Who are the Nez Percé people?

The Nez Percé are a Native American people who traditionally lived in the lower Snake River region and its tributaries, now northeastern Oregon, southeastern Washington, and central Idaho. The French mistakenly called them Nez Percé ("Pierced Nose") because they thought some members wore nose pendants, even though they did not pierce their noses. The Nez Percé are considered Plateau Indians but were also influenced by the Plains Indians. They lived in villages near salmon-rich streams and later adopted horses in the 18th century, which allowed them to hunt bison and trade with Plains peoples. By the early 21st century, the Nez Percé tribal nation had over 3,500 citizens on their reservation in north-central Idaho.

Where did the Nez Percé traditionally live?

The Nez Percé, or Nimi'ipuu, traditionally lived in the high plateau region of the lower Snake River and its tributaries, in areas that are now northeastern Oregon, southeastern Washington, and central Idaho. They are the largest and best-known of the Sahaptin-speaking people. As one of the easternmost Plateau groups, they were also influenced by the Plains Indians. They typically settled in small villages by streams abundant with salmon, which was their primary food source. They also hunted game and gathered berries and roots. Their dwellings were communal lodges that were A-framed, mat-covered, and housed as many as 30 families. Today, many tribal members still live in Idaho on the Nez Percé Reservation.

What was the traditional lifestyle of the Nez Percé?

The traditional lifestyle of the Nez Percé centered on villages along the lower Snake River and its tributaries in present-day northeastern Oregon, southeastern Washington, and central Idaho. As Plateau Indians, their domestic life revolved around small villages with abundant salmon, which they dried for food. They also hunted game and gathered berries and roots. Their dwellings were communal A-frame lodges covered with mats, housing up to 30 families. After acquiring horses in the early 18th century, some Nez Percé groups began traveling to the eastern Rockies to hunt bison and trade with Plains peoples. They adopted war tactics and equestrian material culture, such as the tepee, and became skilled horse breeders, developing the Appaloosa breed.

What language do the Nez Percé speak?

The Nez Percé people, who traditionally lived in areas of present-day Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, call themselves the Nimi’ipuu but were known as Nez Percé, meaning "pierced nose" in French. Today, the Nez Percé speak their own language, also called Nez Percé. The Nez Percé currently have a tribal nation with over 3,500 citizens located on their reservation in north-central Idaho.

What happened during the Nez Percé War of 1877?

The Nez Percé War of 1877 stemmed from increasing tensions between the Nez Percé people and the U.S. government over land treaties and settlement. Many Nez Percé never accepted the treaties that reduced their reservation size, and hostile actions led to open conflict. Under the leadership of Chief Joseph, a small band of 250 Nez Percé warriors, accompanied by their families, embarked on a remarkable 1,600–1,700 mile retreat towards Canada. For over three months, they skillfully evaded and, on several occasions, defeated a U.S. force of 5,000 troops led by Gen. Oliver O. Howard. However, just 40 miles from the Canadian border in the Bear Paw Mountains of Montana, they were surrounded. On October 5, 1877, Chief Joseph surrendered to Gen. Nelson A. Miles. The Nez Percé were then sent to Oklahoma, and later, many were allowed to move to a reservation in Washington.

How do the Nez Percé maintain their culture today?

The Nez Percé, also known as Nimi'ipuu, are dedicated to preserving their culture. Today, the Nez Percé tribal nation is located on its reservation in north-central Idaho and has over 3,500 citizens. Maintaining their culture includes promoting traditional values through leadership roles, where chiefs and their families exemplify virtuous behavior. They also continue to adjust their political organization as needed, as they did when transitioning to a more nomadic lifestyle.

Nez Percé

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Nez Percé summary

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Self-name:: Nimi’ipuu

Key People:: Chief Joseph

Related Topics:: Plateau Indian

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Nez Percé

people

Also known as: Nimi’ipuu

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Who are the Nez Percé people?
The Nez Percé are a Native American people who traditionally lived in the lower Snake River region and its tributaries, now northeastern Oregon, southeastern Washington, and central Idaho. The French mistakenly called them Nez Percé ("Pierced Nose") because they thought some members wore nose pendants, even though they did not pierce their noses.

The Nez Percé are considered Plateau Indians but were also influenced by the Plains Indians. They lived in villages near salmon-rich streams and later adopted horses in the 18th century, which allowed them to hunt bison and trade with Plains peoples. By the early 21st century, the Nez Percé tribal nation had over 3,500 citizens on their reservation in north-central Idaho.
2 Britannica Sources
1. Definition of Nez Percé
2. Nez Percé
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Where did the Nez Percé traditionally live?
The Nez Percé, or Nimi'ipuu, traditionally lived in the high plateau region of the lower Snake River and its tributaries, in areas that are now northeastern Oregon, southeastern Washington, and central Idaho. They are the largest and best-known of the Sahaptin-speaking people. As one of the easternmost Plateau groups, they were also influenced by the Plains Indians. They typically settled in small villages by streams abundant with salmon, which was their primary food source. They also hunted game and gathered berries and roots. Their dwellings were communal lodges that were A-framed, mat-covered, and housed as many as 30 families. Today, many tribal members still live in Idaho on the Nez Percé Reservation.
3 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What was the traditional lifestyle of the Nez Percé?
The traditional lifestyle of the Nez Percé centered on villages along the lower Snake River and its tributaries in present-day northeastern Oregon, southeastern Washington, and central Idaho. As Plateau Indians, their domestic life revolved around small villages with abundant salmon, which they dried for food. They also hunted game and gathered berries and roots.

