Where did the Nez Perce live before contact with Anglo-Saxons and where do they live now?
The Nimi’ipuu lived in peaceful groups traveling seasonally with the deep canyons cut by the Snake, Clearwater and Salmon rivers. The Nimi’ipuu traveled across Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. The tradition homeland of the NiMiiPuu is North Central Idaho, including areas in Southeastern Washington, Northeastern Oregon with usual and accustomed areas in Western Montana and Wyoming. The Nimi’ipuu aboriginal territory was approximately 17 million acres or approximately 70 thousand square kilometers or 27 thousand square miles; including the Clearwater River Basin, the South and Middle forks of the Salmon River Basin and their tributaries. Today the Nimi’ipuu live all over the world, but the Nez Perce Reservation is located in North Central Idaho.
