The Palouse are a Sahaptin tribe recognized in the Treaty of 1855 with the United States along with the Yakama. It was negotiated at the 1855 Walla Walla Council. 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. Ethnography The people are one of the Sahaptin-speaking groups of Native Americans living on the Columbia Plateau in eastern Washington, northeastern Oregon, and North Central Idaho: these included the Nez Percé, Cayuse, Walla Walla, Umatilla and the Yakama. The Palouse (Palus) territory extends from the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater Rivers in the east to the confluence of the Snake and Columbia Rivers in the west. It encompassed the Palouse River Valley up to Rock Lake in the north and stayed north of the Touchet River Valley in the south. To the north, their territory bordered the Sinkiuse-Columbia, Spokane, and Coeur d'Alene; to the east, their territory bordered the Nez Perce; to the south, the Cayuse and Walla Walla; and to the west, they bordered the eastern boundary of the Yakama and Wanapum territories. The Palouse (Palus) lived in three main regional bands, composed of several village-based groups: Upper Palouse (Palus) Band: often formed bilingual village communities with the Almotipu Band and Alpowna (Alpowai) Band of the Nez Perce people, the Lewis and Clark Expedition referred to them as Chopunnish (Nez Percé), their villages along the Clearwater River (from west to east) Pinăwăwi/Pinawa’wi (Penawawa) ("coming out of bushy area to fish"), Witkispe (Witkispu), Wawawi/Wawáwi (Wawawai) ("place of mosquitoes"), Alamotin/Alamo’tin (Almota) ("soaring flame") and Alpo’wa (Alpowa) ("total area of fishing") were identified by Americans and in treaties as "Nez Percé villages" and therefore their lands were included into the Nez Perce Indian Reservation; today part of the "Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation" and "Nez Perce Tribe". The "Pinăwăwi/Pinawa’wi (Penawawa) Palouse" were identified as Pinewewixpu (Pinăwăwipu) Nez Perce Band, the "Witkispe (Witkispu) Palouse" as Witkispu Nez Perce Band, the "Wawawi/Wawáwi (Wawawai) Palouse" as Wawawipu Nez Perce Band, the "Alamotin/Alamo’tin (Almota) Palouse" as Almotipu Nez Perce Band, and the "Alpo’wa (Alpowa) Palouse" as Alpowna (Alpowai) Nez Perce Band. Middle Palouse (Palus) Band: lived along the Palouse River, Lower Clearwater River and along the Tucannon River, their main village Pa-luš-sa/Palus