The Josephy Center received a grant from the Oregon State Capitol Foundation to build an exhibit around this important and tragic history, and encouraging return.
The Nez Perce today are descendants of tribal peoples living in the intermountain west for millenia. Recent archeological findings at Coopers Ferry on the Salmon River put human habitations back to 16,000 years ago. The Nez Perce, Lewis and Clark, then had their lands taken by treaty and by homesteader encroachment–and finally by war. The people–nimiipuu–were then subjected to boarding schools, allotment, and other assimilationist efforts. But the People are resilient, and expanding their presence in Oregon and the Wallowas today,
This is a “soft” unveiling of the major exhibit we are preparing for the State Capitol in Salem; Nez Perce in Oregon; Removal and Return. The small, colorful, and very dense exhibit will go to the Capitol September, 2025.
Exhibit designed by Kolle Kahle Riggs.