•
Almotipu Band :Territories along
Snake River in
Hells Canyon up to about 80 miles south of today's
Lewiston, Idaho (
Simiinekem – "confluence of two rivers" or "river fork", as the Clearwater flows into the Snake River here), in
Wallowa Mountains and in the
Seven Devils Mountains in Oregon and Idaho. Their fishing and hunting grounds were also used by the
Pelloatpallah Band (comprising the "Palus (or Palus proper) Band" and "Wawawai Band" of the
Upper Palus Regional Band), who formed bilingual Palus-Nez-Percé bands due to many mixed marriages. :several village based bands are counted among them: :*the
Nuksiwepu Band :*the
Palótpu Band (their village Palót was on the north bank of the Snake River – about 2 to 3 miles above Sáhatp) :*the
Pinewewixpu (Pinăwăwipu) Band (their village Pinăwăwi was located at Penawawa Creek) :*the
Sahatpu (Sáhatpu) Band (their village Sáhatp was located on the north bank of the Snake River, above Wawáwih) :*the
Siminekempu (Shimínĕkĕmpu) Band (their village Shimínĕkĕm – "confluence", was located in the area of present-day Lewiston) :*the
Tokalatoinu (Tukálatuinu) Band (along the
Tucannon River (
Took-kahl-la-toin), a tributary of the Snake River) :*the
Wawawipu Band (their village Wawáwih was located at Wawawai Creek, a tributary of the Snake River) •
Alpowna (Alpowai) Band or '''Alpowe'ma (Alpoweyma/Alpowamino) Band''' ("People along
Alpaha (Alpowa) Creek" or "People of ’Al’pawawaii, i.e.
Clarkston") :Territories along the South and Middle Fork of the Clearwater River downstream to the city of Lewiston (and south of it) in eastern Washington and the Idaho Panhandle. They also spent much time east of the Bitterroot Mountains and camped along the Yellowstone River, their main meeting place and one of the most important fishing grounds was the area of
Kooskia, Idaho (
Leewikees). Their fishing and hunting grounds were also used by the "Wawawai Band" of the Upper Palus Regional Band, who lived directly to the west and formed a bilingual Palus-Nez-Percé Band due to many intermarriages. They were the
third largest Nez Percé regional group and their tribal area was one of the four centres for the large regional groups of the Nez Percé. :several village based bands are counted among them: :*the
Alpowna (Alpowai) Band or ''Alpowe'ma (Alpoweyma/Alpowamino) Band'' (largest and most important band, along the Alpaha (Alpowa) Creek, a small tributary of the Clearwater), west of Clarkston, Washington ('Al'pawawaii = People of a "place of a plant called Ahl-pa-ha") :*the
Tsokolaikiinma Band (between Lewiston and Alpowa Creek) :*the
Hasotino (Hăsotōinu) Band (their settlement Hasutin / Hăsotōin was an important fishing ground at Asotin Creek (Héesutine – "eel river") on the Snake River in Nez Perce County, Idaho, directly opposite the present town of
Asotin, Washington) :**the
Heswéiwewipu/Hăsweiwăwihpu local group (their village Hăsweiwăwih was also located opposite Asotin, along a small creek whose upper reaches were called Heswé/Hăsiwĕ) :**the
Anatōinnu local group (their village Ánatōin was located at the confluence of Mill Creek and the Snake River) :*the
Sapachesap Band :*the
Witkispu Band (about 3 miles below Alpowa Creek, along the eastern bank of the Snake River) :*the
Sálwepu Band (at the Middle Fork of the Clearwater River, about 5 miles above present-day Kooskia, Idaho, Chief Looking Glass Group) •
Assuti Band ("People along Assuti Creek" in Idaho, joined Chief Joseph in the war of 1877.) •
Atskaaiwawipu Band or
Asahkaiowaipu Band ("People at the confluence, People from the river mouth, i.e.
Ahsahka") :Territories from their winter village Ahsahka/Asaqa ("river mouth" or "confluence") up to the Salmon Ridge along the
North Fork Clearwater River up to its mouth into the Clearwater River, hunted sometimes near Peck, Idaho (
Pipyuuninma) in the territory of the
Painima Band. An important fishing ground was Bruce Eddy in Clearwater County, Idaho, which was traditionally owned by the
Atskaaiwawipu (Asahkaiowaipu), but was shared by neighboring bands upon invitation: the
Tewepu Band, the
Ilasotino (Hasotino) Band, the
Nipihama (Nipĕhĕmă) Band, the
Alpowna (Alpowai) Band and the
Matalaimo ("People further upstream", a collective term for bands that had their center around Kamiah). •
Hatweme (Hatwēme) Band or
Hatwai (Héetwey) Band ("People along Hatweh Creek", a tributary of the Clearwater River, about four to five miles east of Lewiston) •
Hinsepu Band (lived along the
Grande Ronde River in Oregon.) •
Kămiăhpu Band or
Kimmooenim Band ("People of Kămiăhp", "People of the Many Rope Litters Place, i.e.
