Nez Perce Warrior Ermine Shirt
The Nez Perce people take pride in being know as “The Dress Up People.” Their personal adornment, clothing and the tack for their horses is the finest of the Pacific Northwest tribes.
Their display at the historic Presbyterian mission site at Spalding, 11 miles east of Lewiston, ID, represents authentic articles gathered through trade with the tribe by the Rev. Henry Spalding and his wife Eliza who came here to evangelize in 1836. This was long before the flood of miners and settlers completely altered life for the Nez Perce who had occupied these valleys of the Clearwater and Snake rivers continuously for 8,000 years.
The Spaldings in time sent their collection to associates in their home state, Ohio. They in turn transferred it to the Ohio Historical Society where it was stored and forgotten for 125 years.
When the National Park Service joined with the tribe to establish a Nez Perce National Historical Park a park service archivist traced the “lost” collection, which finally came home to the tribe.
Our visit to the park was on the heels of a jet sled trip into the heart of Hells Canyon. We saw where the Wallowa band of the Nez Perce under Chief Joseph were forced to move from their homeland to the restrictive bounds of the new reservation. During spring high water all the people, young and old, had to swim or raft the river with their horses and livestock in 1877 just prior to the outbreak of a war where they fought back and defeated superior U.S. Army forces time after time. Attempting to escape into Canada they were surrounded and defeated far away in Montana by three separate army commands with artillery.
The Nez Perce people take pride in being know as “The Dress Up People.” Their personal adornment, clothing and the tack for their horses is the finest of the Pacific Northwest tribes.
Their display at the historic Presbyterian mission site at Spalding, 11 miles east of Lewiston, ID, represents authentic articles gathered through trade with the tribe by the Rev. Henry Spalding and his wife Eliza who came here to evangelize in 1836. This was long before the flood of miners and settlers completely altered life for the Nez Perce who had occupied these valleys of the Clearwater and Snake rivers continuously for 8,000 years.
The Spaldings in time sent their collection to associates in their home state, Ohio. They in turn transferred it to the Ohio Historical Society where it was stored and forgotten for 125 years.
When the National Park Service joined with the tribe to establish a Nez Perce National Historical Park a park service archivist traced the “lost” collection, which finally came home to the tribe.
Our visit to the park was on the heels of a jet sled trip into the heart of Hells Canyon. We saw where the Wallowa band of the Nez Perce under Chief Joseph were forced to move from their homeland to the restrictive bounds of the new reservation. During spring high water all the people, young and old, had to swim or raft the river with their horses and livestock in 1877 just prior to the outbreak of a war where they fought back and defeated superior U.S. Army forces time after time. Attempting to escape into Canada they were surrounded and defeated far away in Montana by three separate army commands with artillery.
