Nimi’ipuu (Nez Perce) artist’s Bag

Niimíipuu titóoqama hípt hipewyée’nike ’imíitpe kíi tá’c hanyíin himéeq’es ’ítete’s. Kíi ’ítet’es kúnk’u hixyen’íixne kam mawá titóoqama hipewske’éyne koniká naco’óXna pa’nakáhtq’iya’nixna huu koniká ke míne hipeq’níye’nixne kaa ku’stíite kawá he’elwícine. Niimíipuu ha’áy’atma qéemu hi’nak’ámksina, hipawyámka, kaa kawá hipahínaqiya túxitki. Hiken’wísine tílewtim’e pelqéeype ’ítet’espe. Ku’stíite tílewtim’enin’ hiwíiseepXuce q’o c’a’á Niimiipuuwíitki. Qó’c Sooyáapoo hipanáhpayka téhey ’ilpó’s kaa capáatamt’akiikt. Kíimet ku’skin’íix Niimíipunim ken’iwiyew’etúunim q’ó’c hipaaníya kímti ken’íwit hiwe’nekíin qeqépe’.

This large, flat bag was made as a storage container for food. Bags like this were especially useful for seasonal moves to river fishing camps, root-gathering fields, and winter villages. Women created these bags from the peeled, cured, and hand-spun fibers of dogbane (which naturally repels insects) or silkweed. They decorated them with geometric designs that were different on each side, using contrasting-color plant fibers such as corn husks. As Euro-American materials like wool yarn and chemical dyes came into the region, artists incorporated them into many bags.