Nez Perce Flight of 1877
In July of 1877, nearly 800 Nimiipuu (Nez Perce) people traveled with heavy hearts across the Lolo Trail above you. They did not know if they would ever return to their homes. The women sang songs of sorrow and longing.
The journey began in the Wallowa Valley of Oregon. In the spring of 1877 the Nimiipuu were ordered to move from their homes to the reservation near Lapwai, Idaho. After a number of conflicts along the way, several bands of Nimiipuu decided to travel to Canada where they felt they would be safe. After the Battle of the Clearwater near Kamiah, the military pursuit continued to push the Indians across the Lolo Trail, their traditional route across the Bitterroot Mountains. Before the conflict was over, most of the Nimiipuu who had fled over the Lolo Trail would be killed in battle or would surrender near the Bear's Paw Mountains in northern Montana. Those who surrendered would be taken to Kansas then Oklahoma, far from their homeland. Years later some would return to Idaho and Washington, but they would never return to their original homes.
Concerning the flight through the Montana area, home to the Selish (Salish) and Crow:
"We didn't go through there to settle in that area. We were going through there to save our traditions, our culture, our language, our religion. We wanted to take it someplace where we could use it like we always did with peace and harmony to Mother Earth." Horace Axtell, A Little Bit of Wisdom, 1997
The same route across the Lolo Trail that the Lewis and Clark Expedition described so vividly in 1805 was now a trail of sorrow for the Nimiipuu. President Jefferson's peace medals were still prized and revered by the Nimiipuu. The promises Lewis and Clark made with these symbols of friendship had been taken very seriously. A short 70 years later, sadness and betrayal hung in the air because of the broken treaties.
Today the trail is a special place to be appreciated and protected by all who pass this way. For these reasons it is now recognized as the Nez Perce (Nee Me Poo) National Historic Trail.
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