Kamiah") :Their main village Kămiăhp was located on the south side of the Clearwater River and the confluence of Lawyer Creek near today's
Kamiah, Idaho ("many rope litters") in the Kamiah Valley. They used with other bands the important fishing grounds near Bruce Eddy in Clearwater County, Idaho, which was in the territory of the
Atskaaiwawipu (Asahkaiowaipu) Band. Other Nez Perce bands often grouped them under the collective name
Uyame or
Uyămă; the closely related and neighboring
Atskaaiwawipu (Asahkaiowaipu) Band referred to all bands around Kamiah as
Matalaimo ("People further upstream"). Their tribal area was one of the four centers for the major regional groups of the Nez Percé. :several village based bands are counted among them: :*the
Kămiăhpu (Kimmooenim) Band (was the biggest and most important band of the Kamiah Valley area) :*the
Tewepu Band ("People of Téewe, i.e.
Orofino, Idaho" at the confluence of Orofino Creek and Clearwater River) :*the ''Tuke'liklikespu (Tukē'lĭklĭkespu) Band'' (near Big Eddy on the north bank of the Clearwater River, some miles upstream from Orofino) :*the ''Pipu'inimu Band'' (at Big Canyon Creek in Camas Prairie, which flows into the Clearwater River north of today's Peck; they were therefore direct neighbours of the southern Painima Band), :*the
Painima Band (near present-day
Peck, Idaho (
Pipyuuninma) in Nez Perce County, on the Clearwater River in Idaho) •
Kannah Band or '''Kam'nakka Band''' ("People of Kannah (along Clearwater River)" in Idaho) •
Lamtáma (Lamátta) Band or
Lamatama Band ("People of a region with little snow, i.e. Lamtáma (Lamátta) region") :Territories were between the
Alpowai Band in the north and downstream in the northwest the
Pikunan (Pikunin) Band and extended in the Idaho Panhandle north along the
Upper Salmon River (''Naco'x kuus
– "Salmon River") and one of its tributaries, the White Bird Creek, and to the Snake River in the southwest, and also included the White Bird Canyon (deeper than the Grand Canyon) in the southwest of the Clearwater Mountains and southeast of the Camas prairie. Their tribal area and band name is derived from Lamtáma (Lamátta)
("area with little snow") and refers to its excellent climatic conditions, which were particularly suitable for horse breeding. They were the second largest Nez Percé regional group
; also called Salmon River Band''. :*the
Esnime (Iyăsnimă) Band (along Slate Creek ('Iyeesnime) and Upper Salmon River, therefore often simply called
Slate Creek Band or
Upper Salmon River Indians) :*the
Nipihama (Nipĕhĕmă) Band (from Lower Salmon River to White Bird Creek) :*the
Tamanmu Band (their settlement Tamanma was located at the mouth of the Salmon River in Idaho) •
Lapwai Band or
Lapwēme Band ("People of the Butterfly Place, i.e.
Lapwai") :Territories along Sweetwater Creek and Lapwai Creek up to its confluence with the Clearwater River near today's
Spalding, Idaho. One of their traditional settlements (as well as an important meeting place for neighbouring bands) was on the site of today's
Lapwai, Idaho (
Thlap-Thlap, also:
Léepwey – "Place of the Butterflies"), the tribal and administrative centre of the Nez Percé Tribe of Idaho. Their tribal area was one of the four centers for the major regional groups of the Nez Percé. •
Mákapu Band ("People from Máka/Maaqa along Cottonwood Creek (formerly: Maka Creek"), a tributary of the Clearwater River, Idaho.) •
Pikunan (Pikunin) Band or
Pikhininmu Band ("Snake River People") :Territories encompassed the vast mountain wilderness between the Snake River in the south and the Lower Salmon River in the north until it met the Snake River, were direct neighbours of the
Wallowa (Willewah) Band on the opposite bank of the Snake River in the west and the
Lamtáma (Lamátta) Band living further southeast of them. They could be classified as buffalo hunters, but they were also true mountain dwellers, also called the
Snake River tribe. •
Saiksaikinpu Band (on the upper portion of the Southern Fork Clearwater; their immediate neighbors downstream was the
Tukpame Band) •
Saxsano Band (about 4 miles above Asotin, Washington, on the east side of Snake River.) •
Taksehepu Band ("People of
Tukeespe/Tu-kehs-pa APS, i.e.
