Nez Perce Archives - Lewis & Clark Research Database

The Nez Perce and the Lewis and Clark Expedition

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 01:27:40 +0000

Pinkham, a Nez Perce elder and tribal historian, and Evans present the Nez Perce people’s own understanding of their critical encounter with the Lewis and Clark Expedition in September 1805. The article describes how the starving, exhausted Corps of Discovery stumbled out of the Bitterroot Mountains into Nez Perce territory and received life-saving hospitality from the Nimiipuu people. Drawing on oral traditions, the authors explain the Nez Perce decision to aid rather than attack the strangers, crediting Watkuweis, an elderly woman who had been captured by enemies and later lived among white people in Canada, with urging her people to treat the newcomers kindly. The article details the month-long stay among the Nez Perce during the spring of 1806, the care of the expedition’s horse herd, and the cultural exchanges that occurred. The authors also address the painful irony that the Nez Perce’s generosity was ultimately repaid with dispossession and the 1877 Nez Perce War.

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June Stewart on Nez Perce Powwow Traditions and Dances

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 00:36:06 +0000

just hands not voices put your hands up not your voices excellent some of you have well today you’re going to get a taste of a powow cuz here in the tent of many voices we invite presenters from all over the country and your community to do presentations for you on something related to the Louis and Clark expedition in the cultures and peoples they met along the way well with us today is Mrs June Stewart she’s here to share with you some NES Pur history and her granddaughter marel she’s 9 years old she’s done her own bead work so you’ll see these beautiful mirrors and this little 9-year-old did all her bead work so let’s welcome Mrs June Stewart and her granddaughter Marquel okay my name is June Stewart I an eser Indian from here in the lway area uh this is my granddaughter her name is marel sha and she’ll be demonstrating two types of dances for you uh when I found out I was going to come up here and talk to you folks I really didn’t know what to talk about but being the grades you were in I thought giving you a little update as to what a power is a long time ago when our people had special ceremonies they would dance and they would have their special uh prayer before they went out to hunt before they went out in a war party before they went hunting everything they did they had special ceremonies as special uh medicines like like for instance my great-grandfather his name was pilot class he’s wakin in our langu means power when they went to seek their Vision Quest they would go up to a mountain and they would stay there for two or 3 days and they would fast and the first uh item maybe a clouds maybe deer or elk that approached them that would be their W and that would be their power or their protector and a lot of pictures that you see you’ll see bear claws you’ll see them carrying a bird head and so forth that represents their power or their protector and my great-grandfather chief pilot clouds he’s uh Power was the clouds I’m going to tell you a story before we go into the the dancing he was a great Medicine Man and as he went out to go into war with the Enemy and dur during those days they had inner tribal and uh inner tribal battles do you know what inner tribal means you inner tribal means the different tribes throughout Washington Oregon and Idaho and they always had battles between one another because of horses because the more horses the the natives own this wealth to them just like the non-indians the more gold they found or had this wealth to them well as these people went out and they uh had gone into battles with one another over horses a lot of them were stealing women cuz them days women were very important they owned the tee they uh did all the cooking preparing but the Warriors they went out hunting and so forth but at that time my great great-grandfather pilaz went into a battle with the Seuss and as he was writing as they were going into the battle he fell off his horse he went into a vision and they waited till he came out of his vision and he said within his vision he had seen the Warriors and he had seen three Warriors that were going to be killed if they went on this war party and so what he did is he had them put out their rifles their bows whatever weapons they had and as they went through he went through he pointed out who does this weapon belong to one of the Warriors say ey the next one I the third one I he demanded these three to stay in Camp these warriors were very angry we’re not staying in Camp we’re going to go out to battle and as they went into battle with the Sue tribe those three were the only casualties within that battle so they had special power and their powers their wakin what protect them and as they have special ceremonies but now as we progress in today’s life today now we call it powow and from All Over America we have different tribes and they dress and they wear the regelia and as they dance the music they can feel the music even little tiny babies they’ll be bouncing around to the music it’s just within the individual and as you go to aawa everybody is welcome to AWA it is a time when everybody comes together it’s a social Gathering you may dance they’ll have in a tribal When anybody can go out there and dance and participate and then they have special ceremonies and during those special ceremonies you cannot uh video you cannot take pictures because it’s something sacred for instance the eagle feather is very important to the Indian people for all natives because the eagle that’s their protector he’s the one that has a sharp eyes and as he flies he can as you know he can spot a little uh animal on the ground and he’ll zoom in and pick it up and take off with it the ego is very important to the natives and not only just to the natives but to us as United States of America the eagle is very important to us us as United States citizens also but I want to uh describe uh marel this here is what we call the fast and fancy dance and the eagle feather when you see women that are out there dancing in their butt skin that’s what we call Tradition if they have two feathers that means they’re married they have one feather that means they’re single and in our traditional dance is the only time a woman can ask a man to dance and I wanted to bring some uh little boys with me to demonstrate so that maybe we could have a little dance but uh it was such short notice I wouldn’t able to pick up a young man to come out then you would have all been able to get but she has the eagle feather which is very important now if anybody ever drops the eagle feather because the E eagle feather is very sacred they’ll have four Warriors see those those days they had Warriors that would come up and dance and tell a story of something that he had accomplished maybe counting coup or whatever but today we don’t have that anymore because we have moved on we have it simulated into what we call the white race today so now when they drop an eagle feather we have four veterans that come forward somebody that fought in World War I World War II or even the arm more and they will come up and they will dance around that feather as they dance around that feather the drum will stop and one person picks up that eagle feather and as that person picks up that eagle feather he will give a story of what happened when he was in the Army maybe he saved somebody’s life maybe he received a Purple Heart see nowadays when you’re in the service you can get all these different Awards or medallions or medals for uh being heroic well in those days the union people as they went out to battle they had a horor uh times also so the one individual will come up and he will give his story of what took place a lot of them have been shot in the head you’ll see some of the Warriors that will have their side painted it represented that he was injured in battle and that’s where he was shot or on this side or they have pain on them which describes that they had been injured in the army or the Navy or the Air Force they will dance and it’s very expensive when that individual picks up that feather the person say that marel dropped the feather her mother all of us would have to go up there and we would have to pay for that feather back and we pay the drummers money we give a penlon blanket which is an honor to the individual that had picked up this uh uh eagle feather and then the eagle feather is returned back to her then she can continue to dance but that’s how sacret the eagle fitter is still to the tribes throughout the United States okay we’re going to have her do a a demonstration demonstration of a fast and fancy go ahead and and then dancing the ccle and when they dance you always dance clockwise the only time you dance the opposite it’s when there’s a special occasion or a special Memorial you dance the other way but all Always Dance clock they very light on their feet as they dance and when they compete they will look at her feet how she moves her feet her arms her head when they’re in competition in a power that drum stops they have to stop right at the drum beat if they miss a drum beat they take points away from them Dan the bird Dan real G she was a little girl she was able to so they teach him the G when they’re very very young when they get older than they have the rhym now this is some fast and fancy and then we’re going to going to demonstrate the jingle Jess now the jingle justess comes it’s um uh when call it it comes from the uh Canadian right down to the northern part of Montana and a lot of the they adop one another’s dancing and the reion and they try to get try to out do one another just like everybody else I’m trying to stop oh there oh it’s down there okay she’s going to go change her dress and then she’ll be right back now the boys they also have a fast and fancy and if any of you since you’re from graille or the surrounding area and they have PS here in Ci or down in laway everybody is welcome to attend it’s a time when everybody comes together and shares and when you dance when you’re out there dancing you feel it inside you it’s just like when you folks go break dancing or your martyan dancing you get into it you show your face you’re into it well that’s the same way when they dance and they get out there and they dance around they get that feeling it it it’s a drum that pounds inside it’s a something that you can’t really describe only I hope one time that you’ll be able to get on the dance floor and that you will feel that it’s a feeling that is so great to a a native it’s a medicine a lot of times it’s a healing a lot of times it’s a time when they’re out there and they’re praying as they dance and there’s certain rules when you’re on that dance floor because it is sacred it’s just like when you go to church you don’t stand in certain spots in a church because it’s a sacred part well when they dance that’s the way it is when they go out there and dance they have rules that they have to obey by and I hope one day that you will all be able to attend a power and go out there and Dance Experience that it is something that will give you a feeling that you you’ll be able to walk out and you’ll feel like you’ve been in another world let’s say and uh the uh music you hear they have drummers they have different drums from different tribes and they sing and use their own language as they sing in some of the songs and some of them have um little humor to it just like our modern day music you have humor and then you have uh your love music where you girls are all in love well it’s the same way with u the native music too there’s times when you laugh it’s humorous and then there’s times when you really you feel that love and we that’s what we want to show is love to all of you to come in and join us to see where we come from you know you read a lot of books they’re all stereotype but until you learn and you know about the native you will know the true native and they have a loving heart and they give and they give and they give and they’ll give the last and they love to share and above all they love to eat when you go to any home first thing they invite you to eat that’s why we are all nice and healthy but it’s an experience and I hope hope you all you all had that chance to go into a family to be adopted you can be adopted if somebody really take you in I have a little boy in fact his mother works at the park service in Spalding and I I gave him an Indian name and his name is H ha which means bear cuz when he was a little boy he was just a chubby little boy and I called him H because he reminded me of a little bear but they still give names and uh I want uh marel to come back out marel come on out now our time’s almost up and this is the Jingle dress as I stated it was adopted from the uh Canadians and brought down to northern part of Montana just like you’ll see the grass dance that’s the same way they’re all kind of uh adopted in even within our bead work if you look at the bead work a lot of the bead work are adopted from the crows the nest veres in the area this oh okay doing okay heyy as the uh as the uh Nest fores they went out and they traded sometimes they the Warriors would be gone from two to 3 days and then they would come back and bring all their uh all the trade and they really like Mir a lot of places they see important a lot of them this is the Jingle Dr the difference here and she’s got the uh the Bells on her uh dress the that Tri do down in the States but the jingle dress is is like I said they don’t over I hope that you all enjoyed I hope that you learn something and I hope I have get enough other how I that a time when the little gr up how they feel and it’s just in you you don’t have to practice it’s just there I want to thank you all you all have a nice day and God bless you all thank you just thank you very thank you all for coming too appreciate your patience it’s a great performance huh great so now you all can see you had a taste of a powwow right all right right now we’re going to keep you in your

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Lim Mitchell: Nez Perce Coyote Stories and Creation

