The Seasonal Cycle

WINTER:

Winter was the time when groups of Columbia Plateau people settled into river valley villages that had been occupied by previous generations of their people. Sheltered from the wind and stocked with firewood the families would live on foods gathered during the previous seasons, including dried fish, berries, and roots. Occasionally they would hunt nearby deer or elk to supplement their diet. Winter was not a season of inactivity. Repair and manufacture of tools and clothes were necessary in order to be ready for another season of hunting, gathering, and fishing. Storytelling was another way to pass the time during the short days and long nights. Many of the stories could not be told at other times of the year or it was said "a snake would crawl up your leg". These stories taught the children the history and legends of their people, creating a link from the ancestors to the present day.

EARLY SPRING:

Early spring sometimes meant food shortages among the people - snow still covered the mountains, fish were still scarce, berries had not yet formed on the bushes. The families who had lived together in winter villages now began to move into smaller camps away from other families in order to hunt and gather what they could.

LATE SPRING AND SUMMER:

Mid-April to May was the time of the First-Fruits and First-Salmon ceremonies. This was a time of thanksgiving and celebration for ripening roots and fish returning to the area. Favorite fishing spots along the river were populated with men from many tribes while women gathered camas roots in the hills, marshes, and meadows. As summer arrived, different fruits ripened and other foods became available. The tribe typically moved to where they knew food to be ready for gathering, sharing the land with other tribes. The Cayuse, Umatilla, Walla Walla, and Nez Perce shared food gathering and hunting areas in the Blue Mountains of Oregon and Washington. By mid-summer, the tribe usually had enough food gathered to concentrate on social events. The Grande Ronde Valley of Oregon was a gathering-place for tribes. Here they traded, danced, gambled, raced horses, and intermarried with other tribes, creating permanent alliances.

FALL:

Fall was again a time of renewed activity in hunting, gathering, and fishing. It was the last opportunity before the winter to obtain and store foods for the coming winter. Hides were tanned; fish, game animals, and berries were dried for food, and houses were repaired with new tule. As the snows began, the small groups that had spread out for the time of last hunting and gathering again came together in the large winter villages of their ancestors.

From: Oregon Indians: Culture, History and Current Affairs, 1983, Oregon Historical Society Press.

NEZ PERCE NAMES FOR THE MONTHS:

The Nez Perce Indians made their living according to the seasons:
El-weht (Spring); Ta-yum (Summer); Sekh-nihm (Fall); A-nihm (Winter).

JANUARY---We-lu-poop. Season of cold weather.

FEBRUARY--Ah-la-tah-mahl. Season of hard time to build fire.

MARCH-----Lah-te-tahl. Beginning of blossoming flowers season.

APRIL-----Keh-khee-tahl. First harvest of roots known as keh-kheet.

MAY-------Ah-pah-ahl. Season of the making of Up-pa (baked loaf) make from ground Khouse.

JUNE------Toose-te-ma-sah-tahl. Season of migrating to higher elevation to dig the roots.

JULY------Heel-lul. Season of melting snow in the mountains.

AUGUST----Tah-ya-ahl. Season of midsummer (Ta-Yum) hot weather. It is also referred to as Wa-wa-mai-kahl, when the salmon reach the canyon streams or upper tributaries to spawn.

SEPTEMBER-Pe-khoon-mai-kahl. Season of the fall salmon run going up stream or when the fingerlings journey down river to the ocean.

OCTOBER---Hope-lul. Season when Tamrack needles are shedding and the trees turn color.

NOVEMBER--Sekh-le-wahl. Season of shedding leaves.

DECEMBER--Ha-oo-khoy. Season of the fetus in the womb of the deer.

Source of Nez Perce names for months

Slickpoo, Allen P. Noon nee-me-poo (We, the Nez Perces): Culture and history of the Nez Perces.
   Allen P. Slickpoo,Project Director, Nez Perce Tribe;    Deward E. Walker, Technical advisor,
   University of Colorado. [1st ed.] ed. Walker, Deward E. and Nez Perce Tribe.
   [Lapwai, Idaho: Nez Perce Tribe of Idaho,]; 1973.

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Last modified on: January 31, 2004