Two Nez Perce historians offer a detailed examination of the relationship between Corps of Discovery explorers and a single tribe, investigating what Lewis and Clark knew or misunderstood regarding the Nez Perce (Nimiipuu), searching for clues about the hosts¿ reactions to the bearded strangers, and presenting rich Nez Perce oral tradition. Their careful re-evaluation reverses the historical lens to shed extraordinary new light on expedition events. Originally published by The Dakota Institute in 2015.

Particularly valuable for Ronda's inclusion of pertinent background information about the various tribes and for his ethnological analysis. An appendix also places the Sacagawea myth in its proper perspective. Gracefully written, the book bridges the gap between academic and general audiences.OCo"Choice""

At the heart of this landmark collection of essays rests a single question: What impact, good or bad, immediate or long-range, did Lewis and Clark’s journey have on the Indians whose homelands they traversed? The nine writers in this volume each provide their own unique answers; from Pulitzer prize-winner N. Scott Momaday, who offers a haunting essay evoking the voices of the past; to Debra Magpie Earling’s illumination of her ancestral family, their survival, and the magic they use to this day; to Mark N. Trahant’s attempt to trace his own blood back to Clark himself; and Roberta Conner’s comparisons of the explorer’s journals with the accounts of the expedition passed down to her. Incisive and compelling, these essays shed new light on our understanding of this landmark journey into the American West.

This is the story of the so-called Inland Empire of teh Northwest, that rugged and majestic region bounded east and west by the Cascades and the Rockies, from the time of the great exploration of Lewis and Clark to the tragic defeat of Chief Joseph in 1877. Explorers, fur traders, miner, settlers, missionaries, ranchers and above all a unique succession of Indian chiefs and their tribespeople bring into focus one of the permanently instructive chapters in the history of the American West.

Distributed by the University of Nebraska Press for Caxton Press In autumn 1805, a group of ragged strangers staggered into a camp of Nez Perce Indians on the Kooskooskee River in what is now northern Idaho. The natives discussed killing the starving newcomers and taking the treasures they carried. Instead, they heeded an old woman who said, "Do them no harm!", marking the beginning of a unique friendship between the Nez Perce and the members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

The rivers, canyons, and prairies of the Columbia Basin are the homeland of the Nez Perce. The Nez Perce, or Nimiipuu, inhabited much of what is now north central Idaho and portions of Oregon and Washington for thousands of years. The story of how western settlement drastically affected the Nimiipuu is one of the great and at times tragic sagas of American history. Renowned western historian Alvin M. Josephy Jr. describes the Nimiipuu’s attachment to the land and their way of life, religion, and vibrant culture. He also chronicles the western expansion that displaced them, beginning with the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1805 and followed by the influx of traders and trappers, then miners and farmers. Josephy traces the ill fortune of the Nez Perce as their homeland was carved up by treaties, creating an atmosphere of hostility that would culminate in the Nez Perce war of 1877 and conclude with Chief Joseph’s famous pronouncement: “I will fight no more forever.” Despite the challenges of the past, the Nimiipuu have maintained their ties to the land. In his introduction to the book, Jeremy FiveCrows details how the tribe has fought for self government to undo the damage wrought by shortsighted practices.

"Lewis and Clark Among the Nez Perce is a generous and careful re-evaluation of what we all thought we knew about Lewis and Clark west of the Bitterroot Mountains. It is also a template for a series of tribal histories of the Lewis and Clark expedition that will be inspired by this book. Incidents we thought we knew backwards and forwards suddenly take on a new light when the historical lens is reversed, and the reader begins to understand what the extended visit of Lewis and Clark meant to their hosts--approximately four months of daily interchange with a community of Indians the white visitors regarded as especially friendly, hospitable, and helpful to the success of the expedition"--