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 00:36:05 +0000

you just got back from lunch right yeah do you have a good lunch good food do anybody have any cookies left over you want to give to me you do I’m going to find you after the program get some cookies all right I’d like say welcome to the 10 of many voices to the core Discovery 2 my name is Ranger Braden and I’ve been traveling with this this tent and the rest of our exhibit for a little over a year and a half of living on the road the exhibit’s been traveling for three years now so we’re having a lot of fun and we’re having a great time here in in your guys’s area in here in the Ten of many voices we invite in different speakers different presenters different folks to come in and share their story and share their history their knowledge their opinions of Lewis and Clark not only what happened 200 years ago but what’s going on still today in those same areas 200 years later so with all that said and out of the way I’d like to introduce you to our next presenter Mr LM Mitch who has an excellent last name by the way Mr Lim Mitchell he is from the non-treaty nimu uhhuh all right I didn’t butcher it too bad for him so if you could please help me welcome Mr Mitchell hwal C in my language I says good afternoon boys and girls um going to tell a little bit of coyote stories in our in our in our history in our culture coyote is a he can either be a good good guy or a bad guy he can help you or not help you but a couple of the stories I’m going to tell um have you got any people all you know where the locksa river is raise your hand if you know where the locks saww is at oh not that many huh I’m going to tell a story about how the locksa was formed it’s actually a um Salish story from our brothers on the other side of the pass they don’t have no salmon over there and they uh back before people came on this Earth the animals used to rule all the land and coyote was kind of the leader of all the all the animal people at that time and um they were wondering on the other side why do we always have to cross over the mountains to trade for our fish we have to go over on the other side of the mountains to get salmon get salmon from them on that side why don’t we have salmon on our side over here on the other side of the L pass where the mountains are and they all wondered all the animals were having a discussion that day and coyote came along and he says H yeah I think I can fix that I could go over there on the other side of the mountains I’ll cross over the pass I’ll go down to the stream and I’ll catch me a salmon and I’ll bring it back and I’ll put it in the water over here and we’ll have salmon on this side of the mountains cuz kyot he was pretty arrogant cuz he figured he could do anything in everything and so uh he kept saying while I can do it I’ll go on the other side of the mountains and I’ll catch a fish and I’ll bring it over here but a big voice came over and said no coyote you can’t do it that way and coyote says yeah I can I can do way any way I want cuz I am coyot I got powers to do whatever I want to do and big voices no if you follow in my instructions and you’ll be able to bring the salmon and put them in this stream and then we’ll have fish on this side of the mountains coyot listened to him and the big voice came back and says these are the things you have to do in order to make this a successful trip when you go on the other side of the mountains and you catch a salmon you take the first one you catch you take him out of the water you wrap him in wet grass and you put him in your par Fletch and you put him on your back and you come over the mountains and all the way as fast as you can run or fast as you can don’t stop don’t stop at all don’t stop nowhere all the way over and put him in the water unwrap him out of your parfet and unwrap him out of the grass and put him in that water then we can have salmon on this side of the mountains so coyote says oh I can do that that’s nothing to that so he goes off comes on this side of the pass comes clear down into the water clear water in here fishes around catches him a salmon about this size ah ain’t good enough PS him back in fishes around some more pulls out another one little bigger ah ain’t good enough either fishes around some more boom catches a big salmon all right this is one I’m going to take so he throws it gets it out of the water throws it in the parfet throws it on his back and he takes off back for the other side he gets part way up and he’s barely making it cuz this salmon was big and he’s heavy he’s packing him on he’s parfet and he’s going up the mountain he’s getting tired and he says I know I ain’t supposed to rest but I have to I’m going to take me one minute break and he takes his parlet off and sets it down and he sits down he’s almost to the top of the mountains almost over but he sits down and rests as soon as the salmon feels that ground he just starts flopping around flopping around he jumps up out of that knocks that parf Fletch loose and he jumps up out of that par Fletch flopping around on the ground and coyot jumps up and tries to grab him every time he tries to grab the salmon the salmon squirms out and jumps and lands over here and each time everywhere the coyote land or the salmon lands the coyote tries to grab him again water pops up the spring pops up salmon jumps over here and another spring pops up all the way down and Coyote’s trying to catch him pretty soon all these Springs start running together salmon swims on down the stream gets away coyote standing there now what am I going to do so he goes back all on the side tells the animal people over there I had him I had a salmon but he got away he said well did you did you do everything you were told to do well yeah yeah I think I did but and it’s my mistake here I should have asked you guys before we started to uh pay attention because that’s kind of what this story is about remember when I started what coyote was supposed to do catch the first fish wrap him in Grass put him in a parfet and go all the way without stopping right coyote didn’t do what though does anybody remember that’s one okay that’s another one anybody else there’s one more of something that he didn’t do yeah they got all three of them see that’s from not following instructions he didn’t get to complete his uh his um Endeavor he started and that’s why we all have to follow instructions right am I right or wrong okay well that’s um so um thanks to Coyote not following instructions we now have the locksa river and no thanks to Coyote for not following instructions they still have no salmon on the other side of the mountains so we need to all follow instructions uh whenever we get them um another story I want to tell about coyote is uh like I said most of all the coyote stories that our people tell all have some type of a meaning some type of a uh plan to so that people can learn from it and uh the next one I’m going to tell is called the uh buffalo buffalo bull in the coyote back over in the Montana Plains and the Buffalo were plentiful and big old bull he had this big vast area where he stayed had all these herd of cows and all these children out there and he had this green all this grass up there for him to eat nice cool stream run right through his his land he had his big buffalo wallow right there for him and he was Prime he was a goodlooking healthy Buffalo bull had everything he needed coyote he comes trotting along and he’s looking pretty scraggly kind of hungry tells a buffalo bull you know W I wish I could be just like you I wish I was a buffalo bull just like you are I wish I had everything that you have Buffalo bull say well you can’t be like me and you can’t have everything I have cuz you’re a coyote and I’m a buffalo Bull and coyot says I know that but you got powers that can help me and buffalo bull says no I do but I ain’t going to help you not right now coyote says well just help me this one time and he says no and he goes walking off and coyot follows him follows him everywhere he goes finally Buffalo bull gets tired of him a lus coyote in my language lamus means you’re so bothersome go over there go go catch a mouse catch some mice to eat and coyot says that’s all I ever get to eat is mice so Buffalo bull gets tired of him bugging him he tells him all right go sit down over here close your eyes and don’t move no matter what no matter what you hear don’t move don’t open your eyes coyote says all right I’ll go do it so he goes over there and he sits down he closes his eyes he’s sitting there he can hear that all kinds of noise going on he can hear thumping he can hear that bull tearing the ground up and snorting around pretty soon he hears the buffalo’s hooks coming boom and curiosity is getting to him he’s wondering what’s going on and just right at the last second he opens his eyes and he sees that Buffalo bull charging right at him and he jumps off to the side and the bull goes by Buffalo bull gets mad he stops and he comes back and he says see I told you told you coyote you’re just bothersome I told you not to move and you never follow instructions coyot follows him around for another hour or more bugging him all right this is last time I’m going to help you I’m going to try it one more time if you move this time I’ll never help you again ever talk to you again so Kyo goes and sits down again same thing closes his eyes sits there hears all that commotion and stomping and snorting and he hears a running again here’s that Buffalo bull coming bam he hits that coyote knocks him way up in the air coyot comes Landing lands on the ground he’s kind of Daz he’s laying there gets up and shakes his head looks at himself all right I don’t have no more paw I got hoofs all right I got big horns all right I’m a buffalo bull so he’s all happy and proud and he’s walking around and a buffalo bull comes over and tells him okay I helped you I made you what what I am but you have to go find your own place to live this is mine you got to go find your own place all right so he trots off and he goes few miles away and finds his own place to live and time goes by another coyote comes along sees that big buffalo bull same situation oh he’s just fat and real nice looking coat all he wants is right there and the coyote asked him he’s not the Buffalo bull now he’s a bull coyote he was a coyote but now he’s a bull Coyote Well the second coyote tells him God I wish I was like you you got all this stuff to eat all I’ve had to eat today was two mice I’m getting tired of mice think you could help me think you could make me just like you are and the buff coyote bull says I don’t know um I had a hard time getting like this myself he says but I’ll tell you what I’ll give you one chance you go sit down here close your eyes and no matter what don’t move move don’t open your eyes and don’t move he says all right so he go coyot goes and sits down over there and the coyote bull does this tears the ground up snorting around you could hear him running bam he hits that second coyote and they both go flying in the air they land on the ground the second coyote gets up looks at himself I’m still a coyote it didn’t work first coyote the coyote bull he gets up says it did too work worked on me now I’m a coyote again the moral you know the story like I said they all got meanings and the moral of that story as a coyote too is that you know you are what you are and a Creator made you what you are and you always want to be proud of what you are and who you are no matter what that’s kind of the the moral of that story about the coyote and the coyote bull because your people your own kind will bring you back down to earth to what you really are that’s kind of what that story talks about because the coyote wanted to be that coyote be the Buffalo bull but you can’t be what you’re not what you what the Creator didn’t make you now another one I want to tell is uh about two coyotes like I said most of all these coyote stories have a lesson two coyotes are going up the stream Coyote’s either going upstream or Downstream he’s always traveling he’s looking for some something to do some kind of Mischief or whatever to get into he’s always moving even his partner they’re walking up this up the trail and they get up to a certain place and they’re go along this Ridge and it goes across and it comes over this bench and the they’re talking he says when we get up over the over to the top there and we look down on those people they’re Village down on the river you listen to what they say you’re a coyote but I’m not a coyote CU yeah you’re a coyote you’re just like me you look exactly like me I we look alike but I’m not you watch and see now when we go over that Ridge you go first okay so the first coyote goes over so they come to the Ridge and they’re looking down at the village and they see it down there and the people are down there so he goes trotting out you go first he tells him so he goes trotting out there looks down and makes sure the people can see him people look up oh look at there it’s thei that’s in our language that’s how you say coyote there’s coyote right there and he chots off goes up and over the Ridge and he stands on the other side of the trail and he tells his partner now your turn come across and see what they say oh second coyote he goes trotting over there and he stops where people can see him he’s looking down there the people all look up and they’re looking at him oh look at it’s another one so he goes trotting over there and he tells his partner see I told you I’m not a coyote I’m another one and so just like I said the moral of that story too is is you know the Creator made you what you are even though that he was he thought he was something else he was not something else he was the same as that other other coyote and last one I’m going to tell you is a kind of um creation story of our people the nimi pooo people it happened right here in this big valley right here long time ago and before people were on this Earth used to be a monster in this big Valley big monster and all the animal people were disappearing there used to be a big waterfalls down on a Columbia River called Salo Falls that’s where all people used to go and catch salmon and trade coyote was traveling Downstream and he was wondering where everybody was at cuz he didn’t run into nobody all along the river and usually there’s people fishing people fishing and he couldn’t run into nobody’s he got down to Salo didn’t run into one person he’s wondering where they’re at Here Comes make pie flying over he lands down and kyogi says where’s everybody you fly in the air you can see all around where’s everybody at gathered at he says oh something’s happening up in a valley up there C up in a upper country there’s a big monster up there and he’s swallowing everybody down so coyote says well we better go do something about this so he makes his way on up the river and as he’s coming up the river he stops in a few places and gathers up some Indian hemp he makes some ropes out of this Indian hemp long ropes out of it makes three of them he gets further on on up the river on up to the place down here and he finds him some Flint he makes him three knives I’ll need these when I get up there so he gets on up here and he looks over the over the mountains and he says oh yeah there he is down there too he’s right in the valley just like they said I’ll go down there and I’ll confront him we’ll have a contest first I need to tie these ropes so he ties ropes around his waist all three of his ropes around his waist and ties them off to the mountaintops way out this way he comes down to the mountains there and looks over the edge and hollers at the monster hey it’s wel it that’s how you say monster in my language I want to challenge you to a contest says what kind of contest well since you’re inhaling everybody you inhale me and I’ll inhale you all right coyot says well you’re bigger than me so you go first all right all right monster says sucks in as hard as he can see trees are uprooting and rocks are falling down and making all kinds of commotion tearing the ground up but Coyote’s still there one rope one of his ropes breaks so he gets a little closer and it’s the ey coyote he says okay my turn and he goes hard as he can he inhales few leaves shake a little bit grass moves just a little bit nothing happens okay monster it’s your turn so he does it same thing rocks and trees all falling down another rope breaks coyote gets a little closer coyote inhales same thing just a few trees leaves Rattle and a little bit of the grass shakes coyote says all right this is your La your last turn here you do it and monster hard as he can this time he just everything comes flying down even Coyote’s last rope breaks even he comes flying down and a monster swallows him but as he’s going down to Monster’s throat he starts running into his animal people that he had already swallowed he runs into the wack puss the rattles snake first rattlesnakes acting all Fierce towards him striking at him and coyote says you know how come you’re doing that to me you let this guy swallow you and he goes over and Stomps on the rattlesnake’s head and tells him you know you don’t act like that that to me rattlesnake crawls off and today that’s why the rattlesnake’s head’s flat coyote stepped on him and um he goes further down he runs into the grizzly bear and the grizzly bear is acting all ferocious towards him trying to bite him and he says why are you trying to bite me you got all this meat right here you could be eating why are you suffering like this pushes the grizzly bear away pushes him by his nose and that’s why the grizzly bear has that concave nose now face he goes a little further down and muskrats laying there tells the Muskrat why are you you over there in the corner crying around you’re one of the smarter ones you should be trying to figure out how to get these people out of here and muskrats over there shaking around and the coyot says okay I got a plan I got these knives I’m going to cut this heart when I get done cutting his heart he’s going to take his last breath all these openings are going to open up and that’s when we’re going to going to escape okay so he jumps up on the heart and he starts cutting that heart but his knife breaks his first knife breaks so he throws it down he grabs a second knife and it breaks third knife he says go get ready everybody get ready and his last knife breaks but he just has very little bit hanging on so he pulls hard as he can on that heart Boom the heart pops off the monster weaves around a little bit and Bam he’s dead falls down dead his last breath all his openings open up his mouth his ears he’s back in coyot makes everybody got out the back end push all the bones out the back end all you people out are alive go they go out the back end and sure enough muskrats the last one out too late closed up has muskrats tail and they’re all pulling on the Muskrat come on come on finally they pop the Muskrat out and that’s why muskrat don’t have no hair on her Tails now today you you guys ever see a muskrat know what muskrats are anyway that’s um then a fox comes over and he says uh what are we going to do with this now we got this whole big body lay what are we going to do with it oh we’ll cut it up and throw it away we’ll get rid of it so they start cutting it up and they start throwing pieces to all the directions the monster has these short front arms he throws them to the Southwest has a big long legs in the back and he throws them out to the out into the Midwest out into the Plains and if you go down to the Southwest not all of them but most of those people down there are short people now and if you go out to the Midwest out to the plains not all of them either but you see a lot of tall tall uh tribal members out there in the in the plains Lota and The Crow and the Cheyenne they’re all T people and fox tells him well what about here what about this place you got all this fine land here water mountains everything’s beautiful but we don’t have no people here so coyote tells them well go get me some water go get me some cous he goes over and brings water and coyot gets some blood off of the all we got left is a heart here grabs some blood off of the heart and washes his hands with that water and goes like this with his hands and sprinkles it around and everywhere that blood landed that blood in that water landed neimi poo people sprouted up and that’s exactly how our people lived in all these different areas he said these people are going to be brave brilliant and good-hearted but who’s going to take care of them they’re they don’t have no clothing don’t have no shelter no food who’s going to who’s going to take care of them and all the animals came forward elk deer moose all came forward will’ll take care of them we’ll give them shelter we’ll give them clothing and we’ll be their food the samon he popped up out of the water and he says I’ll come back every year and I’ll feed these people as long as they keep my water clean so right there at that time and even the small Roots popped up and they said the same thing as long as you take care of our land to take care of our water and take care of us we’ll take care of you and so that’s kind of how and why the native people are so close to tied with the Earth the land the water and the Animals because we made a compact with the animal people a long long time ago y cut you out Y in my Lang that’s all thank you what’ you all think do you like those stories yeah pretty good you want to help me give them one more round of applause for those wonderful stories thank you we like to thank you very much Lim for coming out and sharing those all right where is group number one uhoh we’re kind of everywhere that’s okay group number one you guys are going to be head

