Nimiipuu Women Carry the Future on Their Backs

A field filled with vibrant blue camas flowers in the Nez Perce Memorial Site at Big Hole National Battlefield in Wisdom, MT. Nimiipuu families made annual trips to harvest camas bulbs. Women gathered the starchy onion-shaped bulbs in the fruitful camas meadows, digging up to fifty pounds of camas. NPS Photo

Mothers and grandmothers hold vital roles in the Nimiipuu, (pronounced Nee-me-poo) nation. The tribe is often referred to as the Nez Perce due to an early misconception by French fur traders that tribal members’ noses were pierced. The Nimiipuu mothers brought their children into the world and raised them to live off their abundant homelands of north-central Idaho.

They carried their infants on their backs in soft buckskin cradleboards adorned with ornate designs as they foraged for edible and medicinal plants to nourish their families while their husbands hunted bison and fished for salmon. Tucked snuggly inside, much like within their mothers’ wombs, infants learned to observe the world around them from their mothers’ backs, obtaining the strong observation skills that they needed to become valuable members of their communities.

As their children grew older, mothers passed down their valuable botanical knowledge to them, teaching them how to gather roots, berries, and identify plants. They also showed them how to prepare and cook foods, such as their calorie-rich camas bread, and find the raw materials needed to make household goods, such as hemp and cornhusk to make bags and bison horn to make spoons and cups. Once boys reached the age of seven to nine, they went off with their fathers and other male relatives to learn how to hunt, fish, and create tools.

Nimiipu grandmothers told stories and used chores to teach their grandchildren about their respective roles in their families. They passed down traditional knowledge through storytelling from generation to generation. These stories still live on today and continue to teach children about the defining landscape of their homelands as well as about their language, history, and culture.

Nimiipu tribes consider mothers and their work equal to that of fathers as their roles serve equal importance in providing sustenance and protection to their families. Mothers raise their children to be knowledgeable, respectful, and observant of their cultural and familial dynamics. This ensures that their children will be ready for whatever lay ahead as they enter adolescence and adulthood.

To learn more about the Nimiipu tribe’s history and their lives today, check out these sites:

Nez Perce National Historical Park (nps.gov)

Nez Perce Tribe

Tribal Legacy Project (lc-triballegacy.org)

Nez Perce | Discovering Lewis & Clark ® (lewis-clark.org)

Nez Perce National Historic Trail - Home (usda.gov)

Where this belongs

• Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail
• Nez Perce National Historical Park

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