The Nez Perce National Historical Park is a United States

National Historical Park National Historic Site (NHS) is a designation for an officially recognized area of national historic significance in the United States. An NHS usually contains a single historical feature directly associated with its subject. The National Historic ...

comprising 38 sites located across the states of

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

, and

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, which include traditional aboriginal lands of the

Nez Perce people The Nez Percé (; autonym in Nez Perce language: , meaning "we, the people") are an Indigenous people of the Plateau who are presumed to have lived on the Columbia River Plateau in the Pacific Northwest region for at least 11,500 years.Ames ...

. The sites are strongly associated with the resistance of

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

and his band, who in June 1877 migrated from Oregon in an attempt to reach freedom in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and avoid being forced on to a reservation. They were pursued by

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

cavalry forces and fought numerous skirmishes against them during the so-called

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 eventually ended with Chief Joseph's surrender in the Montana Territory. Nez Perce National Historical Park was established in 1965, and a museum was opened at the park headquarters in

Spalding, Idaho Spalding is an unincorporated community in the northwest United States, located in northern Nez Perce County, Idaho. Description The community is located east and upstream of Lewiston, on the Clearwater River, at the mouth of the Lapw ...

, in 1983. The 38 discontiguous sites span three main

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...

s, covering a wide range of elevations and climate. Numerous animal species inhabit the park areas, including several that are considered sensitive.

History

The park commemorates the history, culture, and stories of the Nez Perce. It includes sites associated with the

of 1877, when the people resisted takeover by the United States, and the flight of

and his band. The park is administered overall by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propert ...

, and a number of the sites are managed by other federal and state agencies as well as local communities; the park's headquarters are located in

, east of Lewiston. The park was established by Congress in 1965. Construction of the planned headquarters site and museum at Spalding were delayed by land acquisition and federal funding Soon after construction began in September 1979, Native American graves were discovered at the site. Remains and artifacts were preserved in consultation with the Nez Perce. Construction of the visitor center and museum was later restarted. The museum opened

Sites

The Nez Perce National Historic Park does not follow the format of most national parks, in that it is composed of dozens of sites spread over four states. The 38 sites are linked by the history of the Nez Perce people, rather than by geographic location. Twenty-six of the sites are on or near the

Nez Perce Indian Reservation The Nez Percé (; autonym in Nez Perce language: , meaning "we, the people") are an Indigenous people of the Plateau who are presumed to have lived on the Columbia River Plateau in the Pacific Northwest region for at least 11,500 years.Ames, K ...

in Idaho and can be toured in one day. Adjacent states hold the other twelve sites. Several of the sites are connected by the

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

, managed by the

United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...

. It preserves the route taken by Chief Joseph and his band when they tried to reach Canada in 1877. The sites include: *

Battle of Bear Paw The Battle of Bear Paw (also sometimes called Battle of the Bears Paw or Battle of the Bears Paw Mountains) was the final engagement of the Nez Perce War of 1877. Following a running fight from north central Idaho Territory over the previous f ...

–

Blaine County, Montana Blaine County is a county in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,044. Its county seat is Chinook. The county was named for James G. Blaine, former United States Secretary of State. It is on the north line of ...

Battle of the Clearwater The Battle of the Clearwater (July 11–12, 1877) was a battle in the Idaho Territory between the Nez Perce under Chief Joseph and the United States Army. Under General O. O. Howard, the army surprised a Nez Perce village; the Nez Perce counte ...

–

Idaho County, Idaho Idaho County is a county in the U.S. state of Idaho, and the largest by area in the state. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,541. The county seat is Grangeville. Previous county seats of the area were Florence (1864–68), Washingto ...

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 Indians and the United States. The battle was a significant defeat of the U.S. ...

– Idaho County, Idaho *

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, duri ...

–

Beaverhead County, Montana Beaverhead County is the largest county by area in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,371. Its county seat is Dillon. The county was founded in 1865. Much of the perimeter of the county is the Continental ...

Camas Meadows Battle Sites The Camas Meadows Battle Sites, also known as Camas Meadows Camp and Battle Sites, are two sites important to the Battle of Camas Creek, fought August 20, 1877 between members of the Nez Perce tribe and troops of the United States Army. The Nez Pe ...

–

Clark County, Idaho Clark County is a rural county in the U.S. state of Idaho; its county seat and largest city is Dubois. As of the 2020 Census, the county had a population of 790, making it the least populous county in the state. History Establishment of stage ...

Camas Prairie The name camas prairie refers to several different geographical areas in the western United States which were named for the native perennial camassia or camas. The culturally and scientitifcally significant of these areas lie within Idaho and Monta ...

– Idaho County and

Lewis County, Idaho Lewis County is a county located in the north central region of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,533, making it the fourth-least populous county in Idaho. The county seat is Nezperce, and Kamiah is the lar ...