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Alan Pinkham on Nez Perce history, culture, and creation stories

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 00:36:05 +0000

well hello everyone and good afternoon and welcome to the tent of mini voices the tent of mini voices is part of the core Discovery 2 traveling Lewis and Clark exhibit it’s a National Park Service exhibit that’s been on the road since 2003 will continue to be on the road through 2006 the four years of the Luc and Clark expedition by Centennial and what we do here in the ten many voices as we bring in a wide variety of presenters and speakers to share with us a wide variety of perspectives many voices and we’re pleased today to have with us Alan Pinko who’s going to talk about the culture and history of the Nez purse so please give him a warm welcome to the tenam many voices okay can everybody hear me okay good my uh my English name is Alan pink of course and uh butou little more okay all right maybe I’ll just have to talk a little louder okay thanks uh my English name is Alan pink but my nesters name is ptin p and of course I got that from my father and uh one of the reasons we ended up with English names is because when the da act came in about to our reservation in 1893 we’re told by the agent and the uh Presbyterians and the uh US Army we had to have English names so that’s why I ended up having a Pinkham you know a good English name name for an Indian so that’s why I have these the name and my family is Pinkham but then actually I’m a descendant of red bear ha ilil who met Lewis and Clark in 1805 and along the Le and Clark Trail right here where it says chopines and kuske River that’s my territory my homeland and then on this map it’s just a little bit south and east of Lewiston Idaho but the nest purses travel to Montana North Dakota Wyoming even to the Great Lakes way before Los and Clark came out here so he knew the country we knew how to travel way before losen Clark gets to our country and to even to Montana now the reason I can say this there’s a little story that we would listen to when we’re young people they have and it’s a little story that’s connected with this star formation is probably a little bit different than what you’ve heard or learned in your school days this is the story of two grizzly bears five Wolf brothers and one little dog and I’ll tell you how that is old wolf he was sitting down and he was looking up and coyote come along and he says ask old wol what are you looking at says oh I’m looking at two of them up there don’t you see them so coyote he looks up and he sees two grizzly bears and in the meantime four of old Wolf’s younger brothers come along and ask the same question what are you looking at says oh we’re looking at the grizzly bears up there don’t you see them and old wolf said I sure wish I could go up and see these two grizzly bears so coyote since oldwell persisted he said I’ll show you how to go up there and see these two grizzly bears so coyote he makes five bundles of arrows and a bow he shoots the first Arrow up and it stays up there he shoots a second and it sticks to the first arrow and a second second and third and fourth all the way down to the ground and coyote tells old wolf now you can go up there and see the two grizzly bears but the next oldest wolf says well I want to go up first with my next two younger brothers to see these two grizzly bears and old wolf agrees he says okay you go up with your younger brothers and see these two grizzly bears so the next oldest wolf and his two brothers go up the arway and they sit down and they look across to the two grizzly bears and then old wolf says well I want to go up next and I want to take my youngest brother and my little dog with me so they go up and they sit down and look across to the the two grizzly bears and coyote says when a human beings come they will look up there and they will see two grizly bears five Wolf brothers and one little dog can you identify who they are here is first grizzly bear second grizzly bear the next oldest wolf brother and his younger brother and his younger brother and then this is the old wolf with his little dog right here and this is the youngest wolf brother right there some people call it the Big Dipper we call it two gly bears five Wolf brothers and one little dog but what does that tell you anybody North Star good okay here’s the North Star right here okay if you know and hear this story as a young person you know a direction North so as you grow older when you’re out here in the plains to the east of us and all you see is one horizon one level what do you have to find the North Star or if you’re in a big lake somewhere where you see nothing but a horizon you need to know where the North Star is east and west is easy to figure out cuz that’s where the sun comes up and it goes over and sets in the west so now you know four directions so but how can you travel okay now what we used to do we would describe travel time as 1 half day before noon or 1 half day afternoon to evening and then maybe even divide the half day up into one quarter we didn’t have hours or minutes or seconds but we had days of fraction of a day’s travel and then any shorter distance all we had to do is Pace or walk steps and we could measure so that’s how we travel we measured travel time by fraction of a day and days and maybe even 28 to 30 days of the moon phase one travel of a moon now how far do you think we could go in one Moon’s travel let’s kind of figure it this way say on an average if you traveled by horse foot or canoe you could probably average about 20 miles the day you traveled 100 days or three moons you’re 2,000 miles away so that’s what we did so from Idaho where we are now we would travel to the red Pipestone quaries in the state or around the Great Lakes area which is about 100 days travel so we travel and we have many travel stories in tribal history there’s one story that we traveled so far south where it was hot all year long and in that country we found a little animal we call that little animal pitet pitet and what that means is imitator imitator and what that little monkey is what we found we call that little animal because he did everything that we did or tried to act like us we called him pitet imitator so that’s how far south we went we also traveled so far south that we found another kind of human being once we found out that they were human beings now if you really look at it a practical sense even in 1805 when we seen Lewis and Clark we knew when Lewis and Clark was coming but then even 300 years prior to that 1492 or 1500 or 1520 1530 how could another kind of strange person or human being live 3,000 or 2600 miles east of us without us knowing about it now there this wasn’t olation just because there was a Rocky Mountain here and hundreds of miles of plains that was no obstacle to us so we heard about this creature and there’s Prophecies of the coming of these new kinds of people one day there will be a white fa creature behind a white-faced animal about the size of a deer that will come through rway Valley our homeland the white face creature was what we had to decide whether it was a human being or not because when we heard about that even before LS and Clark this strange creature had eyes like fish spoke a language we never heard before some of them had their faces on upside down and they smelled and they brought they will bring good things and bad things to us this is what this new creature will do so we had a little debate about well gee are these human beings or not because they certainly don’t look like us they don’t smell like us either so what are they maybe they’re mixed with some other kind of animal but once we found out that they had human traits we finally decided they must be human beings now the description was eyes like fish that’s gray blue green eyes face upside down is mustache and beard and bald on top you know who you are and and so this was the predictions that we had made that they will come into our country but then one the traits that these new kinds of human beings would have that they would be very inquisitive inventive aggressive arrogant kinds of people so we had to be a little cautious and so when we heard about these people we went to see them we traveled 2,000 miles to see them or he went to the Southwest to see him near the country of the monkey so this isn’t any great surprise to us when leis and Clark comes wandering up the Missouri River and gets into the cellway and and the lock saww River and end up on cus Prairie in Idaho we’re just a little surprised that they would show up when the passes were starting to get snowed in you know we thought it was kind of odd that they’d be traveling and uh taking a chance to get snowed in on the passes but they showed up and it was a PR predicted of course and so that occurred I’ll talk a little bit more about that later now there’s another little story that maybe you youngsters would be interested about you probably heard about well a cow jumped over a moon the moon is full of cheese or there’s a man in the moon to us none of this happened there’s a frog in a moon he’s up there now the story is Moon he would go through the sky at night you know every night he’d go through the sky and one night he sees a frog sitting down there in a near the water and he looks down and asks frog well what good are you says all you do is just sit there then frog looks up at Moon says well what good are you you just go through the sky and so they argued but then they Moon went on next night the same thing they argued again Moon would say well what good are you all you do is sit down there and talk talk talk you don’t do anything and frog would say well what what good are you the sun gives us warmth and you don’t makes things grow and you just go through the sky and don’t give light like the sun and so they would argue and third the third night frog he got so mad when they were arguing about who is the best one frog says I’m going to jump in your eye so frog he jumps and he lands in the moon’s eye and that’s where he is today and then when coyote looks up he says when the human beings come they will look up and they’ll see the frog in the moon because he lost his temp that’s where he ended up and so that little story tells you so don’t get in an argument you may end up where you may not supposed to be so keep that in mind okay here is the hind it would be the right hind foot of frog right here and right here this is his rear end and over on this side is is his other foot and the rest of his body over here so that’s proba in the moon so next time you see the full moon look for him cuz that’s where he’s he is so those the kinds of stories that we have there’s more of course but I don’t have enough time to tell you anymore about those kinds of stories but I will tell you this you know among the nesp and many other tribal people there’s what we call the maker of all things and he is called haah he is the creator he makes everything you see everything that’s here and so that’s the beginning of the world he creates the world but he also creates many other things he creates large animal people what we know as large animal people you know the four-legged and the flying and the insects and fish Birds but then the Creator calls all the animal people together and there’s a landmark along the clear waterer river that depicts this and he tells all the animal people there’s going to be a great change some of you may not survive some of you will but this great change is going to come and you’ll be smaller animal people so now I want you all to come out and describe what you want to look like how you want to be how you want to live and how you can help the human beings when they come so they all came out and they sat in a council and there’s the rock formations down to draw from that Ridge line and some of the looks kind of rounded and hay stacked looking you can’t see any form but the others are sitting up on a ridge line like large animals sitting down like a back of a mammoth or or a dinosur something like that and they’re very tall they’re about 15 to 20 ft high and those represents the large animal people and the the rounded Stones going up the draw to that area are the ones that never made the meeting there were late so don’t be late for meetings you’ll just become a stone unrecognized iable so this great Council was uh called and a Creator says now you come out and demonstrate how you want to be and you and I’ll declare you qualified so all the animals the birds and insects had to do this and the fish and they would say like like I’ll give you an example like the deer the first deer he comes out and says I I want to have horns that come up and Branch out like this and U I want a short black tail and then the human beings can use my horns for tools and uh my flesh for food but I won’t be easy to capture and so that animal came out and he demonstrated how he wanted to live and and and he was called mule deer what we now call me deer he wanted big ears and that’s what he got so the second deer comes out and says well I don’t like the horn horns of the first year I want horns that come up and go like this and I want a big long white tail that goes like this when I run and the human beings can use my flesh and my hide for clothing you know and that’s what I’ll contribute but I’m not going to be easy to catch so that he’s known as white tail another deer comes out and he says I like the horns of the first that come up and Branch out like this but I don’t want that funny looking little tail I want something a little longer and black on one side and human beings can use my flesh and hide for clothing and my brains to soften a hide to make it white so that deer was called Blacktail deer so I could go through this and describe all the animals the elk the Moose grizzly bear eagle go you know they all describe themselves and how they wanted to be and how they could help the human beings and even the insects spider he came out and this is what I’ll do I’ll weave this web to catch my food but the human beings won’t know how I do this to catch my food and I will show them what wisdom is because they cannot understand something they have to accept it the way it is and how it is and we will call that wisdom acceptance of something that you don’t understand but is there before you so even insects were contributing to the existence of the human being so even insects the birds Eagle said well I’ll fly way up there they can uh use my feathers for their symbols and when they talk to me I’ll give their message to the Creator that’s what I will do so that was done Eagle became qualified so the all the animals insects birds and even the fish the salmon said I will come to the streams every year at the same time of year but you’ll have to catch me for food so everybody contributed something and they got a name they were qualified and right near the end of this story and this great Council of the all the animal people coyote he just barely makes the meeting he just in time he he comes in and he’s the last one he says well I want to be Eagle says no that name’s already taken you’re too late well I want to be grizly bear no that name’s already taken and so he was really felt bad says well what can I be and when he tried to demonstrate how he wanted to be he couldn’t even talk straight you ever listen to coyotes at night yip yip yip yip yip yip you don’t know what they’re talking about because he couldn’t talk straight so finally the Creator took pity on him say I’ll give you special powers I’ll give you the name itaya which means coyote says you’ll have all the traits of the human beings when the human beings come you’ll be just like them you’ll have the emotions you’ll you’ll uh steal maybe be a thief maybe you’ll be a good person but you’ll have all the traits of the human beings but I’ll give you a special power if somebody kills you I’ll give you the power to come alive again and I’ll give you the power to change things also so coyote he was happy you know this is great you know he’s got special powers so when a meeting was over he traveled the world and this is where all our coyote stories come from from the npers and this is how coyote got his power to be what he is but he’s got all the faults and traits of the human beings you know and he does get himself killed every now and then so they were just about ready to break up the meeting grizzly bear says well what are we going to do about day and night I want six months day and six months night that’s what I want you know little chipm says no no no you’re just lazy we should should have one day one night that’s all we need and so grizzly bear and chipmunk they start arguing Grizzly bees six months day six months night that’s what we want you know that’s the best thing we can have little chipm tail going back and forth he says no one day one night one day one night and he says you’re just lazy so Creator says you go over there and sit down and you argue whoever wins the argument that’s what we will have when this great change comes so grizly bear and chipmunk they sit down they start arguing grizzly bear arguing six days you know 6 months night 6 months days chipmunk says no no no one one day one night one day one night they were arguing arguing and grizzly bberry got sleepy he’d start arguing says we want 6 months day 6 months night and he’ just lean over and he just about go to sleep and he’d wake up and he start arguing again finally he couldn’t take it anymore he fell over and he went to sleep and little chip monkey says I won I won we’ll have one day one night now and the Creator agrees yes we’ll have one day and one night so that’s how we have one day and one night now and so grizzly bear he sits up and he wakes up and he looks around he says what happened what happened says oh you lost the argument we got one day one night now and grizzly bear looks around he says where’s that little chipmunk I’m going to get him little chipmunk looks at him he say oh oh he’s going to come after me so he’s starts running grizzly bear right behind him he wants to catch that chipm he reaches out and scrapes the back of chipmunk and that’s why chipmunk has those stripes on his back now because he won the argument and he got one day and one night so you have to be a little percent persistent sometimes to get what you want so those are the kind of stories that about now we got all kinds of coyote stories that goes on and on as well and how much time we got left here okay uh maybe I could open up for questions anybody any questions he wants a story about a coyote anybody have any questions it looks like we got a question over here for questions what I’m going to do is bring the microphone around so everybody can hear you and if you could come to the center aisle with your questions that’d be helpful as well I’ll see if I can get a story in here just a second what was your Indian name again what is my Indian name pattin pattin Pat means five kytin means rays of light now if you ever obs oberved like cloudy days and there’s rays of light coming through the clouds and comes down and touches the Earth I’m the five rays that come down through the clouds and touch the Earth that’s my name yes did you ever come up with any stories about how something came to be by like from you from your point of view how things came to be uh maybe I’ll tell this uh coyote you know when he traveled the world his brother Fox tells him there’s a monster up there on a clear water they’re devouring all the animal people he’s sucking them in and he’s devouring them and this is called one of our creation stories and uh so coyote he prepares himself he gets five Flint knives and he gets certain pitch and he goes up on a cus Prairie and he goes over towards graville where this graville now is and and his brother Fox is with him of course and in coyote he yells over to where the monster is and he says you can’t devour me like you did the other animal people and kept hollering hollering at a monster pretty soon a monster he raises his head above the uh level of the Prairie and he looks across to Coyote he says who is this hollering at me say I’m going to suck you in like like I did the other people so coyote says you go ahead so monster he sucks in his breath and he coyote had tied himself to the mountain with his rope and he’d go the end of the rope and he’d stop before he got into the monster’s mouth and he did that three times the third time he reaches behind him and cuts the Rope and he goes into Monster’s mouth and he’s inside he’s walking around it’s kind of dark in there and so he strikes a fire so he can see and he walks along you see the bones of laying there where animal people have died and there’s still some alive still some alive yet and some are pretty weak so he goes among those people and he comes near rattlesnake rattlesnake strikes at him says what are you doing I come here to rescue you and now you’re striking at me I come here to save you so he steps on rattlesnake’s head and so that’s why rattlesnake has flat head heads now and he walks further down and grizzly bear Roars at him well what are you roaring at me for I come here to save you people and grizzly bear Roars again so coyote pushes his nose and that’s why grizzly bears have flat noses now so he says well watch me and do what I say I’m going to kill this monster I’m going to cut the heart loose but when all the the monster is dying in the last breath all the holes of this body is going to open up and you run out and you kick the bones of all that dead people in here too so the people all go to the holes you know the mouth the nose the ears and even that hole underneath the tail they all wait at these holes and Co gets these knife he cuts away breaks a knife gets another knife he’s down to his la last knife and the last piece of flesh is that hang on the heart and he reaches up and he tells the people now get ready so he cuts the last piece of Flesh and the Heart Falls and the holes open up with a last breath all animal people run out and carry the remains of the other ones with them and they all go out and the last one out is muskrat he’s running out the the hole at underneath the tail and just as he goes out that hole closes on his tail and that’s why muskrat doesn’t have any hair on his tail he’s the last one out so all the animal people in remains in coyote says now you’re all alive so all the animal people are are come alive and and they go around about their way and then coyote says no Fox ask coyote what are you going to do now this wonderful place here this beautiful Clearwater Valley should have human here and this whole land should be occupied by human beings and this is an island we knew this was an island because of water in every direction you went so coyote says well I’ll I’ll make beings so he cuts the monster up in pieces and he’d throw a part in a Direction Another Part in another Direction you know this is the way he distributed when those pieces of this monster struck the ground they became Cheyenne Sue Shoni uh uh damis you know Coastal people uh Pueblo people so he populated this continent and he was just about done in says well what are you going to do about people living right here there should be people right here and he had thrown most of the body parts out so Kish bring me some water so Fox he goes over bring some water back from the clear water and he washes his hands and he sprinkles the blood and the water on the ground and when the blood and water strikes the Earth up pop theu people nesp people so that’s how we’re created by coyote we are the human beings of the blood and the water and the Earth that’s how we’re made and that’s how we’re created so that’s one little coyote story it’s our creation story that’s how we’re made so where did where did you originate right there it’s uh there’s a rock it’s a heart formation of it’s about 35 40 ft High right at CI Idaho and that’s our center of our creation and that stone is there so if you ever get to CI Ido I think coru will be over there in August I believe and if you ever get over there look for that rock cuz it’s very prominent you can looks like a heart standing on a on a base and then to the point is up so that’s how we’re created then of course other coyote stories come from that too are we one more question we got time for me one or two more questions how old are you how old am I uh-oh this is getting personal now uhoh well in in the old days you used to count age by wintertime I have seen winters of course I was born in January so I’ve already seen the first winter so yeah Psalm 67 can you speak CH not Chinese but Indian didn’t quite hear wants to know if she can speak your native language if she can speak the N language oh nox leit matat P we not 1 2 3 4 5 noit nox is one nox Lait is leit is two all the way to 10 we have another question here where were you born I was born in laway Idaho in my grandmother’s house my mother wanted to get me to the hospital before I was born but we only made it to Grandmother’s house so I was born there I was delivered by my grandmother one more question how did you get your Indian name how did I get my Indian name um my father took me to a a a gathering of of of the nespr community and this would have been probably about 9 19 42 or 43 somewhere around there and um he he got me by the hand and led me I don’t remember any of this I was probably only about 3 or 4 years old he took me out and he said this is the name of this young person here this is the name I’m going to give him he is my fifth son so I will call him because he is my f son pet means five and Rays of light that was my name that’s how I got it thank you thank you Alan thank you for sharing your stories with us and just a

