Nez Perce Tribe

Nez Perce Tribe

The Nez Perce ( /ˌnɛzˈpɜrs/) (autonym: Niimíipu) are Native American people who live in the Pacific Northwest region (Columbia River Plateau) of the United States. An anthropological theory says they descended from the Old Cordilleran Culture, which moved south from the Rocky Mountains and west in Nez Perce lands. The Nez Perce nation currently governs and inhabits a reservation in Idaho. The Nez Perce's name for themselves is Nimíipuu (pronounced ), meaning, "The People."

They speak the Nez Perce language or Niimiipuutímt, a Sahaptian language related to the several dialects of Sahaptin. The Sahaptian sub-family is one of the branches of the Plateau Penutian family (which in turn may be related to a larger Penutian grouping).

Read more about Nez Perce Tribe:  Name, Traditional Lands and Culture, Nez Perce Horse Breeding Program, Fishing, Nez Perce Indian Reservation, Notable Nez Perce

Famous quotes containing the word tribe:

    It appeared that he had once represented his tribe at Augusta, and also once at Washington, where he had met some Western chiefs. He had been consulted at Augusta, and gave advice, which he said was followed, respecting the eastern boundary of Maine, as determined by highlands and streams, at the time of the difficulties on that side. He was employed with the surveyors on the line. Also he called on Daniel Webster in Boston, at the time of his Bunker Hill oration.
    Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)