Nez Perce Wayside Markers

Along the historic wayside trail at Fort Leavenworth, Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce tribe have their own dedicated markers. These markers highlight a small section of their story while in Leavenworth as prisoners of war. It also gives a brief summary  over the Nez Perce War and their trek to Canada. Ultimately, they surrendered in Montana, where Chief Joseph famously said, “I will fight no more, forever.” The Nez Perce would end up staying in Leavenworth for a year, before being moved to Oklahoma, then Colville Indian Reservation in Washington.

In 1855, the United States government had a treaty with the Nez Perce tribe that designated a portion of their homeland as a reservation. With that, the United States promised to supply them with schools, shops, and economic subsidies. Unfortunately, in 1860, gold was discovered along the borders of the reservation. The United States government caught wind of this, and made another treaty in 1863 that shrunk the Nez Perce territory by 90%. The Treaty of 1863 would be called the “Steal Treaty” or the “Thief Treaty” amongst the Nez Perce people, and would go on to be ratified by the Senate in 1867. This ruined what little relations the Nez Perce and the United States government had, and would go on to start the Nez Perce War of 1877, leaving hundreds dead.

In Spring of 1877, General Oliver Otis Howard gave the Nez Perce a 30 day notice to relocate, as they had been living outside the boundary set by the 1863 treaty. Meanwhile, whilst outside the boundaries, a band of younger warriors had attacked and raided some homesteads on the Salmon River. Captain David Perry gathered 106 cavalrymen to arrest the perpetrators. Because they were leading all of these cavalrymen into Nez Perce territory, what little they had left, the Nez Perce set up an ambush. This led to a skirmish that would kill 34 cavalrymen and wound four more. Only three Nez Perce were wounded, none were killed. 

Realizing the U.S. army would retaliate, the Nez Perce crossed the Salmon River and would be chased by General Howard’s men for the next four months, and would span over 1,170 miles. After a series of skirmishes and raids, both sides came to a head on September 30th, when General Howard’s men had intercepted the Nez Perce 40 miles away from the Canadian border, attempting to cross. The fighting would ensue up until October 5th, when Chief Joseph surrendered, and gave his famous speech :

"I am tired of fighting. Our chiefs are killed. Looking Glass is dead. Tulhuulhulsuit is dead. The old men are all dead. It is the young men who say ‘Yes' or 'No’. He who led the young men is dead. It is cold, and we have no blankets. The little children are freezing to death. My people, some of them, have run away to the hills, and have no blankets, no food. No one knows where they are, perhaps freezing to death. I want to have time to look for my children, and see how many of them I can find. Maybe I shall find them among the dead. Hear me, my chiefs. I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever."

Of the 800 Nez Perce that initially fled the reservation in the Spring, about 200-300 had crossed the Canadian border, roughly 100 had died, and 400 would surrender and be taken to Fort Leavenworth as prisoners of war. They stayed on the flood zone of the Missouri River for a year, then moved to reservations in Oklahoma for seven years, before finally settling down in Colville Indian Reservation in Washington. The spot where the Nez Perce camped is now the Sherman Army Airfield.

“Bear Paw Battlefield History.” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, https://www.nps.gov/nepe/learn/historyculture/bear-paw-battlefield-history.htm.

Ben. Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce at Fort Leavenworth, http://backyardexcursions.blogspot.com/2015/04/chief-joseph-and-nez-perce-at-fort.html. 

“The Flight of 1877.” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, https://www.nps.gov/nepe/learn/historyculture/1877.htm. 

“Nez Perce Native Americans.” Nez Perce Native Americans | Leavenworth, Kansas, https://www.visitleavenworthks.com/visitors/page/nez-perce-native-americans. 

“Treaty of 1855.” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, https://www.nps.gov/nepe/learn/historyculture/treaty-of-1855.htm. 

“The Treaty Period.” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, https://www.nps.gov/nepe/learn/historyculture/the-treaty-era.htm. 

“White Bird Battlefield History.” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, https://www.nps.gov/nepe/learn/historyculture/white-bird-battlefield-history.htm.