The post Alan Pinkham on Nez Perce history, culture, and creation stories appeared first on Lewis & Clark Research Database.

Allen Pinkham on Nez Perce perspectives of Lewis and Clark

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 00:36:04 +0000

gentlemen welcome to the tent of many voices this tent is part of a traveling exhibit that has been following the lwis and Clark Trail in about the same time frame as Lewis and Clark did 200 years ago while you’re here please take time to see the rest of our exhibit we have our kid-size K booat we have a PLS Indian Tepee and you can see the tools that the Native Americans of the planes were using when Lewis and Clark came through we also have our exhibit tent next next door where you can go through with a written text or listen to a 35-minute audio tour this tent of many voices is the tent that we showcase all of the stories of the Lewis and Clark expedition now that being said this is a huge story it is a story of Lewis and Clark to be sure it is also a story of the young woman who went with them and carried her small child and it’s also a story of the people that they met along the way they met many people from diverse backgrounds with different Lifestyles and different cultures and at this time it gives me great pleasure to introduce Rob CER who works here at Travelers Rest as the Native American program coordinator and at this time I’ll turn it over to him thank you very much and welcome everyone this this beautiful afternoon I tell people that I’m one of the luckiest people in the world because I’ve got probably one of the best jobs that there is to coordinate programs with wonderful wonderful minds and to tell the the native story through the mouths and through the hearts of the native people it’s it’s just wonderful to to work with Elders on a daily basis and and have them tell their stories and tell their their life story of of what it was like to grow up here in the bitet what it was like to grow up on the Lo Trail what it was like to grow up here in the Northwest so I’m very very fortunate to have that that wonderful position that I get to work with these these wonderful people today I have a a a very special guest Mr Alan Pinkham he’s from the npers tribe and he’s going to give a little bit of the NES Pur perspective on Lewis and Clark please make him feel very welcome and thank you very much thank you thank you appreciate the introduction uh I am a NES purse uh we also call ourselves npu which means the people or the real people or human beings but you know we gave this the name that we’re given that we are known so widely by happened to it’s it’s a French term nay per se but it’s been corrupted to nesp Pur and it’s not pronounced we don’t say NES Pierce we say nesper because that’s the way we learned it and uh that’s our way of saying that n per se so and of course the English influence on this was why we come up with this termin ology but our real name is npu ninu but we also called ourselves Children of the coyote and also are known by the name snip snip those people that come out of the mountains so those are the terms that were known by way before Lucen Clark came here and some of the things that I would like like to discuss or let you know about is is the great deal of misunderstanding that occurred when Lewis and Clark came through here you know they had a certain way of looking at us and viewing and interpreting what we were saying and a lot of times those things were vastly misunderstood because they didn’t know what we were talking about they attempted to you know we asked the question when we first seen Louis and Clark is the Earth the mother the son the father and then they got to talking about well we know about that we we uh know about The Godly things and and so they were telling us their impression of what creation was and we weren’t a we were asking about do they understand the mother is the earth and the son the father because that’s our spirituality but they didn’t seem to understand that so L later later on we were inundated by missionaries and I’ll get to this later but uh one of the things I want to point out here is this formation here I don’t know whether my light works here yeah here here you know that you you recognize that that’s the Big Dipper to us that’s that’s what we call this and there’s a story that goes with this old coyote he was sitting down and looking up and he was looking at these formations and coyote comes along along and says what are you looking at he says oh I’m looking at two of them don’t you see them this one and this one don’t you see them and coyote says yes I see them what are they they are grizzly bears says old wolf so he kept saying uh old wolf kept saying well I sure wish I could go up there and see these two grizzly bears in the meantime old Wolf’s four other Brothers came along and asked the same question what are you looking at say oh we’re looking at the two grizzly bears up there don’t you see them right here and then old wol he kept persisting I want to go up there and see these two grizzly bears so coyote says I’ll show you how to go up there so coyote he makes five bundles of arrows in a bow and he shoots the first arrow and it stays up there and he shoots a second one it sticks to the first one and a third to the second and so forth until it comes all the way down to ground and then coyote says now you can go up there and see these two grizzly bears but the next oldest wolf brother says well I want to go up first with my next two youngest Brothers old wolfes agrees okay you go up there and look at the two grizzly bears so they go up the arway and they go up and they sit down here here and here that’s the three next oldest brothers and then old old wolf says well I want to go up next but I’ll take my little dog with me and my youngest brother so here’s old wolf and there’s his little dog and his and his youngest brother so this is why we call this h the two grizzly bears okay now what does this constellation rotate around the North Star okay so now because it lines up with the North Star you know where North is and as you hear this story as a child and you grow up and you look at formation then you know where North is and South is opposite of that and of course East and West is easy to figure out because the sun rises in the East sets in the west so now as a child you know how to recognize these directions and so coming through cway and Locka and over here by the muda corridor what do you need for directions the North Star right well there it is right there so now of course other people call it the big but we don’t we call it so there’s a difference here but yet it tells the same thing it tells the four directions and so as a young person you learn these stories and you know how to travel there’s traveling stories among the nesters we didn’t just stay in a locks saww and the cellway and the salmon and the Snake River drainages or the Columbia Plateau we came all across these mountains and we went as far east as the five Great Lakes routinely way before leou and Clark shows up we were probably traveling a greater amount of uh trips because we acquired the horse about 1700 some people say we we acquired horse about 1730 but it um it’s much earlier I believe because the trade route between tribes was very fast now that could be substantiated by the epidemics that we had suffered we had suffered at least two epidemics prior to Lewis and Clark and there’s stories of villages disappearing along the Snake River because of these epidemics so it had already suffered some losses and to substantiate that we call the Eastern tribes those east of the Mississippi with sores people because they suffered small poox before we did so people had suffered small pox at least twice before 180 five then that means we would have traveled or traded that kind of distance 22500 miles away and a very practical way to look at this is if you even if you walk or ride a horse or even by a canoe you can average about 20 mil per day so in 100 days you’re 2,000 miles away so traveling wasn’t that big a deal with us now you hear these stories of tribal conflicts between tribes well yes there is we had difficulty with the Shashi people and ab banic people with the uh cheyen and the black feet and we usually had difficulties with these people when we came out this direction but not all the time one of the things that has occurred is that we needed to negotiate our way through other tribal territories and how do you do that well you form alliances you form alliances with these other people whoever they are sometimes it lasts quite a while sometimes it doesn’t one of these is one of the things that’s at the Louis and Clark time is that we were very closely affiliated with the Salish people here in this Valley and the the affiliation was that one of our leaders called hak IL pil and that’s interpreted as red bear red bear one of his wives was a Salish wife and the other wife was an NP wife and so out of this Union then we became uh this became an alliance mechanism between the Salish people and the npers and the descendants of that Union then became the mechanism for this Alliance so that’s why we were able to do these things and set up these alliances by the descendants of these unions and even uh so so we set up these lines now we didn’t now with the black feet we had a lot of difficulty also but then within the black feet we set up an alliance with the little black feet so we could get through their territory now probably depended on the people that set up these alliances that were able to do this a different group of nesp may not be able to do the same thing but we did that and one of the illustrations of this is that LE and Clark when they came to weip and uh along the clear water and a little further down we already had six muzzle ERS but we didn’t have powder and ball for those weapons well where did we acquire these weapons Russians were coming down from the north from Alaska in that area the Spanish were coming north of California coast but the Canadians were in Canada and then the other fur Traders were around the Great Lakes so we could acquire these weapons in all four directions but more than likely where we acquired these weapons were at the Great Lakes area because this is one of the trading centers for both the Canadians and also American we uh one of the first people that came out to our country we call them Bostons because that’s where they came from and referred to him as Boston so those are the kinds of things that occurred and so there was a big Network already in existence when Louis and Clark came here we were coming out on the plane we’re going as far as the great lakes and even further there was another story that probably occurred about 1820 maybe a little bit earlier 1810 maybe and we we had horses at this time there was a first man he says I want to go see where the uh the sun comes up so he gathers the people he tells the people I want to go see where the sun comes up he loads these uh horses with whatever he thinks he needs and away he goes he comes across the trail here through Lo goes out on the plains goes down to Missouri sees all kinds of strange Indian people along the way he meets them all he goes through their territory stays in the dtas for uh year or two and he learns about these new kinds of people and so he says well I want to go see where these people are so he goes to a place called Cincinnati now Cincinnati was established about 1795 so Cincinnati had already been established when he went there and he spent three or four years in Cincinnati just to find out what’s going on then he decides I’m going to go down the Great River so he goes south along the Mississippi he doesn’t find too much along the Mississippi because those tribes had been inundated by smallpox about this time he doesn’t find too much then he says well I think I’ll go west so he goes west to a country that’s hot all year long this is the way he described it so was had to be in uh Southern Arizona maybe southern California maybe well into Mexico he stays there several years then he decides I’m going to go north so he comes North he sees the mountains on a Columbia Plateau the Columbia River the Snake River he comes up those Rivers goes to the Clearwater River and he’s home that Journey took him 20 years so we’re traveling people other tribes traveled as well so it’s not just nesp other tribal people did this also West Coast Indians went to the east coast East Coast Indians came to the West Coast way before Lu and Clark show up so there’s already this network of trade and an exploration and getting acquainted setting up alliances with other tribes and we’re finding out what’s going on what’s occurring Eastern tribes are suffing suffering from the small Pop there’s new kinds of people to the east now prior to Louis and Clark prior 1805 300 years prior to that how could we not know about another kind of human being on this continent we had to find out way before 1805 because we had been there we went there we learned about these people the earth when you have predictions or prophecies coming out of these contacts one of the prophecies is one day there will be a white-faced creature behind a white-faced animal about the size of a deer that will come through laway Valley and that occurred when these new kinds of strange people come they’re going to draw lines across the Earth and they’re going to say this is yours this is mine your name will go into a book but you will not know when your name goes into this book what does that mean an allotment book a census book a Bible these are our predictions we do not know when our name goes into a book and so these are the kinds of predictions that we were making way before Len Clark came and the only way we could have come up with these kinds of predictions or prophecies is that we had to have gone somewhere to learn a little bit about what is really going on on this island we call this whole continent an island because we knew that this W Island there was water to the West water to the east there’s a great lake to the north and there’s water to the South it’s an island this whole continent is an island how did we know that more than likely we went there we went so far south that we seen an animal we never seen before we seen this animal and we called it pitet pitet in ners means imitator and imitator is the monkey so that’s how far south we went so these are the kinds of things that I think we need to put things in perspective of 200 years ago and that perspective is that we knew more about Lewis and Clark than they knew about us because we said they’re coming weo weapo means the white man is coming so these are always things we already knew and we also knew that the early description of these strange people were they’re going to speak a language we never heard before they’re going to bring good things and bad things to us some of them will have their faces on upside down and they’ll have eyes like fish eyes like fish is a gray blue or green eyes the face upside down is beards and mustaches and bald on top and you know who you are so so these are the things that we already knew so and uh there’s so many things here there you know I’ve been doing some research among my own people I’ve talked to some of our elders and and some of my peers I’m not an elder I’m just a guy that has gray hair just like some of you so and and I’ve talked with that and also I heard some stories from my father my father died in 1975 his name was Alex bham and he was born in 1895 and when he was a young boy he would listen to Three Old Men the names of these three old men were p p and these are the names of these three old men they were up in their 60s and 70s and he would listen to them this would be about the year 1903 1904 he was about seven or eight years old and he got so engrossed listening to these old men tale of about a 100 years prior to 1903 that he would listen and this much of what I’m telling you comes from my father through these three old men otherwise if if my father had not told me I would probably not have known a great deal of this so these is what my father would tell me you know the the predictions you know of of the lines across the Earth and uh also there’s another one our uh world will be turned over the Earth will be turned over what that means is the white man will bring the plow and he’ll turn the Earth over so he’s turning our Earth over as well as our culture and our society and our way of lives that’s what this really means is our lives are being turned over at the same time that the white man is plowing the ground that’s what that really means so that’s a kind of prediction that uh he would hear from these three old men and they would also talk about other things they would talk about not only present one of the present things that these three old men would talk about they would say the prophecies are coming true and what they would talk about they would tell when these people come they will make things that go through the air they will make things that crawl upon a ground that’s the automobile in the airplane so they already knew some of these things this is what they were saying because of the Ingenuity and the technology that these people were bring they will also do these other things making the airplane and an automobile so it these these I guess in 1903 there the automobiles were already made and some of the airplanes were starting to be developed but then that these three old men were saying it’s coming true of what they are doing and the three old men would talk about these people have something that we don’t have and that’s the ability to make things from metal and glass and one of the early things that we try do is that when we learned about this metal and glass you know remember that the six muzzle oders that we possessed in 1905 but no leaden ball that’s the technology of the day so how do we acquire these things how do we get a hold of this metal and glass how do we trade for these now Lis and Clark my understanding is that they had the latest technology Firearms the rifled muzzle loader the the glass the beads and metal axes so we knew about these things as well and so he said well how do we things we could kill them we all we have to do is kill 33 people well the argument was well look what they have look what they can bring to us if we kill them maybe we will not be able to get those things but if we treat them well maybe we can get these things more readily so there’s a big debate what should we do when these people come among us we know what they’re bringing they’re bringing good things and bad things but the good things will be more beneficial to us than the bad things there was a great argument what should we do wat kuiz an elderly woman of the time of 1805 says don’t do them any harm because these people helped me when I was a captive on the Great Plains around the Great Lakes area I met these kinds of people these strange people they treated me kindly so don’t do them any harm and it’s true what kis was tra uh captured and taken away by her captures to the Great Lakes area she finally uh secured her U Freedom by sneaking away or you know somehow she had gotten away from her captor she had been traded also to other tribes probably around the Great Lakes area and she escaped and she came upon some white people that treated her kindly took her in took care of her she had a young child with her at this time and there was one white man among these people that said I will take you across the Eastern bitter water come with me and she said no I want to go back to my people so she comes West along the way her baby dies she buries it along the way but she finally gets home to the Clearwater Country and so when Louis and Clark came and this great argument was going on she convinced everyone you know don’t do them any any harm because look at the things that they that we could acquire so so the the the mood shifted we said how do we bring about a good relationship with these people we know what they’re bringing but they have good things also so how do we do this well you treat them well feed them provide guides for them you know where they want to go we’ll provide guides and we’ll help them build Cano which we did and we also took care of their horses so we did all these things for them so they went on down the river actually they they went down in five canoes but actually there were six canoes made one canoe came back up River and it was because the first canoe that they made wasn’t very well made and so some of the guys came back with that six or the first canoe but the other five canoes were a little bit better made even though L and Clark wrecked quite a bit going down to clear water in this Snake River in Rapids now I’ve often wondered how could they get a wreck you know a boat wreck along the clearw waterer because if you ever seen that River today it’s almost smooth well 200 years ago it wasn’t that way there is rocks and uh Rapids and edes and and a lot of that was changed because the engineers when the steamboats came into the area blasted out a lot of these rocks and the railroad took out a lot of rocks too so that happened on the clear water as well as the salon or the Snake River the middle Snake River not on the Salmon River but it did occur on a snake and a clear water because Steamboat traffic was starting to come up the river in about 18 oh 1865 or 1870 I believe forget which year but but one of the things that I um a little uh concerned about is that some of these canoes over here they don’t look like nesters canoes of course they weren’t made by nesp either but one of the things that you’ll notice they’re almost blunt on one end you know they’re of course the chainsaw did a lot of the work but we didn’t make them that way the front end and the half didn’t look that way there was more of a very smooth and long curve on both ends now the reason for that was because when you went down Rapids the upper portion of the the front end of that canoe would hit the rapid first and you’d be lifted up over the rapid and these is I I think they would go into the rapid more readily and I think that’s why Lo and Clark had so many wrecks and and by the way we found out that about half of the core Discovery didn’t know how to swim so we we went out and rescued quite a few of them when they got into bokit so so besides you know this misunderstanding you know there’s a lot of these things that went on and in 18 particularly in um losen car when they came through our country they they started buying our dogs and uh they ate our dogs that we traded or sold to them well there one one a return trip in 1806 they just below Spalding Idaho it’s it’s this side of Leon Idaho about oh eight or nine miles in our language we call this place suta sua and it’s my mother’s place along the clearw river and that’s where Le and Clark and particularly Lewis one young Nest purse threw a puppy in his plate or nearly in his plate and Louis got up and threw the puppy back and hit the young man in the chest and picked up a Tommy Hawk and threatened to uh Tommy Hawk this young nesper well of course the young man he backed off and says well you can’t make jokes with these people but his his his he was taking up the cause of a young girl that played with a dog that was Lewis was eating so she was upset then the mother got upset so this young man took up their cause threw the puppy in Lewis’s plate to make a little joke with him and fun with him because we never ate dog we never ate dog at all even in very hard times we never ate dogs we occasionally would eat horses but we never ate dogs other tribal people did eat dogs but we never I guess one of the things that we viewed the dog as is why eat your best buddy you know he shows us where the game is at you know he takes care of Camp you know he’s the Watchdog he helps hunt you know so why do this to your little little friend so that’s why we didn’t eat dog but Louis and Clark and the other members very readily did and they purchased all most of the dogs in the neighborhood when they came through so so there’s there’s this this kind of thing that was going on but then when you read the journals it just describes this impertinent Nest person threw a puppy in my plate and I threatened to killing so this is the anglo-american view of native peoples of the time and probably other members of the core also did maybe Julia or juler may have had a different view because juler was on my understanding he was half shaune Indian and and half French so he knew the sign language and we knew the sign language and and so there was a better communication between drer and other nesters than most others in the core Discovery so how and this is the good relationship that that I’m talking about is that it did occur and juler was one of these that that perpetuated this good relationship because juler we gave him one of the best horses that we had available of course we gave Lewis a good horse too and and Clark uh but we also recognize that drer was of the with sores people of the Eastern tribes and he knew the sign language so we could probably communicate with him a little bit more a little bit better and then the U when they came back up they were at the mouth of poo River or rather the Potlatch River just above uh laway Creek and east of Le about 10 mil miles or so there they this is where the cut noose was at one of our leaders NNU now one of the three men that my father listened to was also named nushu kutn cutos is my father’s Uncle so this is how I’m tied into this Lo and Clark thing so at the uh cut noes Village which is at the mouth of potlatch River they they had uh there was a shishoni boy there that spoke shashona he could speak with sakaia so there was communication between in Shoni then it probably went to Hada because shano could speak Hada then sharbono was French so it probably went to French then it went to English so he went through about four or five different languages you know is also in it so there’s probably five different languages that if you wanted to try to communicate something to someone you know whatever Louis and Clark you know were uh proposing you know relationships or or agreements that it had to go through five uh languages so it’s very complicated this is where I think a lot of misunderstanding occur you know there’s there’s so many names that L and Clark wrote down in the journals that I can’t even recognize them because the way you pronounce it the way they heard it is completely different from what we would say it one of those is Tito hary this is the way it’s actually written in a journal Tito hary that’s toen ASA toen that’s what that is we finally figured it out that’s what it is tanasa and what that means is uh looks like brothers so like you see somebody coming in a distance you can just see little specs and you don’t recognize them and they get closer and closer and then you see who they are is oh they look like brothers that’s the name of one of of this man that they were trying to describe so these are the kinds of things that there were so many things that were Mis misunderstood or misinterpret and also that um one of the things that leis and Clark talked about is peace and friendship among all people well we knew that because we knew that we were at Fort Mandan the year before in 1804 there are three Nest Pur there and so those three men came back and said well this is what they’re talking about peace and friendship well there’s another big long story I can’t get into that cuz only got about another 3 or 4 minutes but this is one of what they Lewis and Clark is bringing they’re bringing this concept of peace and friendship and they’re bringing kitso medal that says this kitso that’s what we call coins and on it it says peace and friendship so this is the message that they’re carrying so when Lo and Clark talked about these medals and gave them out cut noose received one red bear received one twisted hair received one tumu received one there was about seven or eight medals given to nesper leaders of that time and so he said if you want peace and friendship then you treat us the same way this is the first treaty we made with United States government and we took it to heart because we thought so much of what they were saying that this is what we wanted to set up with them as peaceful and friendship and trade and getting and acquiring the technology of the day this is why we did it and we Carri that out all the way until 1877 until we went to war with the United States government in 1877 um I guess before I go any further is there any questions we got a few minutes here questions go ahead and raise your hand if there are questions go ahead and raise your hand I have a microphone so we can share the questions could have been that thorough uh one thing leis and Clark actually actually William Clark left a son among the npers we gave that young person the name hak he is the son of William Clark and he went through all the trials and tribulations up until the war of 1877 he actually went on war trail with Joseph and the other leaders he survived all the battles he was about 70 years old at the time 71 and 77 he went through all the battles from whitebird to Clearwater River to uh Fort fizzle to big hole to Canyon Creek and then to bearspaw he was captured in at Bears paaw went an exile into Oklahoma and there the son of Clark died we call him halak halak in NP means daytime smoker so this is part of this relationship that we’re trying to set up and maintain with United States halak it was the alliance building mechanism but it didn’t work in 1877 because we are fighting United States government so there’s other descendants from the core Discovery York is also another he has a descendants among the tribal people so there’s all kinds of stories but I guess I’m out of time so thank you very much and thank you Mr alen Pinkham for presenting here in our tent of many voices and our next program here in the tent of many

