The Nez Perce (Nee-Me-Poo) National Historic Trail follows the route taken by a large group of people of the

Nez Perce The Nez Perce (; autonym in Nez Perce language: , meaning 'we, the people') are an Indigenous people of the Plateau who still live on a fraction of the lands on the southeastern Columbia River Plateau in the Pacific Northwest. This region h ...

tribe in 1877 to avoid being forced onto a reservation. The 1,170-mile (1,883 km) trail was created in 1986 as part of the National Trails System Act and is managed by the

U.S. Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands covering of land. The major divisions of the agency are the Chief's ...

. The trail passes through portions of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

s of

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

, and

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

. It connects sites across these states to commemorate significant events of the

Nez Perce War The Nez Perce War was an armed conflict in 1877 in the Western United States that pitted several bands of the Nez Perce tribe of Native Americans and their allies, a small band of the ''Palouse'' tribe led by Red Echo (''Hahtalekin'') and ...

, which took place between June and October 1877 as several bands of Nez Perce tried to evade the U.S. Cavalry and escape to Canada. The sites are among the 38 that are collectively managed by the U.S.

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

as part of the

Nez Perce National Historical Park The Nez Perce National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park comprising 38 sites located across the states of Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington (state), Washington, which include traditional aboriginal lands of the Nez ...

, though some sites are individually managed by local or state-affiliated organizations.

History

The trail approximates the route followed by a band of 750 Nez Perce warriors and civilians, including women, children, and elders, as they tried to resist U.S. Army efforts to confine them within federal reservation lands in Idaho. The Nez Perce were parties to the 1855 Treaty of Walla Walla with the

U.S. Government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct branches: legislative, executi ...

, but in 1877 were being forced to give up more land than had originally been demanded, in violation of the treaty. Attempting to escape across the border to Canada, where the U.S. Army had no authority, they fought numerous engagements with the 7th Cavalry in the summer of 1877. Their maneuvers evolved as their objectives changed. First, they were fleeing some episodes of violence that erupted during their initial relocation to a smaller reservation; next, trying to evade the 7th Cavalry and reach a territory of the US where they could continue their traditional lifestyle; finally, trying to escape to Canada. Beginning near

Wallowa Lake Wallowa Lake is a ribbon lake south of Joseph, Oregon, United States, at an elevation of . Impounded by high moraines, it was formed by a series of Pleistocene glaciers. On the south end of the lake is Wallowa Lake, Oregon, a small community mad ...

in eastern Oregon, the Nez Perce headed east into Idaho. After the

Battle of White Bird Canyon The Battle of White Bird Canyon was fought on June 17, 1877, in Idaho Territory. White Bird Canyon was the opening battle of the Nez Perce War between the Nez Perce tribe, Nez Perce Indians and the United States. The battle was a significant d ...

they crossed Lolo Pass into Montana and fought a major battle at what is now known as

Big Hole National Battlefield Big Hole National Battlefield preserves a battlefield in the western United States, located in Beaverhead County, Montana. In 1877, the Nez Perce fought a delaying action against the U.S. Army's 7th Infantry Regiment here on August 9 and 10, du ...

. After that, the Nez Perce continued traveling south and east, back into Idaho and then into Wyoming entering

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in the northwest corner of Wyoming, with small portions extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U ...

near

West Yellowstone, Montana West Yellowstone is a town in Gallatin County, Montana, United States, adjacent to Yellowstone National Park. The population was 1,272 at the 2020 census. West Yellowstone is served by Yellowstone Airport. It is part of the Bozeman, MT Microp ...

. The tribe left the park crossing Sylvan Pass and followed the Clarks Fork River back into Montana. From there the Nez Perce headed almost straight north for Canada and almost made it. The Nez Perce were near starvation and exhaustion after fighting their last battle north of the

Bear Paw Mountains The Bears Paw Mountains (Bear Paw Mountains, Bear's Paw Mountains or Bearpaw Mountains) are an insular-montane island range in the Central Montana Alkalic Province in north-central Montana, United States, located approximately 10 miles south of ...

, less than 40 miles (64 km) from the Canada–US border, when they surrendered to U.S. authorities.

Chief Joseph ''Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt'' (or ''hinmatóowyalahtq̓it'' in Americanist orthography; March 3, 1840 – September 21, 1904), popularly known as Chief Joseph, Young Joseph, or Joseph the Younger, was a leader of the wal-lam-wat-kain (Wallowa) ...

is widely credited with leading the Nez Perce on this journey. He served as a camp supervisor and guardian, who was entrusted with handling the logistics of camp and travel, and taking care of the women and children. At the time of the surrender, Chief Joseph was the most prominent surviving leader among the group; he decided it was time to surrender. A few members of the tribe did reach Canada, but the vast majority were relocated to

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

and

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

for eight years before being allowed to relocate to the reservation in Idaho, closer to their ancestral home.

Trail description

The trail passes through numerous National Park Service managed areas,

National Forests National Forest may refer to: * National forest or state forest, a forest administered or protected by a sovereign state ** National forest (Brazil) ** National forest (France) ** National forest (United States) ** State Forests (Poland) ** The N ...

, and Bureau of Land Management Public Lands. While Oregon was already a state, the other three states the trail now passes through were still territories. None of the forest lands were managed by the federal government, but Yellowstone National Park was created 5 years before the Nez Perce journey. The trail also passes through privately owned property and it is best advised to obtain permission to enter these areas from local landowners. Little of the trail is actually a foot trail although much of the journey can be closely followed by roads. Attempts are underway to continue to preserve right of way to allow greater access for visitors. The Chief Joseph Trail Ride takes place annually and follows the historic trail.

References

External links

Nez Perce National Historic Trail map
*
Nez Perce Trail Foundation
{{authority control Nez Perce National Historic Trails of the United States Historic districts in Montana Hiking trails in Oregon Hiking trails in Idaho Hiking trails in Montana Federal lands in Montana 1986 establishments in Montana Units of the National Landscape Conservation System

History

Trail description

See also

References

External links