The Nimíipuu creation story begins at what is now Heart of the Monster Nez Perce National Historic Park along the Clearwater River in Idaho. Stella Sammaripa, a Nimíipuu language teacher, and Our Living Lands Producer Daniel Spaulding spent an afternoon next to the river talking about the connections among language, culture, and land.
“Each month isn't necessarily a month,” Sammaripa said. “It's a time we would gather or a time we would gather a plant or an animal, hunting and fishing, or medicines. And during our seasons, we moved with those seasons.”