The tribal nation that includes the descendants of the 1877 non-treaty bands participates in interpretation and preservation.

The nimíipuu Perspective: Memory And Meaning

For the Nez Perce Tribe, based at Lapwai, Idaho, the 1877 Flight is not simply a historical event.

It is living memory, part of the cultural identity and ongoing history of a people who continue to exist and continue to maintain relationships with the places their ancestors traveled and fought and died.

The Nez Perce Tribe’s own website and documentation describe the 1877 events from the perspective of a community that has never entirely made peace with what happened — not because the tribal nation seeks to reopen military conflict, but because the displacement and the broken promises were never fully addressed or remedied.

The Wallowa Valley, from which Joseph’s band was forced to relocate, has been the subject of ongoing conversation between the Nez Perce Tribe and the state of Oregon and the various landowners of the valley.