The Flight of the Nez Perce

Cheated of their Wallowa homeland in northeastern Oregon by the 1863 Treaty, in May 1877 the Nez Perce (or, in their language, Niimíipuu, meaning “the real people” or “we the people”) were again being asked to leave. Tribal leaders met with General Oliver O. Howard and local Indian agent John B. Montieth at Fort Lapwai in a final effort to avoid conflict. Howard and Monteith demanded the Niimíipuu move to a vastly reduced Idaho reservation—if necessary, by force. The failed negotiation reflected the gulf separating two cultures.
As the Niimíipuu left lands in northeastern Oregon for the Nez Perce Reservation, the final insult was the ridicule of the warrior Wailaytiic, whose father was murdered by settlers years earlier. Three young Nez Perce reacted by attacking settlers on the Salmon River who were known to have murdered or mistreated generations of Niimíipuu.

In response, Captain William Perry rode from Fort Lapwai to White Bird Canyon with 130 Army regulars and volunteers. A last chance to avoid war ended as Nez Perce, approaching under a flag of truce, were fired upon. Of the 70 or so Niimíipuu warriors, none were lost on June 17, 1877. Of Perry’s command, 34 lay dead. A series of running engagements ensued between the “Non-Treaty” band of the Niimíipuu, and the U.S. Army joined by civilian volunteers and scouts drawn from at least seven different tribes. Some 800 Niimíipuu —mostly women, children, and elderly—herded 2,000 horses in a relentless quest for sanctuary.

Their 1,170-mile flight was punctuated by clashes at Clearwater, Weippe, Big Hole, Camas Meadows, Canyon Creek, and Cow Island. The ordeal culminated at Snake Creek, near the Bear Paw Mountains in Montana, on October 5, 1877.

Today, at the various sites associated with the 1877 conflict, the Niimíipuu annually recognize and honor the fortitude of our ancestors. Reflecting on these important events enables our people to gather strength from the examples set by our ancestors in the face of adversity.

The Flight of the Nez Perce of 1877 symbolizes the dramatic collision of cultures which continues to shape the West and its people. A native people were forced to flee their homelands in a futile attempt to avoid war and save their traditional ways. Immigrated European people found themselves fighting neighbors who had been their friends for many years. Traditional trails, which had long been a source of joy and sustenance for the Nez Perce and other tribes, became a trail of flight and conflict, a trail of sorrow.

The Flight of the Nez Perce of 1877 symbolizes the dramatic collision of cultures which continues to shape the West and its people. A native people were forced to flee their homelands in a futile attempt to avoid war and save their traditional ways. Immigrated European people found themselves fighting neighbors who had been their friends for many years. Traditional trails, which had long been a source of joy and sustenance for the Nez Perce and other tribes, became a trail of flight and conflict, a trail of sorrow.

Chronology of Events

The events in this time line coincide with the sites seen on this auto tour:
September 18 – October 7, 1877

September 13 – Nez Perce warriors take control of a stagecoach. The Battle of Canyon Creek occurs when Colonel Sturgis catches up with the Nez Perce. Sturgis camps on the battlefield. See Auto Tour 7.
September 15 – Sturgis camps on the Musselshell and decides not to continue pursuing the Nez Perce. See Auto Tour 7.
September 18 – Colonel Miles leaves the Tongue River Cantonment (near Miles City).
September 20 – General Howard camps on the Musselshell River. The Nez Perce camp near Judith Gap.
September 21 – The Nez Perce camp near Reed and Bowles trading post where they had often traded in the past. Howard joins Sturgis on the Musselshell River.
September 22 – Howard and Sturgis camp on Careless Creek.
September 23 – The Nez Perce cross the Missouri River at Cow Island. After failed negotiations, they attack the supply depot.
September 24 – Major Ilges and thirty-six citizen volunteers arrive at Cow Island.
September 25 – Ilges skirmishes with Nez Perce on Cow Creek.
Miles hears that the Nez Perce have already crossed the Missouri. He crosses the Missouri at the mouth of the Musselshell.
September 30 – Miles charges the Nez Perce camp on Snake Creek and later lays siege to the camp.
October 1 – General Howard and Colonel Sturgis arrive at Carroll City on the Missouri River. Howard and seventeen men board the steamer Benton to go upriver.
October 3 – Howard debarks the Benton at Cow Island.
October 4 – Howard arrives at the Bear Paw Battlefield after dark.
October 5 – Chief Joseph surrenders with 430 Nez Perce. Chief White Bird and nearly 300 Nez Perce cross the border into Canada.
October 7 – Miles leaves Bear Paw Battlefield with the Nez Perce who surrendered and returns to the Tongue River Cantonment.

Credits and Sources: