The Nez Perce in Oregon: Removal and Return puts the oft-told story of the Nez Perce War and Chief Joseph into national and Oregon context. The Nez Perce today are descendants of tribal peoples living in the Intermountain west for millennia. Recent archeological findings at Coopers Ferry on the Salmon River put human habitation back to 16,000 years ago; there is a Nez Perce name for the site. The Nez Perce, who befriended and helped Lewis and Clark on their journey, had lands taken by treaty and by homesteader encroachment – and finally by war. Nez Perce were subjected to boarding schools, allotment, and other assimilationist efforts. But the people are resilient, and the Nez Perce Wallowa Homeland, a nonprofit with tribal and local representatives, has a dance arbor and a Longhouse on 320 acres near the town of Wallowa; Tribal Fisheries is restoring salmon runs in Eastern Oregon; and the Nez Perce Tribe owns land in the Wallowa.
This exhibit runs Sept. 29 through Oct. 30 and was one of three exhibits that were awarded Capitol History Gateway exhibit sponsorships in the first year of the program.
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