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Jay McConville and Daryl Broncho on Nez Perce Fishing Traditions

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 00:36:04 +0000

e here inside the tenary voices we bring in a lot of presenters from all over the country and actually sometimes internationally to speak with you on something related to Lewis and Clark or the cultures and communities that they met along their journey and with us at this hour are Jay mcconville and Daryl Broncho they’re here to share with you a little bit of some fishing instruments and all kinds of interesting fishing equipment and styles of the nesp people so let’s give them a nice warm welcome thank you well I don’t know where to start so I never done this before and it’s all new to me other than the fishing I’ve but done out quite a bit um this is the Gaff hook um I’m not sure when we started using them before that we were using Bones from our kills you know made little Bears out of them now we resorted to these we have a dip net here 80 lb test line these are made from uh old bed springs they have a trigger on here when the fish gets in there this trigger will let loose this will wrap around the fish the fish won’t can’t get out these nets we these nets we used down at the Columbia River before the dams were built we have several pictures here out of our tribal members and yakas and Warm Springs and mellas off this was uh Salo Falls right here um if I had have known earlier I was going to be doing this presentation I would have brought a DVD of my uncles he’s got about 50 minutes of footage that’s soilo fall um see these before these are down where the dall’s dams built right now my family used to go down in quite a few years back they used to have a uh like a trolley type thing that went across on a wire that ran across the top of the river to get from side to side yeah they would send the kids across their I from what I heard there was people that were younger that would go across on that that right yeah yeah that’s what I was saying they used to send a uh there was like a trolley that used to go across the top of the water yeah yeah I was there I was there pretty when I a little kid he’s got some more pictures over here yeah see these people here they using in the G I mean the dip Nets they’re a little longer than the 14o oh they have guys standing around in the back grab another some days they’re like 30 lbs or better now they’re they’re hardly another this is the Gaff pole had a r a gaff pole it’s a little weather beat it’s hav had it for three years and my Point’s too big hope I can just get it to stay for a little bit this is anyway it goes right here TI almost 18 oh yeah I wish I would have got to see it yeah yeah there was a that used to they used to um go across to uh what was I going to say oh no not here this is damned up now uh I’ve done dip netting but reason we tie so far up if the tip breaks we’ll still have their fish with the extra line we have on here uh at this point in time it was Native Americans I believe um this they damed it up and pretty much just there’s no way to over there anymore running water this is will fill the fish all gone now but you tell a rock from a fish cuz it’s softer you’ll turn your a hook and then St it pull it out this will be hanging like it like it was and the fish will still be on there I learned how to Gaff before they built Ro Granite down in Al powerway down there by Clarkston or chief Timothy have back in the house they have um old people carrying every time they carry their po over there they dip it in and they pull it out and like one after another they’d go over there and they pull them out they ate everything they ate the head fast one after another though um the dipnet knock out back in the early out well probably in the 50s probably in the 40s before before the dams were bril and we use these today still we use the Gaff hooks today still um there’s times the tribe will tell us not to use these because the damage of fish we’ll have to resort to the dipnet and that’s happened quite a few quite a few years recently because of the runs but we have pretty strong runs here lately um I fish I teach my boys to fish my future son-in-law here um he fishes too but um I would I’m getting to know him a little more we hunt a lot well this is not about hunting but this about fishing uh we stole fish down by Cascade Locks down at the Middle Fork of the salmon we still fish at Rapid River we still fish at uh down to Columbia in zone six I think it is um we still fishing Clear Creek don’t fish we fish all our old Rivers D naha the grand round you know Oregon Idol Watcher we still fish today because it’s within our treaty we signed a treaty with the United States government and Chief Joseph at the time was thinking of the future and that’s where we’re at today still so even though we’re on a small reservation and we don’t cross I don’t anymore cross private property of fish anymore I go pretty much where everybody else goes CU some people don’t want us passing their land or whatever so anyway this this is a gap hook this is what they look like before we start them but they’re you know excuse me I got this in here at the white elephant uh Spokan a lot of these you can get over in Portland OR uh uh my buddy he gets his out of Florida because he has a daughter down there she send them up to him they’re not Rusty these these hooks here belong to my dad so they’re keepsakes they’re pretty old old they’ve been around for quite a while uh eventually my sons will have them one of my sons over there the dipnet The Dip Net if the river is Flowing you want to go down with the down with the net where the fish will get in there like I demonstrated earlier once fish gets in there the weight will trigger that this thing will close like I said this is 80 80 lb TX so you use some people use 50 lb or better leave that down here um that’s I don’t know what else people like to know but that’s what I know about fishing and once we get the fish out we Club them so they don’t jump back in the water that’s but I all I have to say so there are a few questions in the group if you don’t mind taking questions if you have a question go ahead and put your hand up I’ll come around with a microphone we can all hear your question uh do you tie your own Nets or do you buy those already tied um I my dad used to tie those I don’t know how I mean you know I haven’t learned I think if I had someone to show me I have a nephew does it his name’s Tom Williamson he he T he ties these nets um but there’s a lot of Elders you know they hand us on down a lot of young young guys younger than I am I’m in my 50s so I there’s young guys that know how to do this and ladies yeah again y other questions where’s some more oh I thought I saw someone how often do you guys go fishing once a year twice a year and how many do you usually catch in one at one time well I usually catch like for my I have a sister-in-law she not done best house I usually fish for the elders or people that can’t fish I fish for myself or I fish for the for our power committee you know they might need 10 fish we’ll catch 10 fish but you know this year I didn’t catch any fish so last year I caught three and that was enough for me so what type of fish do you prefer to eat and what type of fish do you normally catch or looking for in the season should I mean I I caught three steel head this year had them smoked there only e steel head but I prefer trout it you know I trout fish quite a bit and I have like six or eight poles at my house but haven’t we been out lately so but I was last year I kind like four that’s thr last year do you have a Whopper fish story for us not really well let’s see no I better not see might embarrass myself my son’s probably thinking well what’s new Dad yeah he can tell it are there any other questions all right well I want to thank you guys so much for coming and sharing with us your culture of fishing let’s give them a big nice thank you thank you if you didn’t have an opportunity to check out the pictures they have you’re welcome to come up we have lots of time and if you too shy to ask a question with the microphone I do welcome you to ask them personally thank you all so much for coming that was a lot

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Alan Pinkham on Nez Perce Legend Times and Coyote Stories

