&nbsp;4, 1877.
* Peo Peo Tholekt (''piyopyóot’alikt'' – "Bird Alighting"), a Nez Perce warrior who fought with distinction in every battle of the Nez Perce War, wounded in the [[Battle of Camas Creek]].
* [[Poker Joe]], warrior and subchief; chosen trail boss and guide of the Nez Percé people following the Battle of the Big Hole, killed in the [[Battle of Bear Paw]]; half [[French Canadian]] and Nez Perce descent
* Rainbow (''Wahchumyus''), war leader of a non-treaty band, killed in the [[Battle of the Big Hole]]
* Red Owl (''Koolkool Snehee''), war leader of a non-treaty band
* Timothy (''Tamootsin'', 1808–1891), leader of the treaty faction of the Alpowai (or Alpowa) band of the Nez Percé, was the first Christian convert among the Nez Percé, was married to Tamer, a sister of [[Old Chief Joseph]], who was baptized on the same day as Timothy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://stories.washingtonhistory.org/treatytrail/context/biographies.htm|title=The Treaty Trail: U.S.-Indian Treaty Councils in the Northwest|publisher=Washington State Historical Society|access-date=April 14, 2012|archive-date=May 24, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524061652/http://stories.washingtonhistory.org/treatytrail/context/biographies.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* [[Toohoolhoolzote]], was leader and ''tooat'' ([[Medicine man|medicine man (or shaman)]] or [[prophet]]) of the non-treaty Pikunan band; fought in the Nez Perce War after first advocating peace; died at the [[Battle of Bear Paw]]
* [[White Bird (Native American leader)|White Bird]] or ''Piyóopiyo x̣ayx̣áyx̣'' (also: ''Peo-peo-hix-hiix'' or ''Peo peo Hih Hih''; more correctly ''Peopeo Kiskiok Hihih'' – "White Goose") (d.1892), also referred to as ''White Pelican'' was war leader and ''tooat'' ([[medicine man]] or [[prophet]]) of the non-treaty Lamátta or Lamtáama band, belonging to ''Lahmatta'' ("area with little snow"), by which White Bird Canyon was known to the Nez Perce, his following was second in size to Joseph's, and did not exceed 50 men
* Wrapped in the Wind (''’elelímyeté'qenin’/ háatyata'qanin'')
* Yellow Bull or ''Cúuɫim maqsmáqs'' (also: ''Chuslum Moxmox''), war leader of a non-treaty band
* [[Yellow Wolf (Nez Perce)|Yellow Wolf]] or ''Hiímiin maqs maqs / Himíin maqsmáqs'' (also: ''He–Mene Mox Mox'' or ''Hemene Moxmox'', wished to be called ''Heinmot Hihhih'' or ''In-mat-hia''-hia – "White Lightning", c. 1855, died August 1935) was a Nez Perce warrior of the non-treaty Wallowa band who fought in the Nez Perce War of 1877, gunshot wound, left arm near wrist; under left eye in the Battle of the Clearwater

<gallery widths="160px" heights="200px">
File:Chief.Lawyer.1861.jpg|[[Chief Lawyer]], c. 1861
File:Peo Peo Tholekt-Nez Perce warrior.jpg|''Peo Peo Tholekt'' (Bird Alighting), a Nez Perce warrior who helped capture the [[Howitzer|mountain howitzer]] at the Battle of the Big Hole
File:Yellow Wolf at LOC.jpg|[[Yellow Wolf (Nez Perce)|Yellow Wolf]], December&nbsp;30, 1909
</gallery>

