Nez Perce National Historical Park In Oregon Actually Spans 4 States, And Its History Is Fascinating
By Sarah McCosham|Published November 12, 2021
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Sarah McCosham
Author
I write like it's my job - because it is! I have a Master's in English and love words: crossword puzzles, Scrabble games, Wordle, and, of course, good, old-fashioned books.
I'm a writer and editor at OnlyInYourState, and a contributing writer at Cincinnati Magazine. I love the Great Outdoors and am endlessly awestruck by this beautiful country of ours. Coffee keeps me going, yoga keeps me sane, my kids keep me grounded, and my writing keeps me inspired.
Oregon has a history that’s truly fascinating. Between the Gold Rush, Oregon Trail, and Western expansion, Oregon was a key player in some of the most momentous and transformative periods in American history. The Lewis and Clark expedition is perhaps the most famous feather in Oregon’s historic cap; and at the Nez Perce National Historical Park, visitors can get an immersive history lesson about this enthralling time… though it’s probably not anything you learned in school.
Nez Perce National Historical Park consists of 38 historic sites in the Pacific Northwest, which together tell the story of the Nimiipuu (Nez Perce) people.
This park spans 4,561 acres across some of the most ruggedly beautiful parts of the country, touching four states: Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington.
Established by an act of Congress in 1965, this national park aims to raise awareness of the Nez Perce tribe indigenous to this resplendent region; the people who live in a landscape that ancestors called home. A "a park about a people for all people," there are no fees to visit any of the sites within Nez Perce, making this fascinating park one of the country's most accessible.
In Oregon, the most noteworthy site within Nee Perce is the Old Chief Joseph Gravesite. Old Chief Joseph was a Nez Perce leader who refused to sell his Wallowa homeland and sign the 1863 Treaty.
The 1863 Treaty was known as the "Thief Treaty" or "Steal Treaty" among the Nimiipuu people. This agreement essentially created the conditions that would lead to the violent clash between the Nez Perce and the U.S. military, in what is now known as the Nez Perce Flight of 1877.
The tension over land -- between America's native people and the manifest destiny ideology of early settlers -- is at the crux of so many painful parts of our collective past.
Before his passing in 1871, the chief told his son, "My son, never forget my dying words, this country holds your father's body. Never sell the bones of your father and mother."
Chief Joseph was originally buried between the forks of the Wallowa and Lostine Rivers. His remains were reburied in 1926, at this 5.1-acre cemetery that's a National Historic Landmark -- and a sacred site for the Nez Perce people.
American history is full of stories like this, of people and cultures who were, at best, overlooked during the Westward expansion. Nez Perce National Historical Park is a place where visitors have the opportunity to learn about the people and cultures who were pushed aside as history unfolded.
If these hills and valleys could talk, what would they say? Would they tell the tales glossed over by history books? Would they stand to represent the underrepresented?
These are the truths echoing in the hauntingly beautiful landscape of the Nez Perce National Historical Park.
Nez Perce is one of the most fascinating places you’ll visit in the Pacific Northwest. Have you been to this National Park before? Learn more and plan your trip to this expansive, extraordinary place by visiting the NPS website.
Oregon’s history is so much bigger than what’s in the textbooks. Learn about an entire underworld of untold stories on a Pendleton Underground Tour.
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