Ghost town Agatha") •
Tukpame Band (on the lower portion of the Southern Fork Clearwater; their immediate neighbors upstream was the
Saiksaikinpu Band.) •
Wallowa (Willewah) Band or
Walwáma (Walwáama) Band ("People along the Wallowa River" or "People along the Grand Ronde River") :Territories in northeastern Oregon and northwestern Idaho with tribal centre in the river valleys of the
Imnaha River, the
Minam River and the
Wallowa River (''Wal'awa
– "the winding river"). Their territory extended into the Blue Mountains (already claimed by the Cayuse) in the west, to the Wallowa Mountains in the southwest, to both sides of the Grande Ronde River (Waliwa
or Willewah
) and its confluence with the Snake River in the north, and almost to the Snake River in the east. Their area was widely known as an excellent grazing ground for the large herds of horses and was therefore often used by the neighbouring and related Weyiiletpuu (Wailetpu) Band
("Ryegrass People, i.e. the Cayuse people). They were often grouped under the collective name Kămúinnu or Qéemuynu ("People of the Indian Hemp"). They were the largest Nez Percé group'' and their tribal area was one of the four centers for the major regional groups of the Nez Percé. Today most are part of the
Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation. :several village based bands are counted among them: :*the
Wallowa (Willewah) Band (the largest band with several local groups, in the Wallowa River Valley and
Zumwalt Prairie) :*the
Imnáma (Imnámma) Band (lived with several local groups isolated in the Imnaha River Valley) :*the ''Weliwe (Wewi'me) Band'' (their settlement Williwewix was located at the mouth of the Grande Ronde River) :*the
Inantoinu Band (in
Joseph Canyon – known as
saqánma ("long, wild canyon") or
an-an-a-soc-um ("long, rough canyon") – and along Lower Joseph Creek to its mouth into the Grande Ronde River) :*the
Toiknimapu Band (above Joseph Creek and along the north bank of the Grande Ronde River) :*the
Isäwisnemepu (Isawisnemepu) Band (near the present Zindel, at the Grande Ronde River in Oregon) :*the
Sakánma Band (several local groups along the Snake River between the mouth of the Salmon River in the south and the Grande Ronde River in the north, the name of their main village Sakán and the band name Sakánma refers to an area where the cliffs rise close to the water – this could be Joseph Canyon (Saqánma)) •
Yakama Band or
Yăkámă Band ("People of the Yăká River, i.e.
Potlatch River (above its mouth into the Clearwater River)", not to confused with the
Yakama peoples) :Territories along the Potlatch River (which was called Yăká above its mouth into the Clearwater River) in Idaho. :several village based bands are counted among them: :*the ''Yakto'inu (Yaktōinu) Band'' (their village Yaktōin was located at the mouth of the Potlatch River into the Clearwater River) :*the
Yatóinu Band (lived along Pine Creek, a small right tributary of the Potlatch River) :*the
Iwatoinu (Iwatōinu) Band (their village Iwatōin was located on the north bank of the Potlatch River near today's Kendrick in Latah County) :*the
Tunèhepu (Tunĕhĕpu) Band (their village Tunĕhĕ was located at the mouth of Middle Potlatch Creek into the Potlatch River, near
Juliaetta, Idaho (
Yeqe)) Because of large amount of inter-marriage between Nez Perce bands and neighboring tribes or bands to forge alliances and peace (often living in mixed bilingual villages together), the following bands were also counted to the Nez Perce (which today are viewed as being linguistically and culturally closely related, but separate ethnic groups): ; Walla Walla Band : These were the
Walla Walla people which lived along the Walla Walla River and along the confluence of the Snake and Columbia River rivers, today they are enrolled in the
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. ; Pelloatpallah Band Palous Band : These were the
Palus (or Palus proper) Band and
Wawawai Band of the Upper Palus Band, which constituted together with the Middle Palus Band und Lower Palus Band – one of the three main groups of the
Palus people, which lived along the Columbia, Snake and Palouse Rivers to the northwest of the Nez Perce. Today the majority is enrolled in the
Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation and some are part of the
Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation. ; Weyiiletpuu (Wailetpu) Band Yeletpo Band : These were the
Cayuse people which lived to the west of the Nez Perce at the headwaters of the Walla Walla, Umatilla and Grande Ronde River and from the Blue Mountains westwards up to the Deschutes River, they oft shared village sites with the Nez Perce and Palus and were feared by neighboring tribes, as early as 1805, most Cayuse had given up their mother tongue and had switched to
Weyíiletpuu, a variety of the Lower Nez Perce/Lower Nimiipuutímt dialect of the
Nez Perce language. They called themselves by their Nez-Percé name as
Weyiiletpuu ("Ryegrass People"); today most Cayuse are enrolled into the
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, some as
Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs or
Nez Perce Tribe of Idaho. == Culture ==