By Bruce A. Wilson

One day in December, 1885, Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce arrived at Nespelem to spend the remaining 19 years of his life on Colville Indian Reservation. Historically, he is the most important figure ever to reside in Okanogan County.

With Joseph came about 120 other Nez Perces, all except the younger children veterans of a monumental retreat conducted during the summer of 1877.

For generations, Joseph’s band had lived in the Wallowa Mountains of Northeastern Oregon. Ordered to a reservation in Idaho, they were about to comply when a handful of younger braves ran amok, vengefully slaughtering 16 whites. Fearful of retribution, Joseph’s band and others began a meandering retreat, eventually moving toward sanctuary in Canada.

The Nez Perces numbered about 700. Of these, perhaps 150 were warriors. Encumbered by women, children and household goods, these 150 out-marched, outmaneuvered, and outfought an aggregate of 1,400 pursuing troops, trailing to within 50 miles of the Canadian border before yet another military column pinned them down, forcing them finally to give up.

The Nez Perce retreat of 1877 covered 1300 miles over 3 ½ months. Four major battles were fought-at White Bird Canyon, the Clearwater River, Big Hole, and the Bear Paw mountains in Montana. Col. Nelson A. Miles’ route which finally intercepted the Nez Perces and caused their surrender.

Joseph was not the Nez Perces’ war leader. More akin to Lincoln than Napoleon, he sought to preserve the fabric of the Nez Perce society and safeguard the horse herd on which everything depended. Older chiefs and veteran buffalo hunters made the strategic decisions.

Yet it was Joseph whose wisdom was ultimately accepted, and he who voiced the surrender.

"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."

Some of the Nez Perces escaped into Canada. Surrendering with Joseph were 87 men, 184 women, 147 children. The Bureau of Indian Affairs, believing the early atrocities made it risky to return these survivors to the Northwest, confined them to "Indian territory" (Oklahoma) for seven years. More than a hundred died of a dismal diet, impure water, and a lack of medication.

With public pressure mounting, the Indian bureau in April, 1885, relented. Even then, only a portion were permitted to move to the Nez Perce Reservation in Idaho. Still fearing reprisals, the bureau insisted that Joseph and many leading warriors be assigned to the Colville Reservation in Washington Territory.

Their arrival was resented by local tribes who now had seen both Moses’ Columbias and Joseph’s Nez Perces injected into their traditional homelands. However, Moses became friendly with Joseph and the relationship between these two prominent figures helped considerably in easing some of the tensions.

More About Chief Joseph

In the town of Nespelem, is a memorial to Chief Joseph who was sent to the reservation in 1884 with 150 of his band of Nez Perce Indians.

Historic Park Includes Nespelem Grave site.

The final site of the future Nez Perce National Historic Park is located on the Colville Indian Reservation in Nespelem, northwest of Grand Coulee Dam.

The historical park, awaiting final congressional approval, consists of 38 geographically separate sites located on the Nez Perce National Historic Trail.

The Trail begins in Oregon at the Old Chief Joseph grave site, located near Joseph, Oregon.

The Nez Perce (Nee-Me-Poo) National Historic Trail is followed by many visitors from all over the world, who honor and respect Chief Joseph and his band of people.

Chief Joseph’s band of Nez Perce is part of the Colville Confederated Tribes, whose reservation is in Okanogan and Ferry counties.

Some Frequently visited sites are:

1. Old Chief Joseph grave site. Final resting place of Chief Joseph’s father is in a cemetery that is a national historic landmark. His grave site is sacred and sensitive for the Nez Perce people.

Old Chief Joseph’s grave is marked by a tall stone marker bearing the legend, "To the Memory of Old Chief Joseph, Died 1870." The cemetery is separated from the highway by a cobble wall and gateposts built by the Umatilla Tribal Civilian Conservation Corps in 1938-40.

The site is located on Oregon Highway 82, one mile south of Joseph, Oregon.

2. Dug Bar. This was the traditional crossing site where the Chief Joseph band forded immediately before the 1877 Nez Perce War. Although they did not know it at the time, this treacherous crossing was the band’s final farewell to its homeland.

3. The Lostine Campsite. Lostine is a traditional Nez Perce campsite at the historic junction of the Lostine and Wallowa Rivers. It is about 12 miles northwest of Enterprise, Oregon, just off Oregon Highway 82.

Old Chief Joseph died in this area in 1871 and his original grave site is nearby.

This campsite exemplifies the Nez Perce’s long-term habitation in the Wallowa Valley.

4. The Nez Perce Cemetery. The cemetery located in Nespelem, is an active, traditional Nez Perce cemetery. It occupies about five acres.

The cemetery contains the remains of many participants of the Nez Perce War of 1877, including younger Chief Joseph and Yellow Wolf. It has an association with the return of the Joseph Band from exile in Oklahoma.

The site is administered by the Colville Confederated Tribes.

The cemetery is on a grassy knoll with a few trees. It is bordered on two sides by a residential area.

Those wishing to pay their respects are asked by members of the Nez Perce band to visit the roadside historic marker in Nespelem, and seek permission from the band to visit any other site in this sensitive area. Visitors are asked not to visit the grave site.

The cemetery holds the remains of many Nez Perce, including members of the Joseph Band and members allotted/enrolled on the Umatilla and Nez Perce reservations. A 1905 monument has been placed on Chief Joseph’s grave site.

A number of historic grave markers date from throughout the 20th century. There also are many unmarked graves.

Only the Joseph Band, through the Colville Confederated Tribes, can decide what if anything should be done at this sacred and sensitive site.