Transcript What Was It Like To Be A Girl In The Nez Perce Tribe?

What Was It Like
To Be A Child In
The Nez Perce
Tribe?
By Catie Urquhart
Culture
There used to
be over 500
bands of Nez
Perce. Now it is
unknown.
The Nez Perce people have a really
strong culture. They believed that
before people lived a coyote created
them. They believed in the god
Hunyawat. Each night they would take
a sip of cold river water to give thanks
to him. They said a prayer.
Click on the
speaker to hear
pronunciation of
Nez Perce.
They call
themselves
Nimipu. (The
Native
People)Click on
speaker to hear
pronunciation.
The name Nez Perce was given
to them because they had
pierced noses and Nez Perce
means nose piercing in French.
The Calendar
We-Lu-Poop --- When cold air travels.
Koy-Sal --- The blue-back salmon swim in the streams.
Ah-La-Tah-Mal --- It is hard to make fires, the fuel is scarce.
Ta-Ya-Al --- It’s Midsummer, hot weather.
Lah-Te-Tal --- There are new plants and flowers.
Wa-Wama-Aye-Khal --- The chinook salmon swim in the streams.
Keh-Kee-Tal --- The first root harvest.
PeKoon-My-Kal --- The fall salmon swim in the streams.
Ah-Pah-Al --- They make loaves from the kouse root.
Heel-Lal --- The snow melts in the mountains.
Hope-Lal --- The tamatack trees lose their needles.
Toos-Te-Ma-Sa-Tal --- They travel to the high country to dig roots.
Sek-Le-Waal --- The leaves fall and cold comes to the high country.
Ha-Soo-Al --- Eels swim in the streams.
Ha-Oo-Koy --- There is a new life in deer and elk.
INTERESTING FACTS
Dogs were good companions for
children. They helped keep them
safe.
Their land covered 27,000
miles of today’s
Washington, Oregon and
Idaho.
Nez Perce Animal Words
cíq'a·mqal
sík'em
qoq'á·l
hími·n
yá·ka'
k'oy'am'á
k'ayk'áyoc
sác'as
hé·y'uxc
wisé·w
tilípe'
cílmi
Their tribal flag.
Their treaty
emblem was
special to them.
They had it on a
lot of things,
including their
flag.
Giving Birth
When a baby was born his/her
mother would have to go live away
at a birthing lodge. The mother
would live with other women who
would care for her until the baby
was born. When the baby was born
the mom went home and there was
a celebration. The people danced
and sung. They would do this to
celebrate a new tribe member.
The mother would put a baby in a
cradle board. The cradle board
was a blanket nailed onto a piece
of wood that had a big curve at
the top. There were straps on the
back. In the bottom of the cradle
board there was moss and other
natural items that acted as a
natural diaper. While working, a
mother could put the cradle board
on her back, hang it on a saddle, or
set it against a fence.
Pony Pals
Some bands had over
1,000 horses.
They bred the
Appaloosa horse.
The Nez Perce people lived with
horses for their whole life. When
they were babies, they rode on
them in the cradle board. When
they were toddlers, they rode
on a horse attached to their
parents horse to go picking
berries or go hunting. By the
time they were 9 or 10 they
could walk, trot, canter, gallop,
and train any horse. When they
grew up they went collecting
berries and went hunting on
their horses.
Clothes
Girls normally wore simple deerskin
clothes with very few shells or pictures
painted on them. They spent ages
making fancy clothes like the two shown
below. They wore their hair braided.
On special occasions they
wrapped otter fur around their
braids.
Boys normally wore simple deerskin pants
or loin clothes. (As a young child they
normally wore pants.) They wore fancy
clothes like the shirt shown below for
special occasions. They wore their hair
braided.
Home
A Long House could hold up to 10 families. A Teepee
or a Earth House could hold one family. (That is
including grandparents.)
Long House
Earth House
Teepee
The Nez Perce used Long
Houses in the winter. They
used Tule mats. Tule mats
swell in the rain so water
can’t get through. They
let in a breeze if it is hot.
The Nez Perce used
Earth Houses in the
summer. They weaved
bark, sticks and leaves
into a house with a
rounded top.
The Nez Perce used
Teepees in the Summer.
They wrapped deer skin
around some sticks
attached together.
Chores and Play
The Nez Perce children had regular chores like some
children now. The girls helped their mothers and
grandmothers pick berries, cook, sew, and care for
the ill and babies. The boys helped their fathers go
hunting, fish, and build.
Even though they had chores they found time for
play. The girls would make mini teepees and dolls.
Boys would chase each other around. All the kids
enjoyed playing a tossing game with pinecones to
find out who throws the best. They also liked playing
the hoof game. The hoof game is simple. There are
6 deer hoofs attached to some string. The string is
attached to a stick. You launch the string up and try
to catch the hoofs on the stick. Sounds like fun!
Cuisine
The Nez Perce ate wide
variety of food from
nature. They fished and
hunted. They ate a lot of
salmon from the streams.
Land
They lived in the Pacific
Northwest of the United States
Of America. They lived in a
plateau between the Cascade
Range and the Rocky
Mountains.
Choosing Love By Dancing
To get engaged all the
young men and women
gathered in a circle. Men
on the outside, women on
the inside. All of the men
had sticks. They would
dance in a circle. When he
found the girl of his choice
he would place his stick on
her shoulder. If the girl left it
on she chose him too.
Nez Perce
Couple
Want to learn more?
http-//www.native-langua#19058D
http-//www.nezperce.org/#190588
Nez Perce FAQ.webloc
Nez Perce National Histo#1905E3
I hope you
enjoyed the
presentation!!
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