The Nez Perce Conflict of 1877

By editor

Lewistown, Fergus County, Montana

In the summer of 1877, nearly 800 Nez Perce men, women, and children set out on a desperate journey from their ancestral lands in the Wallowa Valley of northeastern Oregon. For generations, the Nimiipuu people had lived in harmony with that fertile ground, hunting the abundant game, fishing the clear streams, and gathering roots and berries according to the seasons. Their right to the Wallowa was affirmed by the treaty of 1855, a compact recognized by the United States government that secured the valley and surrounding lands for the Nez Perce bands.

Yet the discovery of gold in the region in 1860, and the influx of settlers and miners, brought pressure to renegotiate that treaty. The 1863 agreement carved the reservation down to a mere fraction of the original homeland -- about 10 percent -- disregarding the complex social and cultural relationships the Nimiipuu maintained across the landscape. This reduction was not merely a loss of land but a threat to the very survival of their way of life, which depended on wide-ranging access to hunting grounds, pastures for horses, and seasonal migration routes.

By 1877, the U.S. government demanded that all Nez Perce bands move to the smaller reservation near Lapwai, Idaho. General Oliver Otis Howard, who had served as a Union general during the Civil War, was tasked with enforcing this order. The Wallowa band, led by Chief Joseph (Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt), reluctantly gathered their families, livestock, and prized horses to comply. They crossed the swollen Snake River in the spring and assembled at Camas Prairie near Grangeville, Idaho.

Tensions, however, had been mounting for years. Some young warriors, frustrated by injustice and broken promises, attacked white settlers in the region. This act, though limited in scope, was enough to provoke the U.S. Army to declare the bands hostile. Facing overwhelming military force and a loss of their treaty protections, the Nez Perce had no choice but to flee.

What followed was a remarkable and tragic flight across more than 1,100 miles of difficult terrain, through the Bitterroot Mountains and the Rocky Mountains, and onto the plains of Montana. The Nez Perce, numbering about 750 people with 2,000 horses, were pursued by five different Army regiments. They fought several engagements, including the Battles of White Bird Canyon, Cottonwood, the Clearwater, and the Big Hole. Each battle displayed the tactical skill and determination of Nez Perce warriors such as Looking Glass (Timpoochee), Toohoolhoolzote, and Chief Joseph himself, whose leadership combined both courage and care for his people.

The Battle of the Big Hole, fought in late August 1877 in what is now Beaverhead County, Montana, was a particularly brutal encounter. U.S. forces under Colonel John Gibbon launched a surprise dawn attack on a Nez Perce camp. Despite suffering heavy casualties, including women and children, the Nez Perce regrouped and escaped under harrowing conditions. The battle demonstrated the heavy cost of the flight, which sought not conquest but survival.

After crossing the Continental Divide, the Nez Perce moved northeast toward the Missouri River. In September, they reached Cow Island, near what is now Lewistown, Montana. There, a small detachment of soldiers guarded supplies intended for the Army. The Nez Perce took only what was necessary to sustain their people and horses and continued their journey northward. Just days later, General Alfred Terry arrived at Fort Benton with the Sitting Bull Commission, tasked with negotiating peace with the Lakota and other tribes. The Nez Perce, however, were already moving beyond the reach of the Army's initial forces.

The final phase of the campaign brought the fleeing Nez Perce to the Bear Paw Mountains, about 40 miles from the Canadian border. Colonel Nelson A. Miles, newly arrived from Fort Keogh with cavalry and artillery, pursued them relentlessly. It was early October, and the first snows had begun to fall. Miles's forces surrounded the Nez Perce camp, initiating a siege that would last five days.

The conditions were dire. The Nez Perce endured cold, hunger, and continuous artillery bombardment. With many wounded and the children growing weaker, Chief Joseph recognized that further resistance would only lead to needless suffering. On October 5, 1877, he surrendered, uttering words that have since become emblematic of the struggle of Native peoples against overwhelming force.

"From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever," Chief Joseph declared. In his surrender speech, he pleaded, "Let me be a free man. Free to travel, free to stop, free to work, free to trade where I choose, free to choose my own teachers, free to follow the religion of my fathers, free to think and talk and act for myself."

These words reveal the heart of the conflict -- not mere land or military victory, but the right of a people to live according to their own laws and customs.

The surrender did not bring the freedom Chief Joseph sought. The Nez Perce were taken first to Fort Keogh in Montana, then shipped to Fort Leavenworth in Kansas, and finally to a reservation in the Indian Territory, present-day Oklahoma, thousands of miles from their homeland. The harsh conditions and unfamiliar environment took a heavy toll. Chief Joseph lived the remainder of his life in exile, never returning to the Wallowa Valley. He died in 1904, his dream of returning home unfulfilled.

The flight of the Nez Perce remains one of the most remarkable episodes in the history of Native American resistance. It reveals the complexity of the relationship between the United States and indigenous nations during a time of expansion and conflict. The Nimiipuu demonstrated extraordinary resilience, strategic acumen, and devotion to their families and culture in the face of impossible odds.

Their journey crossed lands that are now part of Montana, and places like Cow Island and the Bear Paw Mountains are indelibly marked by this history. The Nez Perce Trail Foundation and other organizations have worked to preserve the route and educate the public about this chapter in the American West.

While the Nez Perce were ultimately forced from their homeland, their legacy endures in their descendants and in the ongoing efforts to honor their rights and history. The story challenges us to recognize the consequences of broken treaties and the cost of dislocation that too many indigenous peoples have endured.

As Chief Joseph said with quiet dignity, “I am tired of fighting. Our chiefs are killed... it is cold and we have no blankets. The little children are freezing to death. My people, some of them, have run away to the hills and have no blankets, no food. No one knows where they are -- perhaps freezing to death.” His voice speaks across time, urging us to remember the human suffering behind historical events and to seek a more just future.

See also

• The Nez Perce Conflict of 1877 at Lewistown, Fergus County
• [Chief Joseph's S