To A2 - Anglais au collège

The Nez Perce people

They are a Native American tribe. They lived in the Northwest of the USA on a plateau in the North West of Bitterroot mountains .They spoke English and Penutian. French Canadian fur traders gave them this name, it means “pierced nose”

They lived in tepees. They travelled a lot to find food. They went back to where they were first each year. They believed in spirits they called weyekins. Boys and girls aged from 12 to 15 went to the mountains to have a vision. For example a bear. He would come back and make his own talisman. They kept it all their life.

They hunted buffalos and bears and fished the salmon for eating

They were discovered on 20th September 1805 by Lewis and Clark. They had more than 70 villages. They could be 30 people in a village or 200. It depended on the season. In 1805, they were the largest tribe on the Columbia River Plateau.
Lewis and Clark needed some food, they decided to hunt and they met the tribe. They were friendly. They followed their journey by boats so they left them their horses. They took them back in total trust when they came back.

They had in their tribes a shaman, and a chief.

They fought with the white people for freedom but they had to surrender. At the beginning of the 20th century, they were 1,800 because of diseases and conflicts.