Description
The Palouse are a Sahaptin tribe recognized in the Treaty of 1855 with the United States along with the Yakama. A variant spelling is Palus. Today they are enrolled in the federally recognized Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation and some are also represented by the Colville Confederated Tribes, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and Nez Perce Tribe. In October 1805, Lewis and Clark met with the tribe, although most were away from the area for fall food-gathering and hunting. Lewis and Clark presented one of the expedition's silver peace medals to paramount Chief Kepowhan.
Language
The people are one of the Sahaptin-speaking groups
Culture
The ancestral people were nomadic, following food sources through the seasons. The Palus people gathered with other native peoples for activities such as food-gathering, hunting, fishing, feasting, trading, and celebrations that included dancing, sports and gambling. They lived near other groups including the Nez Perce, Wanapum, Walla Walla, Umatilla and Yakama peoples. The people were expert horsemen. The term Appaloosa is probably a derivation of the term "A Palouse horse." They bred the horses for their distinct markings. In the latter half of the nineteenth century, the United States Army captured and slaughtered hundreds of tribal horses to cripple the tribe during the Indian Wars.