What Is Nez Perce National Historical Park?
This multi-site historical park preserves 38 locations that are important to the history of the Niimíipuu people!
What Makes It Historical?
For thousands of years, the Niimíipuu have called this area home, passing with the seasons from what we now call Washington to what we now call Montana! This is the place where their origin stories are still preserved as the petrified Heart of the Monster, and where their first ancestors set up pit house villages, hunted bison, caught salmon, and left behind wondrous petroglyphs at Buffalo Eddy!
This park preserves areas where Lewis and Clark stopped on their grand adventure, saved from starvation by members of the Niimíipuu tribe, whom French traders had called Nez Percé, or “pierced noses!” They spent a lot of time among the Niimíipuu and transitioned from land to river with the help of a fellow named Twisted Hair!
Sadly, this park also commemorates the conversion missions and the treaties of 1855 and 1863, which stripped the Niimíipuu of 90% of their ancestral homeland, including their traditional trade routes! Those who did not agree to the treaties and would not stay on the small reservation faced war with the US Army, starting on June 17, 1877. These non-treaty Niimíipuu, led by Chiefs Looking Glass and Hinmatóowyalahtq̓it (also known as Joseph the Younger), fled east over the Lolo Pass into Montana, where they were defeated at the Bear’s Paw Mountains on October 5, just south of the Canadian border, and sent to Oklahoma.
Today, the Nez Perce tribe maintains its headquarters in Lapwai with a reservation of 770,000 acres. Funded by two casinos, two gas stations, a hot springs resort, and a golf course, it’s the largest employer in northern Idaho! They also run one of the most successful fishery programs in the US, restoring native trout and salmon to their local waterways!
How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?
- Volunteer at Nez Perce National Historical Park!
- Become a member of Discover Your Northwest!
- Be a responsible visitor! Remember the old adages: Pack out what you pack in! Take nothing but pictures and leave nothing but footprints!
How Do I Get There?
Can’t list all 38 sites here, but a good place to start is the visitor center!
39063 US Hwy 95
Lapwai, ID 83540-9715
(Take Me There!)
When Should I Visit the Park?
The visitor center is open daily from 8:30 AM until 4:00 PM, except beween November and April, when it’s closed Sunday and Monday!
More Photos