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 00:36:04 +0000

oh there it is okay this modern stuff I get lost in sometimes um what I’m going to talk about is is some of the coyote stories that I learn you know some of them I learned when I was a kid others later and I’m still learning it seemed like you never stop learning about your own culture sometimes and what I’m going to talk about is what we call Legend times those times before they were human beings you know so that’s a long time ago and so one of the stories that we had is about this star formation you you probably recognize it but we call this Huma that’s our name for this consolation and there’s a story that goes along with this old coyote or rather old wolf he was sitting down and looking up and coyote came along and asked him well who are you looking at says oh I’m looking at two of them up there don’t you see them he was looking at these two right here and he says’ don’t you see them they’re grizzly bears up there in the meantime old Well’s four younger brothers came along and they sat down they looked up and asked what are you looking at said oh we’re looking at the two grizzly bears up there and old Wolfie kept persisting I want to go up there and see these two grizzly bears and so coyote he said I’ll show you how to go up there so he makes five bundles of arrows and a bow and he shoots a first Arrow up and it stays up there and the second arrows sticks to the first and the third arrow to the second arrow and came all the way down to the ground and then C says now you can go up this Arrow Way and you can see these two grizzly bears so but old Wolf’s next youngest brother and his two younger brothers wanted to go up next he said I want to go up next I’ll take my next two youngest Brothers with me so they go up the arrow way and they sit down here here and here and look across to the two grizzly bears in the meantime old wolf says well I want to go up next but I want to take my little dog with me and my youngest brother so they go up the AR away and here’s old wolf right here and his little dog and his youngest brother so now they all sit down and look across at the two grizzly bears and coyote he says when the human beings come they will look up there and they will see h two grizzly bears five Wolf brothers and one little dog now some people call it the Big Dipper but we call it so this is our story okay now there’s a lesson here where does the two grizzly bears line up with here the North Star so now if you understand where the North Star is and you understand and if if you ever laid you know in your garden or or your lawn somewhere or your porch and you looked up and you seen the Big Dipper it’s always in a little bit different position when you look at it later on while it’s rotating around a North star so we understood this you know so he understood that the North Star always stayed in the same place and it was all over in the norly Northerly Direction you know the opposite of south east and west you can figure out pretty readily because sun rises and sets East and West so now you as you learn this as a long young child now you understand the four directions and where the North Star is so if you if ever any of you ever gone on these mountains and tried to work your way through these mountains with no Compass or map how would you understand which way is North all you have to do is look up in the sky so now we know that this occurred you know that this is one of our Legend and coyotes placed them up there and he says when the human beings come they will see this constellation up there so now we have a means of traveling but there’s other stories there’s a full moon out right tonight well last night I think it was out but it should be out tonight too well there’s a little story about this too did you know that there’s a nesp frog in the moon there’s no man in the moon no cow jump through the it’s not full of green cheese there’s a frog in the moon and he’s a nesp frog so how do I know look right here this here that’s his right rear foot the bottom of his right rear foot right here see his toes there then here’s his little round behind right there then over on this side is his other foot so there’s frog in a moon I’ll tell you how he got up there now this is all Legend times way before the human beings Moon he’d come across the sky and he’d look down and he’d look at frog and he’d ask frog well what good are you all you do is just sit down there and just talk talk talk you don’t do nothing then frog would holler back and what good are you all you do is go through the sky you don’t you don’t do anything then you get larger and bigger then you disappear you don’t do nothing so the moon would go on the next night the same thing say Moon and holler down at FR well what good are you and then you holler back up the moon what good are you you come by the sky you know and and you don’t stay very long and then you don’t give us warmth like the sun does the sun gives us warmth you know any change of the sun changes the season you don’t you don’t you don’t provide nothing for us you can’t even see at night when when you come you can see a little bit but you can’t see like we do when they see the sunlight so they would argue and the moon would go on three times this happened they would argue they would holler at each other what good are you and and they’d holler back what a good are you you know so on and on they would argue on the third night finally frog he lost his temper says I’m going to jump in your eye so frog he jumps and smacks right into the moon and so that’s where he at he’s R right now so when coyote seen that he says well when a human beings come they’ll see the frog in the moon so what does this tell you don’t Lo don’t lose your temper when you’re arguing with somebody because you’ll end up in some place you’re not supposed to be so this is what this little story tells you so there’s things like this and then there’s a great deal of other stories right down here just below the railroad bridge that goes across where the mill is there and then that round curve there that goes down river you’ll see in the uh River Bottom large white rocks there’s a number of not too many and I’ll tell you how those stones got there coyote he was coming along you know he was traveling he was going there coyote he was is always going somewhere and the story is he’s going somewhere he’s going there he doesn’t know where this there is but he’s going so he’s coming and he’s he’s stops on the hillside here in a nice sunny day like this I’m going to rest so he’s wants to take a nap so he naps and he wakes up he’s all rested so then he seees he gets up and he looks around and he seen this Stone laying there so he goes goes over and he relieves himself on his stone that is he pees on it so he says well I feel better so now he’ll come on down so he starts coming down the hill and then pretty soon he heard this Thump Thump Thump Thump and he looked back and he couldn’t see anything he looks back again you know he kept hearing this noise Thump Thump Thump and he looks back and he’s this big rock coming down the hill after him so he said wow he got rock got closer so he started running and he looked back and The Rock was still behind him thump Thum Thum then he’d go this way you know and The Rock would follow him Thum th thump maybe run this other way th th the rock is still after him so he says I know what I’ll do when I get down by the river bottom I’ll just take a real sharp turn so that’s what he did when he got down there he just come up the river and that rock hit the river and broke broke up into pieces and that’s how that White Rock got there so if you ever go there you look for these white rocks they’re still down there especially with this low water you can see them now so what does that story tell you don’t go peeing on something that you’re not supposed to so you know there’s all these little lessons with these coyote stories and uh some of them very very interesting and these are all Legend times way before human beings ever show up so there’s another little uh creation story but it’s not this one up here it’s the beginning you know they if you ever been out here the camei uh the monster heart of the monster Place some of you have been there I’m sure some of you may not have seen it but there’s a story even before that this is a story of how coyote got created how he came about now there’s some Stones there’s Stones down there by U hadway Creek just uh this side of Lewiston you know by the casino there there’s a hadway creck comes down and if you look across from there probably more where that Caterpillar heavy machinery place is you look across there and you’ll see Stones along the uh Ridge line and you look like round backs like backs of uh Elephants or dinosaurs sitting down and they’re very high you know 20 30 ft high and there’s a number of those all in a row then from there you’ll see other smaller Stones lined up along that ridg line those are all large animal people and that was before the small animal people came about and this is way before human beings ever came way before so what happened here is Creator he calls all large animal people together and he tells them there’s going to be a great change this change is coming some of you may not survive but I want you to come out and demonstrate how you want to be and how you want to act and how you want to live then you’ll take a name and that’s what you’ll be known as after this great change so the animals yeah all the animal people came out and says well yes this is what we want to do because we want to have you know have a life after this gra change and some of the animal people never got to the meeting there’s a draw that comes down from that area and there looks like big hay stacks you know rounded Stones you can’t recognize they’re kind of rounded those were the animal people that came late to the meeting they got changed to Stone because they didn’t make the meeting so things happen here that uh is told with these rocks okay now the Creator he says I want you to come out and act like you want to be and then you can choose your name and you’ll be qualified you’re going to help the human beings when they come so dear he comes comes out says well I want to have horns that come up in Branch like this and I want big long ears and a short tail and the human beings can eat my flesh when they come but I won’t be easy to capture and so he demonstrated how he wanted to live and what how he would behave and uh so he was given what we now know as Mu deer so that was his name so he was qualified and other deer comes out says well I don’t like the horns of the first deer I want horns that come up and go back like this and I don’t like big ears but I want a big long tail that’s white on one side and then when I run it’ll go like this so he demonstrated how he wanted to be and he was called white tail deer so he was happy got his name and another deer comes out and says well I want to look and have horns like the first deer that come up in branch out but I don’t want big ears but I want a shorter tail with black on it and human beings can use my flesh and my hide for their clothing and my brains to soften a hide for their clothing so he demonstrated how he wanted to be and how where he wanted to live and he was known and given a name as Blacktail deer so now we have three species of animals here and these are the animals that we see today we don’t see the large animals that we that were here before us the only reason we know that they were large animals people is that when we went on the plains to clarkon out towards Pasco we would find these great big bones so we knew that there was large animal people here at one time so this is part of this story well all the animals all the Moose the deer the grizzly bears Eagles Birds you know all of them and all the snakes and amphibians fishes even the fish even the insects they got their names I’m going to have to give you the Reader’s Digest version of this because this could go on for a long time but um so now we got all the animals with names you know all of birds and fish they all have names now coyote he just barely makes the meeting he comes in and he says I want to be grizzly bear he say no that name is already taken well I want to be Eagle says no that name’s already taken so he would he didn’t feel very good he says well how am I going to get a name so he tried to act out you know what he wanted to be and he couldn’t do anything have you ever heard a coyote at night sounds like three or four of them been talking out there there’s only one coyote out there coyote couldn’t even talk straight so finally the Creator gave the pity on him says I’ll give you special powers I’ll give the ability to come back to life to change things and to uh uh but you one thing you’ll be just like the human beings when a human beings come you’ll have all the faults of desires you’ll make mistakes like the human beings and you’ll even get yourself killed but I’ll give you the ability to come back to life and so that coyote felt happy then says oh I got a name now IA coyote that’s what he was so now he’s got a name so there this is where our coyote stories come from now he travels the world and this is where the heart of the monster that comes after because K coyote was given his name at this uh great change so so now kot’s got a name itaya and so he travels the world and uh but one one thing here uh Grizzly Berry says what are we going to do about day and night just before the meeting was breaking up what are we going to do about day and night I want six months day six months night and little chipmunk sitting over there heard what he was saying he said no no no all we need is just one day one night we don’t need six months night six months day so G bear and chipmunk they start arguing you know and the catus well you go over there and sit down who Wings the argument that’s what we’ll have when this after this great changes occurs so they sit there and they argue argu six months day six mon night no no no one day one night that’s all we need little chip monkeys tails will go black and forth and go like this you know and then had argue and argue and finally Vis he’d get tired he was getting sleepy he’d just about fall asleep he’d wake up say 6 months day 6 months night that’s what we want you know that’s the way it should be little chip monkey’s tail go back and forth no no no no one day one night one day that’s all we need finally Grizzly Berry fell over and went to sleep he couldn’t take it anymore so Chip Mony says Ah I won I won we then we’ll just have one day one night so that’s what we have now today one day one night because chipmunk won the argument then from there the meeting broke up and everybody went their separate ways so is there any questions we got about four or five minutes left yeah as long as you use it for your own use yeah let me come with you with the microphone hold on every culture that we’ve ever studied blames coyote for most things ladies and gentlemen welcome to the tent of many voices you’re sitting in the core of Discovery to traveling exhibit National Park’s only traveling exhibit and we travel the Louis and Clark Trail along the way and stop every once in a while at various cities and bring presenters into the tent to share their perspectives of something related to Lewis and Clark and as you know Lewis and Clark came through this Valley and met with Nez Pur people and with us at this hour is Alan Pinkham he’s here to share with you a bit of NES Pur culture so let’s give him a nice warm welcome thank you they asked me to talk about coyote and his stories and how coyote came about but there’s a time period before the human beings we call it the legend times way before human beings even came to this place and we learn from these coyote stories and one of the things that we learn is that things are done for certain purposes now you you probably know what and recognize what this consolation is but we call it which is it’s not uh the Big Dipper to us it tells us certain things there’s a little coyote story attached to this old wolf he was sitting down and he was looking up in the meantime Along Comes coyote when coyote sits down and looks up and