Nimiipuu: The Story of the Nez Perce

They called themselves the Nimiipuu.

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NIMIIPUU: THE STORY OF THE NEZ PERCE

Enemies or friends?

They knew the white men — soyapos, in their language — were coming long before they arrived. Three Nimiipuu leaders had met them the year before at Fort Mandan, in present-day North Dakota, and Nimiipuu songs had long predicted the arrival of a new kind of people.
NIMIIPUU: THE STORY OF THE NEZ PERCE

Nimiipuu: The story of the Nez Perce

The story of the Nez Perce people, the Nimiipuu (NEE-mee-poo), has been told many times. Historians have devoted significant portions of their lives to it.
NIMIIPUU: THE STORY OF THE NEZ PERCE

A way of life unravels

he peace Lewis and Clark advocated began to unravel in about seven years, roughly the time it took the Americans to establish a presence in Nimiipuu country.
NIMIIPUU: THE STORY OF THE NEZ PERCE

Soul wounds

Some Indians refer to what happened to their people — genocide, degradation, loss of a cherished way of life — as "soul wounds." The wounds and their complications take generations to pass away.
NIMIIPUU: THE STORY OF THE NEZ PERCE

Closer to healing

Nez Perce people say three things have to happen for them to become a 21st century success story. They need to keep their history and traditions alive, they need to heal and they need to forgive.