Sahaptian

Sahaptian, also called Sahaptianic or Shahaptian, is a two-language branch of the Plateau Penutian family, itself part of the broader Penutian hypothesis, spoken by Native American peoples of the Columbia Plateau in Washington, Oregon and Idaho. Its two members are Nez Perce (Niimiipuutimt), which has Upper and Lower dialects, and Sahaptin, which is more internally diverse, with Umatilla and Yakama among its main dialects. The family name Sahaptian and the language name Sahaptin have often been confused and used interchangeably in older literature, though they name different levels of the classification.