he ask well what are you looking at says I’m looking at two grizzly bears don’t you see them and coyote looks up and he sees these two there’s a grizzly bear there’s a grizzly bear these two grizzly bears and old wolf he persisted I want to go up there and see these two grizzly bears in the meantime old Wolf’s four younger brothers come along and they sit down and ask well what are you looking at says oh we’re looking at these two grizzly grizzly bears up there don’t you to see them and old wolf he persisted I want to go up there and see these two grizzly bears so coyote he say I’ll show you how to go up there so coyote he makes five bundles of arrows and a bow he shoots the first Arrow up and it stays up there he shoots a second sticks to the first and a third arrow to the second Arrow until it comes all the way down to the ground and kyot says now you can go up this arway then you can see these two grizzly bears but old Wolf’s next youngest brother says well I want to go up first but I want to take my next two younger brothers with me to go see these grizzly bears so they go up the arway there’s the next oldest brother and then these two younger brothers here and they sit down and they look across to the two grizzly bears and oldwell says well I want to go up next but I want to take my little dog with me and my youngest brother so they go up the airway and they sit down here this is old wolf this is old wolf here and that’s his little dog and that’s his younger brother on the end so the the five Wolf brothers and Little Dog are up there then and then when coyote sees them up there he says when the human beings come they will look up there and they will see two grizzly bears five Wolf brothers and one little dog that’s what we call this formation but what else is attached to this the two grizzly bears are lined up with a star which star is that the North Star right so okay now if you hear this story as a young child what impresses you the five Wolf brothers and one little dog or two grizzly bears or the our star they’re all Associated as one formation so if you ever watched the um stars at night how everything rotates around a North star it always stays in one spot the Big Dipper or rotates around so at different seasons you will see that that formation and different position in the sky but the North Star is already there north and south or easy to figure out sunrise and sunet the opposite of North is South so now you have a basis for directions cuz if ever you’ve been out in these mountains here and you look up the mountain and you can’t see anything there’s a big mountain in the way in all directions so what do you have to do you have to look for North Star or if you weigh out in the plains and the dtas and mon monana and one horizon all the way around you what do you do you look for North Star so we travel this gives the basis for our nesp people traveling all over United States what we now call United States well we call this whole continent an island because in every direction there was water there was a great lake to the north there was a bitter water to to the east the bitter water to the west and bitter water to the South so we knew this continent was surrounded by water well how did we know that because we went there and this is way before loen Clark even shows up so we travel but there’s Other Stories the full moon is out tonight isn’t it should be okay now we have a little story attached to the full moon there’s a frog in a moon there’s no cow that jumped over the moon there’s it’s not full of green cheese there’s no man in the moon there’s a nest purse frog in a moon how did he get up there well this is all before the human beings come Moon he’d go through the sky and he looked down and he’d see frog Moon would ask frog well what good there you don’t do anything and frog would look up at Moon and says well you don’t do anything either you just go through the sky you don’t do anything so they would argue and argue then the moon would go on next night the same thing they would start arguing moon is say well what good are you all you do is on just sit down there and talk talk talk you don’t do anything you just sit there all day and all night you don’t do anything frog would look up at Moon he says well look at you you just go through the sky you don’t provide heat like the sun does you don’t provide any seasons for us you know Sun you know he makes things grow and they’ argue and argue and argue Moon would go on next night the same thing they’ start arguing well what good are you what good are you finally frog he lost his temper says I’m going to jump in your eye so he jumps and he lands in Moon’s eye and this is where he is today right here this is his right rear foot you can see his toes right right here then right here is a little round behind then over here is his left foot the bottom side of his left foot so that’s how he got up there now there’s a little lesson with this don’t lose your temper you may end up in some place you’re not supposed to be so that’s how frog got up there and so there’s a lot of little stories like this and uh there’s another story one right down here on this Bend right just below the mill in the rail railroad bridge there’s some white rocks there coyote he was going there he was coming up the river and he wanted to rest and so he found a place on the hillside he laid down he took a little nap and he got he woke up and say well I better keep going but he relieved himself on a rock he peed on a rock so he felt better he okay I’m going to go so he come start coming down the hill and he was coming down and he could hear something behind him Thump Thump Thump Thump and he looked back and he couldn’t see anything then he kept going down the hill and you heard it coming closer th th th thump he looked back and here was this big rock rolling down a mountain after him so he started running and The Rock speeded up and he started running faster it speeded up finally he’d run this way and The Rock would come this way be right behind him he’d go back this way and The Rock would come right behind him this way so he says well I’m going to speed up he’s going to run and when I get the river bottom I’m going to go turn quick so he did that and The Rock came down and went in the river and broke apart and if you go down there right now you’ll see these big white rocks down there this is why coyote got away from a rock but what does that story tell you don’t go relieving yourself on Stones so these are little always little some kind of lesson you know don’t do things you’re not supposed to be doing so these are the kinds of stories that we learn from and now there’s another longer story but I think what I’ll do here there’s some of you probably seen this heart of the monster over here well there’s another big long story prior to this but this this uh coyote got created just like all the other animal people but uh after he was given his special powers coyote he traveled the world you know and there was no human beings just animal people and then one day fox come down river and he says you got to come up here kill this monster eating all the animal people devouring all the animal people and so coy thought says well I have to do something so he prepares himself you know he gets makes some rope and gets a little pitch and soot in a little bag and some Flint knives five knives he makes and he comes up over here on cus Prairie over towards greville and a monster is right here and he Hollows over this way he hollers that monster you can’t eat me like you did the other animal people you can’t inhale me and he kept pestering monster it’s Wii that’s what he was called it’s wied and so finally monster raises his head and he looks across the Prairie over towards coyote in the meantime coyote tied himself to some mountains with a rope and he kept hollering and pestering monsters you can’t eat me like you did the other animal people so monster he says well I’m going to inhale you so he sucks in his breath and then Co he goes to the end of the rope and he stops three times he they do this the third time Coy he reaches back back and cuts the Rope and he goes inside the monster’s mouth and inside he walks around and he sees the bones and some people some animal people half alive and some still walking around still alive yet so he tells them I come here to rescue you people so when I kill this monster I want you all to go to the holes in the body and go to the nose the mouth the ears and and even that hole underneath the tail you go there and when the monster dies you run out these holes and they we’ll be saved but I want you to kick all the bones out of all the people that have died here also so coyote he takes these knives these Flint knives and he starts cutting at the heart and he’d break a knife he’d get another knife and he’d cut some more he was down to the fifth knife and just one strand of Flesh was holding the heart and he used the last split knife he cuts it and it falls and he tells the people okay now get ready to run out because the monster is going to die with his last breath all these holes and then you run out so the monster dies takes his last breath and all animal people run out and they get outside and then coyote debates well it this is a nice beautiful Valley here there should be human beings here this Earth should have human beings so he says I’m going to cre create the human being so the parts of this monster he cuts up and he throws it in all directions and as those pieces of that monster hit the earth Indian tribes are created from the Earth and monster so now we have tribes all around here like shishoni blackfeet Sue uh sukam Coastal tribes and so there’s tribes in all directions and then Fox he says well what about people here you should have people that live in this beautiful Valley right here and this right next to the clear river that flows through here there should be human beings here so he thinks and he says oh I know what I’ll do so he tells Fox well get some water for me so he washes his hands his hands were bloody so when he throws those droplets of Blood on the earth npu nesp people spring up so that’s who we are we are blood of the monster and water and Earth that’s who we are and so that’s how nesp or the Neu people were created they were created right across the river and then fox says well how will people know that this is where you created these human beings so there was a heart and a liver left so coyote says I’ll stand this heart up and that’s where this rock formation comes from is shaped like a heart stood up on its end and then a liver is set is part of the hillside where that there’s a little kios up there that they built the kiosk on top of I think when they put that there they didn’t know what they that they were covering up the liver but nonetheless that it happened so this is the story of creation and uh and how the human beings came about and um how many how much time we have five minutes okay now there’s another story now that I talked of Legend times and and there’s uh rock formations down at the uh mouth of hatway Creek you know just this side of Lewiston there’s a number of stories there’s the uh creation story of large animal people to small animal people and where coyote comes from and then there’s frog and Coyote’s fishnet then there’s two rattlesnakes and cottontail rabbit and there and a profile of a Indian chief laying on the uh Ridge line above that so there’s all kinds of stories right around this area at the mouth of hadway Creek and across the river I’ll I’ll give you a real brief story about the creation story now this is way before human beings even before coyote there was large animal people here on this Earth we knew this because over in a clarkon and over towards Pasco we would find these large animal bones so we knew there was large animal people here at one time well the Creator he calls all the animal people together he says there’s going to be a great change some of you may not survive this great change but I want you to come out and you want to live and you choose a name and you’ll be known by that name and you’ll be qualified to help the human beings when they come so all animal people gathered and you’ll see this formation it’s uh down below hadway CC and across the river there’s on a ridge line You’ll see very large Columns of stone that look like backs of Elephants or dinosaurs and they’re sitting down in a circle and there’s all kinds of other rock formation that are smaller and they all go around the whole ridge line that’s all the other animal people and then down the draw there you’ll see rock formations that look like hay stacks from uh you know just a few feet high up to almost building size those are animal people that came late to the me this meeting so don’t be late to meetings you’ll turn to Stone so always be there on time so the reason for this meeting Creator he says I want to have you choose a name and you’ll become qualified so all the animal people come out and they demonstrate it I I have to give you the short version of this don’t have time they came out and they demonstrated how they wanted to be and then they chose a name you know U white tail deer black tail deer mu deer elk moose grizzly bear eagle even the fish the salmon and the insects they all got names and some way they would help the human beings when the human beings came and so coyote he just barely made the meeting and he says I want to be grizzly bears and know that name is taken well I want to be Eagle know that name is taken already you can have those names so he tried tried to demonstrate how he wanted to be and he couldn’t do anything and U he kept trying he couldn’t do anything and Creator finally took py on him he says okay I’ll give you special powers but you’ll just be coyote you’ll just be gray and uh but I’ll give you these special powers you can be creative you can change things you if you get killed you’ll be able to come back to life again but you’ll be just like the human beings you’ll have all their faults and desires and mistakes that human beings make you’ll be just like them so he was happy even when he was try to be qualified you know when you hear coyotes at night you know yip yip yip yip sounds like three or four coyotes out there there’s only one coyote out there because coyote he can’t talk straight so but he finally became qualified he got a name IA and so the meeting was just about to break up and then grizly bear says well I want to have uh six months day six months night a little chipmunky heard that no no no one day one night that’s all we need and uh they would argue 6 months day 6 months night no no no one day one night Creator told well you go over there and sit down whoever wins the argument when after this great change that’s what we’ll have so they went over and they started arguing six months night six months day and Chip monkeys no no no his little tail go back and forth no no one day one night one day now one night that’s all we need you’re just lazy so they argue and arguing y Grizzly be you almost fall asleep he’d wake up and he’d start arguing six months day six months night chipm no no no one day one night one day one night finally Griz Barry Falls over he goes to sleep and Chip monkey says I wanton the argument now we have one day one night so that’s how uh we got one day one night after this great change because chipmunk won the argument and then U grizzer bberry wakes up and he looks around says what happened what happened oh you lost the argument we got one day one night now and he looks around for a chipmunk and he says where’s chipmunk and chipmunk says oh he’s going to come after me so chipmunky starts running in grizzly bear right behind me Griz bear reaches out and scratches his back and makes stripes on chipmunk back so that’s why chipmunk Got Stripes on his back because he got he won the argument and we got one day one night so these are the things that teach us you know these coyote stories and I guess we got to why don’t we take a few minutes for questions or answers if you have a question put your hand up I’ll come to you with a microphone so we can all hear your question any questions at all come on all right let’s thank him so much for coming and telling his stories thank e for

