Oregon: Nez Perce peoples slowly reclaim ancestral territory

Nez Perce were forced from their northeastern Oregon homeland by a
fraudulent treaty and a bloody horseback war more than 130 years ago,
but their passion for Wallowa County never died. In recent years, the
tribe’s Wallowa Band has acquired thousands of acres on the county’s
north end, making it one of the county’s biggest landowners.

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The purchases have sparked fears among a few locals that the tribe may
love the area too much, and perhaps one day want it back. But others
say the Nez Perce have been good neighbors and careful stewards of the
land. “Unless you are an Indian, it is hard to understand, but there
definitely is a spiritual connection” between the Wallowa Band and its
homeland, said Duane Heglie, a Native American studies professor at
the University of San Diego. ”

A lot of the way they view the world has to do with their ancestors. The bones of their ancestors are there.” Since their 1877 expulsion, the Nez Perce have lived on the Colville Reservation northwest of Spokane, the Umatilla Indian Reservation near Pendleton and the Nez Perce Reservation near Lapwai, Idaho. Only three Nez Perce live in Wallowa County, an area roughly the size of Delaware and Rhode Island combined but with a population of just 7,115.

The tribe has acquired 15,325 acres in north Wallowa County as a wildlife-management area. The Precious Lands Wildlife Area was developed under the Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act of 1980, and funded by the Bonneville Power Administration to mitigate habitat lost to the Snake River hydroelectric dams. In addition, a coalition of Nez Perce and non-Native Americans owns the 320-acre Wallowa Band Nez Perce Trail Interpretive Center in the town of Wallowa.

Tribal members converge there every summer for Tamkaliks, a celebration with dancing and a friendship feast with non-Natives. A longhouse will be built there next summer. In Joseph — named after Nez Perce Chief Joseph — a teepee village becomes home for many tribal members during the five-day Chief Joseph Days Rodeo in July. The tribe also recently bought buildings downtown for tribal fisheries offices, sparking concerns that the tribe plans a casino.

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