Nimiipuu Nurtures Emerging Environmental Leaders Lapwai, IdahoA Potlatch Fund Grantee Partner When the Nimiipuu launched the canoe they’d built on the Snake River in 2017, it was the first tribal canoe on their ancestral waters in 113 years. More widely known as the Nez Perce Tribe of Lapwai, Idaho, the Nimiipuu have long been active stewards of their traditional homelands, working to protect the health of the environment by sponsoring educational summits and workshops, partnering with other environmental organizations, and advocating for the removal of the four lower Snake River dams. Building and launching a tribal canoe was a natural continuation of this mission, entwined with the vision of a free-flowing river and access to traditional lands for fishing, hunting