“I will fight no more forever.” These are among the most famous words spoken by an Indian. In 1877, at the time Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce spoke them, many Indians of the West had come to the conclusion that continuing war with the much more numerous Euroamericans was hopeless and that their Indian way of life would never be the same.
Nez Perce is a French-derived name, given to the tribe by fur traders, meaning “pierced noses.” It can be pronounced the English way, nes PURSE, or the French way, nay per-SAY. Some tribal members did wear nose pendants, but not the majority. The Nez Perce Native name is Nimiipu or Nee-mee-poo, meaning “the people.” To Salishan-speaking peoples living nearby they were the Sahaptian (or Shahaptin). Lewis and Clark referred to them as Chopunnish. The name Sahaptin or Sahaptian has come to identify the Nez Perce language, which is a subfamily of the Penutian phylum.
The ancestral homeland of the Nez Perce is territory now comprising central Idaho, southeastern Washington State, and northeastern Oregon. The heart of their homeland was in the vicinity of the Snake and Salmon Rivers. These rivers merge with the Columbia River, which drains the high plateau country between the Rocky Mountains to the east and the Cascade Mountains to the west toward the Pacific Ocean. As a result, Indians of this region are classified as part of the Plateau Culture Area.
World History
