Nez Perce Today
(meaning: pierced nose) (Nimipu- The People)
The Nez Perce Indians of today live in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington State. Most live in Idaho though. The Nez Perce nation has its own government, laws, police, and services, just like a small country but they are also U.S. citizens and must obey American law. In the past, they were in bands ruled by a chief who was elected by tribal council of important men from each village. Today, they are ruled by tribal council elected by all the people. Most Nez Perce today speak English but some, mostly older ones can also speak their native Nez Perce language. Nez Perce language is difficult for English speakers because of its long words and consonant sounds that don't exist in English. One easy Nez Perce word is "hoo" which is pronounced similar to "hoh" is a friendly greeting. Nez Perce children now all play with each other, go to school and help around the house just like you do. Many Nez Perce children like to go hunting and fishing with their fathers. In the past, Indian kids had more chores and less time to play in their daily lives, just like colonial children. They did have toys, dolls, and games to play. Many American parents adopted carrying a young child in a cradle board on her back from a custom for Nez Perce mothers.
TS- In comparing the past Nez Perce and the today Nez Perce, one finds that they have become more advanced than before. They are living like us.
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Nez Perce lived in settled villages of earth houses. They made these by digging an underground room, then building a wooden frame over it and covering the frame with earth, cedar bark, and tule mats. Oval-shaped longhouses which could be 150ft. long and smaller round houses are two types of earth houses. Dozens of families could live in the long house while only one can live in the small house. When they begin hunting buffalo, they use tipis like the Plain Tribes. The tipi was made to set up and break down quickly just like a tent since they were traveling. Now a days, they don't live in old-fashioned earth houses anymore, they live in apartments and modern day houses like you do. They sometimes use a tipi for camping trip or to connect to their heritage but not for a permanent shelter.
Nez Perce today wear modern day clothes but they only wear traditional regalia on special occasions like a wedding or a dance unlike how they were back then. Nez Perce women back then would wear long deerskin dresses while men wore breech cloths with leather leggings and buckskin shirts. Both gender wore moccasins. Nez Perce Indian leader did sometimes were feather headdresses but they weren't as long as the Sioux warbonnets. Both men and women wore their hair long either leaving it loose or putting it into two braids.
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