There was only the impossible situation that fourteen years of broken treaties and one summer of war had produced, and two men doing their best to navigate it for the people in their care.

The nimíipuu flight of 1877 was one of the most remarkable collective efforts in the documented history of the American continent.

It covered 1,170 miles.

It involved 800 people.

It lasted 126 days.

It produced, at Bear Paw, a split that sent some people into American custody and others across the Canadian border.

Neither group found what they were looking for.

Both groups survived.