L³ - The Lewis And Clark Rediscovery Project

Nez Perce

Maps

Some important Nimíipuu locations and rivers, with their American and Lewis and Clark equivalents:

himeq'isnime (big river) - Clearwater River (middle fork of) and "Kooskooskee"

néewe (refers to the mouth of Lolo Creek) - Lolo Creek and "Collins' Creek"

himeeq'isnimewelepe (means, "big or large," himeeqis and "flow of river," welepe) - Snake River and "Lewis's River"

q'xuyéelp aláwnen (has some meaning that refers to the color blue as in a bead) - Columbia River

simíinekem (refers to the fork of the river or confluence) - Lewiston, Idaho

qémyexp (refers to the area around the confluence of Lawyer’s Creek and the Clearwater River) - Kamiah, Idaho

'oyáyp (is a place name) - Weippe Prairie

Nimíipuu and Nez Perce Maps

To view the:

Traditional Use and Influence Map, illustrating the extent of aboriginal use and influence (from Celilo Falls to Kettle Falls on the Columbia River, from the Yellowstone region to the Lower Snake River area), and the successive reservation boundaries established by the Treaties of 1855 and 1863, as well as the Indian Claims Commission (ICC) boundary. Note the reference to the Bear Paw and Big Hole Battle sites, part of the Conflict of 1877.
A series of Treaty Maps:
- ICC Territory and Boundaries, of some 13 million acres, marking the aboriginal use area as described in the treaties (affirmed by the Indian Claims Commission in 1967).
- Reservation Boundaries as established by the Treaty of 1855, of some 5.5 million acres.
- Reservation Boundaries as established by the Treaty of 1863, of some 750,000 acres.
- Reservation Boundaries, comparing the ICC, 1855 and 1863 designations.
Tribal and Allotment Lands, c. 2000, of some 185,000 acres. Tribal fee and trust lands are noted in green, while individual Nez Perce-owned allotments are noted in pink. The allotment process resulted in a land-base in which the tribe and its members only owned approximately 80,000 acres within the reservation boundaries of some 750,000 acres in 1975. A tribal land acquisition program has increased Nez Perce ownership to some 185,000 acres today. Of the 13 million acres once controlled by the Nimíipuu, less than 1.4% of that aboriginal territory is actually owned by the tribe and its members today.
Current Tribal Lands in contrast to the ICC boundary. Note the land recently acquired by the tribe in Oregon, near the Wallowa Lake area and traditional territory of the Joseph Band.