Camp Chopunnish Camp Chopunnish was the first major camp on the Lewis and Clark Expedition's return voyage. It is located in Idaho County, Idaho, along the north bank of the Clearwater River (Idaho), Clearwater River, it is now part of the Nez Perce National Histo ...

– Idaho County, Idaho *

Joseph Canyon Joseph Canyon (Nez Perce: an-an-a-soc-um, meaning "long, rough canyon") is a -deep basalt canyon in northern Wallowa County, Oregon, and southern Asotin County, Washington, United States. Geography Joseph Canyon contains Joseph Creek, a tributar ...

–

Wallowa County, Oregon Wallowa County () is the northeastern most county in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,391, making it Oregon's fifth-least populous county. Its county seat is Enterprise. According to ''Oregon Geographic Nam ...

and

Asotin County, Washington Asotin County () is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 22,285. The county seat is at Asotin, and its largest city is Clarkston. The county was created out of Garfield County in 1883 and deriv ...

* Old Chief Joseph Gravesite – Wallowa County, Oregon *

Weippe Prairie Weippe Prairie is a "beautiful upland prairie field of about nine by twenty miles of open farmland bordered by pine forests" at 3,000 feet elevation in Clearwater County, Idaho, at Weippe, Idaho. Camas flowers grow well there, and attracted ...

–

Weippe, Idaho Weippe () is a city in Clearwater County, Idaho, United States. The population was 441 at the 2010 census, up from 411 in 2000.ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...

s. The first, found at the sites in the Palouse grasslands and Missouri Basin, is

shortgrass prairie The shortgrass prairie is an ecosystem located in the Great Plains of North America. The two most dominant grasses in the shortgrass prairie are blue grama (''Bouteloua gracilis'') and buffalograss ('' Bouteloua dactyloides''), the two less domi ...

. These flat or slightly rolling prairies include rivers and streams, and have an altitude of about . The second, found in the plateaus of the Columbia and

Snake Snakes are elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more j ...

rivers, is

sagebrush steppe Sagebrush steppe is a type of shrub-steppe, a plant community characterized by the presence of shrubs, and usually dominated by sagebrush, any of several species in the genus '' Artemisia''.lava field Lava fields are large, mostly flat areas of surface or subaquatic lava flows. Such features are generally composed of highly fluid basalt lava, and can extend for tens or hundreds of miles across the underlying terrain. Morphology and stru ...

s and flows. The third, found in the sites in the Blue Mountains, Salmon River Mountains, southwestern Montana and northern

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...

, is conifer and alpine meadows. These high-elevation sites have lower temperatures and greater precipitation than the other ecoregions. Numerous species of mammals, amphibians, reptiles, birds and invertebrates inhabit the various park sites. Several of these species are classified in terms of their status as "threatened," "endangered" or "sensitive" at the state level. Montana Arctic grayling,

mountain plover The mountain plover (''Charadrius montanus'') is a medium-sized ground bird in the plover family (Charadriidae). It is misnamed, as it lives on level land. Unlike most plovers, it is usually not found near bodies of water or even on wet soil; i ...

swift fox The swift fox (''Vulpes velox'') is a small light orange-tan fox around the size of a domestic cat found in the western grasslands of North America, such as Montana, Colorado, New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. It also lives in southern M ...

great grey owl The great grey owl (''Strix nebulosa'') (also great gray owl in American English) is a very large owl, documented as the world's largest species of owl by length. It is distributed across the Northern Hemisphere, and it is the only species in th ...

boreal owl The boreal owl or Tengmalm's owl (''Aegolius funereus'') is a small owl in the "true owl" family Strigidae. It is known as the boreal owl in North America and as Tengmalm's owl in Europe after Swedish naturalist Peter Gustaf Tengmalm or, more ...

and several fish species are all sensitive species that inhabit the park, while gray wolf and bald eagles are sometimes seen. Managers of the park have several ecological concerns including issues of

invasive plant species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species adv ...

, the degradation of animal habitat due to human activity, the protection of endangered species, and dealing with effects of

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

References

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External links

* {{authority control National Historical Parks of the United States Historic districts in Montana Nez Perce tribe Nez Perce War Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in Idaho Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in Montana Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in Oregon Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington (state) Archaeological sites in Idaho Archaeological sites in Montana Archaeological sites in Oregon Archaeological sites in Washington (state) Indigenous culture of the Plateau Protected areas established in 1965 National Park Service areas in Idaho National Park Service areas in Montana National Park Service areas in Oregon National Park Service areas in Washington (state) 1965 establishments in Oregon 1965 establishments in Montana 1965 establishments in Idaho 1965 establishments in Washington (state) Museums established in 1983 1983 establishments in Idaho

History

Sites

See also

References

External links