Nez Perce people

Nez Perce Tribe

No Horn on His Head, a Nez Perce man painted by George Catlin
Total population
(3,499)
Regions with significant populations
United States (Idaho)
Languages
English, Nez Perce
Religion
Seven Drum (Walasat), Christianity, other
Related ethnic groups
other Sahaptin peoples

The Nez Perce /ˌnɛzˈpɜːrs/ (autonym: Niimíipu in their own language) are an Indigenous people of the Plateau, who live in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States, which is on the Columbia River Plateau. They are federally recognized as the Nez Perce Tribe and govern their reservation in Idaho. They are one of five federally recognized tribes in the state.

Anthropologists have written that the Nez Percé descend from the Old Cordilleran Culture, which moved south from the Rocky Mountains and west into lands where the tribe coalesced. This name was given to this tribe and the nearby Chinook people by French explorers and trappers, meaning "pierced nose," but only the Chinook used that form of decoration.

Their name for themselves is Nimíipuu (pronounced [nimiːpuː]), meaning, "The People," in their language, part of the Sahaptin family.

Nez Percé is an exonym given by French Canadian fur traders who visited the area regularly in the late 18th century, meaning literally "pierced nose." English-speaking traders and settlers adopted the name in turn. Since the late 20th century, the Nez Perce identify most often as Niimíipu in Sahaptin.