Native American Nations: Nez Perce

Native American Nations: Nez Perce — page 1 — CHAPTER 1 Homelands The Nez Perce ness purse lived on the Columbia Plateau where present-day Oregon Washington and Idaho come together This region is also known as the Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest is cold in the winter Large snowdrifts made travel difficult and dangerous During the winter the Nez Perce moved down from the mountains into the warmer canyons The Nez Perce homelands included around 17 million acres 6 9 million ha They stretched west toward the Cascade Mountains and east toward the Rocky Mountains The Nez Perce believe that they have lived in this region since the beginning of time They call themselves the Nimi’ipu nee-me-poo It means the people The Nimi’ipu speak a Sahaptin language 4

Native American Nations: Nez Perce — page 2 — The Pacific Northwest has mountains canyons forests and swift streams and rivers

Native American Nations: Nez Perce — page 3 — CHAPTER 2 Society The Nez Perce were the largest Native American tribe in the Pacific Northwest They numbered about 6,000 in 1800 They were divided among more than 70 villages The villages were often named after the river the band settled next to Each band had a headman or chief This headman was an elder Sometimes the headman was a medicine man He healed the sick and performed ceremonies The Nez Perce believed all their people should help make important decisions They selected three or four members to sit on the village council The council worked to do what was best for the people 6

Native American Nations: Nez Perce — page 4 — THE NEZ PERCE HOMELANDS WASHINGTON Columbia River Cascade Mounts Colombia are MAINE MONTANA NORTH DAKOTA Rocky OREGON MINNESOTA VERMONT NEW HAMPSHIRE MASSACHUSETTS IDAHO Masitaire WISCONSIN SOUTH DAKOTA NEW YORK WYOMING MICHIGAN RHODE ISLAND CONNECTICUT NEW JERSEY IOWA PENNSYLVANIA NEVADA NEBRASKA OHIO UTAH ILLINOIS INDIANA DELAWARE MARYLAND WASHINGTON DC WEST VIRGINIA COLORADO KANSAS VIRGINIA MISSOURI KENTUCKY CALIFORNIA NORTH CAROLINA TENNESSEE ARIZONA OKLAHOMA NEW MEXICO ARKANSAS SOUTH CAROLINA MISSISSIPP ALABAMA GEORGIA TEXAS ALASKA LOUISIANA FLORIDA THE NEZ PERCE HOMELANDS HAWAII

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