Nez Perce Indians Research Paper

Have you ever wondered what it was like to not have noisy automobiles bothering you day and night? What if you had the ability to explore the vast wilderness to your heart's content? Can you imagine having a guardian spirit to guide you throughout your hardship of life? How about living off the land by means of hunting and gathering, sleeping under the stars, and falling asleep to the peaceful sounds of nature. But then to be forced to leave the only place you have ever known. That is what I imagine when someone mentions the Nez Perce Indians. Some of the Native Americans who lived in the northwest region of America called themselves Nimi’ipuu (nay-mee-poo) which means "we the people." But when the French observed the Indians with pierced noses, they began calling them Nez-Perce (Nay-Pur-say) meaning "pierced nose." And the name stuck despite this practice not being common among them. Can you imagine what it would be like to live in the northwest region of America 400 years ago? In this region, the temperature fiercely dropped to …show more content…
To prepare for their Journey, the morning of their adventure, they would awake early, cleanse their body carefully by means of sweat baths, and then plunge into the frigid river. Finally, they would cleanse their mouths with willow twigs. A child on their Weyekin Journey would sit with their legs crisscrossed without clothes, food or water and meditate until their Weyekin, also called a guardian spirit, arrived. Some sacred rituals could only be attended by those who had a Weyekin. Not all children were able to “acquire” a Weyekin, because they would get frightened, tired, cold, or hungry before their Weyekin arrived. This is what made these sacred rituals more specials. It was the belief of the Nez-Perce that these guardian spirits would help them throughout their