Montana's Nez Perce Trail Tells The Story Of Tragedy And Battle Between Native Americans And The U.S. Army
“On August 9th, 1877, a sleeping Nez Perce camp that contained approximately 800 people of all ages was attacked before dawn by 183 men from the 7th Infantry along with civilian volunteers from the Bitterroot Valley,” Mandi Wick, Park Supervisor of the Big Hole National Battlefield in Montana, says of the events that led to the preservation of this site. “Despite being caught by surprise, the Nez Perce warriors rallied after the initial attack and eventually forced the soldiers out of the village, surrounding them in what we now call the siege area. They held the soldiers there until the next day, August 10th, while the women buried their dead. Then the tribe, whose name for themselves is the n?mí·pu· (nee-mee-poo), continued their flight, seeking to reach Canada, where they believed they would be safe from the U.S. Army.”
The forced migration made by the Cherokee tribe from the Southeast U.S. to the Oklahoma Territory, a march called the Trail of Tears, is well known as a dark example of our nation’s treatment of the Native American peoples who inhabited the continent before Europeans arrived. What is not so well-known is that many other tribes faced forced removal from their homelands at the hands of the U.S. government. The Nez Perce, who once occupied an expansive area of the Pacific Northwest, including what are now parts of Idaho, Oregon and Washington State, are one of many such stories and one of the most tragic.
Known for their unique Appaloosa spotted horses, and the friendship they showed the Lewis and Clark party, the Nez Perce were forced to move to reservation lands in 1877 in the days following the Battle of the Little Bighorn where General Custer’s troops were wiped out following an attack on a Lakota Sioux village. One group of Nez Perce, about 3,000 people led by Chief Joseph, refused removal to the reservation and began a journey to reach a peaceful sanctuary
It was a flight which would last roughly four months and cover more than a thousand miles. Chief Joseph believed his band would find peace in Montana. The Battle at Big Hole proved him wrong. The 7th Army and its accompanying volunteers suffered 31 casualties. The Nez Perce lost 90 dead, almost all of them women, children and the elderly.
“Many visitors are very emotional once they find out what actually happened here,” Wick says. “ I believe what touches them the most is the fact that the majority of people killed here were non-combatants... women, children, and old people. When most people visit a battlefield they are not expecting to learn about families being attacked.”
The Nez Perce (Nee-Me-Poo) National Historic Trail preserves the routes taken by Chief Joseph’s band and the U.S. Cavalry troops in 1877. “The trail crosses about 1,170 miles of territory in the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana,” says Richard Peterson, a specialist with the National Forest Service which oversees the trail. “But actually it's much longer. We have an auto route that is suitable for all vehicles all year, plus an alternative route not recommended for RVs and trailers, and another for four-wheel drive vehicles only, passable only during the summer.” Other sections can only be reached by foot or horseback. Peterson says the Forest Service offers a series of eight booklets that detail the route and its history from its beginning at Wallowa Valley in Eastern Oregon. The trail ends at the Bear Paw Battlefield in Montana, just 40 miles south of the Canadian border, where Chief Joseph finally surrendered after a five day battle on October 5, 1877.
Big Hole National Battlefield is one of 38 units of the Nez Perce National Historical Park spread across four states and linked by the National Historic Trail. “What Big Hole is unfortunately known for is having the highest casualties for both sides during the entire Flight of 1877, also known as the Nez Perce War,” Mandi Wick says. “Our story does focus on what happened here on August 9th and 10th of 1877, but also tells the larger story of what happened before and after 1877 with the Nez Perce (n?mí·pu·) people.”
The Big Hole Battlefield and other sites on the Nez Perce Trail are considered sacred land by the tribe to this day. A group of Nez Perce joined by others travel a portion of the trail by horseback each year in honor of Chief Joseph and his band. Frank B. Andrews, Nez Perce descendant, shares the tribe’s thoughts with visitors: "We, the surviving Nez Perces, want to leave our hearts, memories, and hallowed presence, as a never-ending revelation to the story of the events of 1877. This Trail will live in our hearts. We want to thank all who visit this sacred trail.”
Today, Wick says, about 40,000 people a year come to Big Hole from around the world to learn the story of 1877. “The overall theme of Nez Perce National Historical Park is to tell the story of one people for all people,” she says. “Big Hole tells the larger story of America by demonstrating how indigenous people were viewed and treated during that time period and how they may still be treated and viewed all over the world.”
Renee Wright
A graduate of Franconia College in Social Psychology, Renee has worked as Travel Editor for Charlotte Magazine and has written three travel guidebooks for Countryman Press among other writing assignments. She enjoys food and sports.
Make Sure To Stay At:
Townsend/ Canyon Ferry Lake KOA, the most-used and enjoyed water playground in Montana. Winter activities include hunting and ice fishing. This KOA offers 57 pull thru sites with both full hookups, water/electric and more.