Download EXPERT GROUP – Nez Perce and Colville

EXPERT GROUP – Nez Perce and Colville
The Nez Perce and Colville tribes live on the Columbia Plateau on the Eastern
side of Washington State. The environment there is hot in the summer and
cold in the winter. The people who live on the Columbia Plateau are nomadic
and need to keep moving to find food and water. When they traveled they
carried their belongings on a travois that was attached to the back of their
horse or dog. Many of the people traveled on foot.
The Plateau tribes depended on large mammals like deer and elk for many
things. They would eat the meat and use the skins, bones, and antlers for
tools, clothing, and shelter. Other natural resources they used were grasses,
cattails, and reeds. They used obsidian, a volcanic rock, for tools and
spearheads.
Because the Plateau tribes moved a lot their homes had to be put up and
taken down quickly. They lived in tepees which were made from long poles
covered with animal hides. Sometimes, especially in winter, they would live in
a pit house. A pit was dug into the ground, or into the leeward side of a hill
and covered with logs and sod. It could be very warm in the winter.
The two most important members of the tribe were the chief and the
shaman. The chief was the bravest or fiercest man of the tribe. It was his
job to settle disagreements and to lead the men into battle. The shaman was
the spiritual leader and the healer. The shaman could be a man or a woman.