== Eponymy ==
The [[Triassic]] [[Gastropoda|gastropod]] ''Cryptaulax nezperceorum'' Nützel & Erwin, 2004, found on the land of the Nez Percé tribe, has been named in their honour.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Nützel |first1=Alexander |last2=Erwin |first2=Douglas H. |date=2004-10-01 |title=Late Triassic (Late Norian) gastropods from the Wallowa Terrane (Idaho, USA) |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03009231 |journal=Paläontologische Zeitschrift |language=en |volume=78 |issue=2 |pages=361–416 |doi=10.1007/BF03009231|bibcode=2004PalZ...78..361N |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==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|0-7614-1210-7}}.
* {{Cite book|last=Boas |first=Franz |title=Folk-tales of Salishan and Sahaptin tribes |publisher=Published for the American Folk-Lore Society by G.E. Stechert & Co. |year=1917 |oclc=2322072 |url=http://www.sos.wa.gov/history/publications_detail.aspx?p=42 |others=Washington State Library's Classics in Washington History collection |author-link=Franz Boaz}}
* Haines, Francis. ''The Nez Percés: Tribesmen of the Columbia Plateau.'' Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1955.
* Henry, Will. ''From Where the Sun Now Stands'', New York: Bantam Books, 1976.
* {{cite wikisource |last=Humphrey |first=Seth K. |plaintitle=The Indian Dispossessed |publisher=[[Little, Brown and Company]] |place=Boston |year=1906 |chapter=The Nez Perces |oclc=68571148 |edition=Revised}}
* Josephy, Alvin M. ''The Nez Perce Indians and the Opening of the Northwest''. Yale Western Americana series, 10. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1965.
* {{Cite book|last=Judson |first=Katharine Berry |title=Myths and legends of the Pacific Northwest, especially of Washington and Oregon |location=Chicago |publisher=A.C. McClurg |year=1912 |oclc=10363767 |url=http://www.sos.wa.gov/history/publications_detail.aspx?p=66 |others= Washington State Library's Classics in Washington History collection |edition=2nd}} 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|0-06-016707-6}}.
* Nerburn, Kent. ''Chief Joseph & the Flight of the Nez Perce: The Untold Story of an American Tragedy''. New York: HarperOne, 2005. {{ISBN|0-06-051301-2}}.
* Pearson, Diane. ''The Nez Perces in the Indian Territory: Nimiipuu Survival''. 2008.
* Stout, Mary. ''Nez Perce''. Native American peoples. Milwaukee, WI: Gareth Stevens Pub, 2003. {{ISBN|0-8368-3666-9}}.
* 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|0-394-53019-5}}.
* Aoki, Haruo. 1989. ''Nez Perce Oral Narratives: Linguistics, Vol. 104''. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
* Axtell, Horace and Margo Aragon. 1997. ''A Little Bit of Wisdom: Conversations with a Nez Perce Elder''. Lewiston, Idaho: Confluence Press.
* Holt, Renée. 2012. "Decolonizing Indigenous Communities". in ''Unsettling America: Decolonization in Theory & Practice''. April 18, 2012.
* Hunn, Eugene and James Selam. 2001. ''Nch’i-wána, 'the Big River': Mid-Columbia Indians and Their Land''. Seattle: University of Washington Press.
* James, Caroline. 1996. ''Nez Perce Women in Transition, 1877–1990''. Moscow, Idaho: University of Idaho Press.
* Hormel, Leontina M. 2016. "Nez Perce Defending Treaty Lands in Northern Idaho". ''Peace Review: A Journal of Social Justice'', 28(1): 76–83.
* Josephy, Alvin. 2007. ''Nez Perce Country''. Lincoln, Neb.: University of Nebraska Press.
* Josephy, Alvin. 1997. ''The Nez Perce Indians and the Opening of the Northwest''. New Haven: Yale University Press.
* McCoy, Robert. 2004. ''Chief Joseph, Yellow Wolf, and the Creation of Nez Percé History in the Pacific Northwest''. New York: Routledge.
* McWhorter, Lucullus Virgil. 1940. ''Yellow Wolf: His Own Story''. Caldwell, Idaho: Caxton Press.
* Phinney, Archie. 1969. ''Nez Percé Texts''. New York: AMS Press.
* Slickpoo, Allen P. Sr. 1972. ''Nu moe poom tit wah tit (Nez Perce Legends)''. Lapwai, Idaho: Nez Perce Tribe.
* Tonkovich, Nicole. 2012. ''The Allotment Plot: Alice C. Fletcher, E. Jane Gay, and Nez Perce Survivance''. Lincoln, Neb.: University of Nebraska Press.
* Trafzer, Clifford. 1987. ''Northwestern Tribes in Exile: Modoc, Nez Perce, and Palouse Removal to the Indian Territory''. Sacramento: Sierra Oaks Publishing Co.

==External links==
{{Commons category|Nez Perce}}
{{EB1911 poster|Nez Percés}}
* [http://www.nezperce.org/ Official tribal site].
* [http://www.friendsnezpercebattlefields.org Friends of the Bear Paw, Big Hole & Canyon Creek Battlefields].
* [http://www.nezpercehorseregistry.com/main.html Nez Perce Horse Registry].
* [http://www.critfc.org/ Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission] – member tribes include the Nez Perce.
* [http://www.nps.gov/nepe/index.htm Nez Perce National Historic Park].
* [http://www.fs.fed.us/npnht/index.shtml Nez Perce National Historic Trail].
* [http://content.lib.washington.edu/aipnw/walker.html The Nez Perce Essay by Deward E. Walker, Jr. and Peter N. Jones] – University of Washington Digital Collection

{{Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest}}
{{Indian reservations in Idaho}}
{{Clearwater County, Idaho}}
{{Idaho County, Idaho}}
{{Lewis County, Idaho}}
{{Nez Perce County, Idaho}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:Nez Perce people| ]]
[[Category:Nez Perce| ]]
[[Category:Federally recognized tribes in the United States]]
[[Category:History of the Northwestern United States]]
[[Category:Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Plateau]]
[[Category:Native American tribes in Idaho]]
[[Category:Native American tribes in Montana]]
[[Category:Native American tribes in Oregon]]
[[Category:Native American tribes in Washington (state)]]
[[Category:Exonyms]]