prairie
Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...
field of about nine by twenty miles of open farmland bordered by pine forests" at 3,000 feet elevation in
Clearwater County, Idaho
Clearwater County is a county located in the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,734. The county seat is Orofino. Established in 1911, the county was named after the Clearwater River.
The county is home to North ...
, at
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.Camas flowers grow well there, and attracted native gatherers of the camas roots. It is the location in
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 ...
where the
Lewis and Clark Expedition
The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gr ...
emerged from crossing the
Bitterroot Mountains
The Northern and Central Bitterroot Range, collectively the Bitterroot Mountains ( Salish: čkʷlkʷqin), is the largest portion of the Bitterroot Range, part of the Rocky Mountains and Idaho Batholith, located in the panhandle of Idaho and we ...
on the
Lolo Trail
Lolo can refer to:
Places United States
* Lolo, Montana, a census-designated place
* Lolo Butte, a summit in Oregon
* Lolo Pass (Idaho–Montana)
* Lolo Pass (Oregon)
* Lolo National Forest, Montana
* Lolo Peak, Montana
Elsewhere
* Lolo, Cam ...
and first met the
Nez Perce tribe
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 ...
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, which include traditional aboriginal lands of the Nez Perce people. The sit ...
.
On September 20, 1805 the first members of Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery, including Clark himself, emerged starving and weak onto the Weippe Prairie. There they encountered the Nez Perce, who were attracted to the area by the abundant hunting, as well as the fields of camas flowers, whose roots were a staple of their diet. The Nez Perce "had never before seen white men", and "proved to be the most helpful of the tribes which the explorers encountered in their travels". By September 22, 1805, the entire expedition made it to Weippe Prairie. Lewis and Clark met many of the Nez Perce chiefs. One of them, Red Bear, gave them dressed buckskins. Lewis and Clark reciprocated with presents of "beads and a few other articles". The Nez Perce "later found the white man's gifts to be cheap."McWhorter, L.V.: "Hear Me, My Chiefs! Nez Perce Legend & History", pages 16-18. The Caxton Printers, Ltd., 2001
The Nez Perce purportedly were predisposed to be friendly to the white explorers due to the positive stories told by a young woman of their tribe who had been stolen and sold into slavery, eventually sold to and lived with white people, and then returned to the Nez Perce. This woman, named Watkuweis (meaning "returned from a faraway country"), when hearing of the arrival of Lewis and Clark, pleaded that they not be harmed. Her tales of the kindness she had experienced with the white people reportedly convinced the Nez Perce to offer friendship to the explorers. The Nez Perce provided camas root cakes and other food, helped them build canoes for their continued westward journey and mapped out the water route the expedition would follow. The expedition cached some materials there, and found the caches untouched when they returned in spring 1806. They also left the expedition's horses. The Nez Perce were divided about returning the horses, but the Corps eventually regained most of them. Upon their return in 1806, they spent an extended time from May to late June with the Nez Perce, due to the late spring in the Bitterroot Mountains.
The part of Weippe Prairie most associated with the Lewis and Clark expedition, covered with camas and close to the town of
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.National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
in 1966.Blanche H. Schroer, William Everhart and Charles W. Snell (September 15, 1976) , National Park Service and It is one of 38 scattered sites covered by 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, which include traditional aboriginal lands of the Nez Perce people. The sit ...
which interprets the site. The name Weippe, pronounced WEE-ipe, is derived from a Nez-Perce name whose meaning has been variously defined as a "very old place" or as referring to a spring of water or the camas grounds. A literal translation has not been found.
"This national historic landmark is also associated with the 1877 Nez Perce War; the nontreaty bands held a council on this prairie following the Clearwater Battle."
See also
*
List of National Historic Landmarks in Idaho
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This is a complete List of National Historic Landmarks in Idaho. The United States National Historic Landmark program is operated under the auspices of the National Park Service, and recognizes structures, districts, objects, and similar ...