Tamá·lwit

Berry Basket (Photo by Patrice Hall-Walters) — **Berry Basket** *(Photo by Patrice Hall-Walters)*

TAMÁ·LWIT IS THE LAW

that binds us to and makes us accountable to this land. — Nakia Williamson, Nez Perce, 2018

Picking Service Berries at the Nez Perce Wallowa Homeland (Photo courtesy of Wallowa Land Trust) — **Picking Service Berries at the Nez Perce Wallowa Homeland** *(Photo courtesy of Wallowa Land Trust)*

THE SOCKEYE WERE SO PLENTIFUL

at Lake Wallowa that the fish would tickle the women’s feet as they were trying to collect them. — Rod Wheeler, Nez Perce

  For thousands of years, the wal’wá•ma took care of the land given to them by the Creator, hanyaw’á•t, and in return the land gave them everything they needed to survive and grow strong. This spiritual relationship is governed by tamá•lwit, the natural law that teaches tribal people how to live on the land. Today, treaty rights protect Nez Perce people’s ability to maintain this relationship through food gathering, hunting, and fishing.
  

According to tamá•lwit, everything in the world—animals, trees, boulders—possesses a consciousness. This BUFFALO HEADDRESS WITH ERMINE TRAILERS is an example of Nez Perce reverence for animals in ceremony and regalia. Because an animal died in order to offer its body to the people, careful craftsmanship and decoration honors the sacrifices of the animal.

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Tamá·lwit

TAMÁ·LWIT IS THE LAW

THE SOCKEYE WERE SO PLENTIFUL

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Next: Seasons and Cycles —>

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