Their dwellings were communal A-frame lodges covered with mats, housing up to 30 families. After acquiring horses in the early 18th century, some Nez Percé groups began traveling to the eastern Rockies to hunt bison and trade with Plains peoples. They adopted war tactics and equestrian material culture, such as the tepee, and became skilled horse breeders, developing the Appaloosa breed.
2 Britannica Sources
1. Nez Percé
2. Plateau Indian: Political organization
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What language do the Nez Percé speak?
The Nez Percé people, who traditionally lived in areas of present-day Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, call themselves the Nimi’ipuu but were known as Nez Percé, meaning "pierced nose" in French. Today, the Nez Percé speak their own language, also called Nez Percé. The Nez Percé currently have a tribal nation with over 3,500 citizens located on their reservation in north-central Idaho.
2 Britannica Sources
1. Definition of Nez Percé
2. Nez Percé
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What happened during the Nez Percé War of 1877?
The Nez Percé War of 1877 stemmed from increasing tensions between the Nez Percé people and the U.S. government over land treaties and settlement. Many Nez Percé never accepted the treaties that reduced their reservation size, and hostile actions led to open conflict.

Under the leadership of Chief Joseph, a small band of 250 Nez Percé warriors, accompanied by their families, embarked on a remarkable 1,600–1,700 mile retreat towards Canada. For over three months, they skillfully evaded and, on several occasions, defeated a U.S. force of 5,000 troops led by Gen. Oliver O. Howard.

However, just 40 miles from the Canadian border in the Bear Paw Mountains of Montana, they were surrounded. On October 5, 1877, Chief Joseph surrendered to Gen. Nelson A. Miles. The Nez Percé were then sent to Oklahoma, and later, many were allowed to move to a reservation in Washington.
2 Britannica Sources
1. Chief Joseph
2. Nez Percé
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
How do the Nez Percé maintain their culture today?
The Nez Percé, also known as Nimi'ipuu, are dedicated to preserving their culture. Today, the Nez Percé tribal nation is located on its reservation in north-central Idaho and has over 3,500 citizens.

Maintaining their culture includes promoting traditional values through leadership roles, where chiefs and their families exemplify virtuous behavior. They also continue to adjust their political organization as needed, as they did when transitioning to a more nomadic lifestyle.
3 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Nez Percé, North American Indian people whose traditional territory centred on the lower Snake River and such tributaries as the Salmon and Clearwater rivers in what is now northeastern Oregon, southeastern Washington, and central Idaho, U.S. They were the largest, most powerful, and best-known of the Sahaptin-speaking peoples. They call themselves the Nimi’ipuu but were known by various names by other groups. The French called them the Nez Percé (“Pierced Nose”), having mistakenly identified individuals whom they saw wearing nose pendants as members of the Nimi’ipuu, though the Nimi’ipuu do not pierce their noses.

As inhabitants of the high plateau region between the Rocky Mountains and the coastal mountain system, the Nez Percé are considered to be Plateau Indians. Historically, as one of the easternmost Plateau groups, they also were influenced by the Plains Indians just east of the Rockies. Like other members of this culture area, the Nez Percé domestic life traditionally centred on small villages located on streams having abundant salmon, which, dried, formed their main source of food. They also sought a variety of game, berries, and roots. Their dwellings were communal lodges, A-framed and mat-covered, varying in size and sometimes housing as many as 30 families.

After they acquired horses early in the 18th century, life for the Nez Percé began to change dramatically, at least among some groups. Horse transport enabled them to mount expeditions to the eastern slope of the Rockies, where they hunted bison and traded with Plains peoples. Always somewhat warlike, the Nez Percé became more so, adopting many war honours, war dances, and battle tactics common to the Plains, as well as other forms of equestrian material culture such as the tepee. The Nez Percé built up one of the largest horse herds on the continent. They were almost unique among Native Americans in conducting a selective breeding program, and they were instrumental in creating the Appaloosa breed.

As the 18th century progressed, the Nez Percé’s increased mobility fostered their enrichment and expansionism, and they began to dominate negotiations with other tribes in the region. The 19th century was a period of increasing change in Nez Percé life. Just six years after the explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark visited the Nez Percé in 1805, fur traders and trappers began penetrating the area; they were followed later by missionaries. By the 1840s emigrant settlers were moving through the area on the Oregon Trail. In 1855 the Nez Percé agreed to a treaty with the United States that created a large reservation encompassing most of their traditional land. The 1860 discovery of gold on the Salmon and Clearwater rivers, which generated an influx of thousands of miners and settlers, led U.S. commissioners in 1863 to force renegotiation of the treaty. The new treaty reduced the size of the reservation by three-fourths, and continued pressure from homesteaders and squatters reduced the area even more.

Many Nez Percé, perhaps a majority, had never accepted either treaty, and hostile actions and raids by both settlers and Native Americans eventually evolved into the Nez Percé War of 1877. For five months a small band of 250 Nez Percé warriors, under the leadership of Chief Joseph, held off a U.S. force of 5,000 troops led by Gen. Oliver O. Howard, who tracked them through Idaho, Yellowstone Park, and Montana before they surrendered to Gen. Nelson A. Miles. During the campaign, more than 260 soldiers and more than 230 Nez Percé, including women and children, died. The tribe was then assigned to malarial country in Oklahoma rather than being returned to the Northwest as promised.

In the early 21st century the Nez Percé tribal nation, located on its reservation in north-central Idaho, had more than 3,500 citizens.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Jeff Wallenfeldt.

Nez Percé

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