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Nez Perce cultural heritage, the 1877 flight, and the National Historic Trail

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 00:36:00 +0000

the exhibit here you’re sitting in the tent of many voices I want to welcome you here thank you so much for inviting us to your community everywhere we go we stop in a few communities along the Lewis and Clark Trail 200 years later we’re trying to follow thank you thank you for that nice introductiona good afternoon how are you all doing there okay it’s a little warm today we call this in my language Nest purse which is namu timki this we would call ikasa which means a hot place but it’s not too hot I I really appreciate you coming out in this warm weather and spending some time with me what I’d like to do today is tell you a little bit about myself what I do and then introduce this video that we’ve all been working on and I think you’re going to enjoy it my background is I’m part nesp Pur I’m half and half I’m nesp Pur and I’m French which is not very uncommon as French Trappers were coming into our area which I was born in Montana but I live in Idaho now and they were marrying Indian women and so that’s where my Heritage comes from my maiden name is Broncho and my family comes from the champagne Valley in France the other part of my family grew up in nesp country as I was growing up I grew up in a very traditional home where my entire family was made up of extended relatives Aunts Uncles grandparents cousins we all lived together and we all spoke our name our language of NES Pur which is namu Tim and even my mother who was non- Nest Pur spoke the language as well when I went on to college we didn’t have much of an opportunity to speak the language and we start to forget words and lose the ability to speak it it’s a very difficult language because there’s a lot of glutide down in the throat where you have to work on your language to keep those muscles intact to be able to speak it correctly my background is by trade I’m an archaeologist I have a master’s degree in anthropology my minor is in Wildland Recreation and tourism I worked as an archaeologist for a number of years for private corporations I went to work for my own tribe in lapo Idaho as a cultural resource director I did that for about four years and then I went to the forest Service as an archaeologist I’ve been with the forest service almost 15 years now and I’ve had various jobs I worked as an archaeologist for six years I worked as an interpretive specialist for a couple years I went on to work for Regions 24 6 and one as a tribal leason and currently I am the administrator of the nesp namu national Historic Trail are you all familiar with the trail yes great I see some hands out there wonderful well as you know then the nesp National Historic Trail was designated such in 1986 by Congress it’s the only National Historical trail that the forest service administers which is very unusual because the Park Service administers all of the other National Historic Trails of course we administer some of the scenic Trails but it’s our only National Historic Trail we work very closely with the forest Service Bureau Land Management fish and wildlife service we also work with private State people in administering this Trail the trail is 1,180 MIL long approximately depending on who’s doing the mileage counting on it it goes through four states of Oregon Idaho Montana and what one did I leave out Idaho Wyoming thank you it goes through two national parks which is both Yellowstone and the nest person National Historical Park I just want to tell you a little bit about myself as growing up I told you that we grew up in a very traditional house um my maiden name as I told you was Broncho my married name is McFarland my husband is full-blooded Nest purse we have three children I have twin sons that are 20 years old and my youngest son is 17 my husband’s name is McFarland which is not un usual to have different names that were assigned to you and this was because when they came in they couldn’t spell the nesp names or pronounce them so they would give you names so they would often give you names of missionaries or the Catholic priests that came in McFarland is actually a military name they were named after a lieutenant during the war of 1877 and so that’s why he has the name of McFarland excuse me a little dry today the allergy season is here and my medication is acting overtime thank you um what I’d like to do is is talk a little bit about the video you’re going to see it’s going to be 20 minutes long and it covers what happened during the flight of 1877 but what I want to share with you is that this Trail has been used since time indefinite by The Nest Pur people they used it on their seasonal rounds when they went to hunt to fish to gather medicines to dig roots and other food items they also used this Trail as they were going into the Plains and they would go there to hunt Buffalo sometimes staying upwards of three years before returning home they would visit they were doing intermarriages with the Plains Indians people they were copying different people’s traits their dress their games so there was very shared culture that was going on the other reason that they using this Trail was it was a major Trade Network that was going on the nisp were considered the Tradesmen of the plateau they would travel as far as modern-day doota dtas and they also went down into modern-day California where they traded a number of items back and forth so they knew the area very well when Lewis and Clark came through the area you probably know from your history that they stayed with a nest purse a considerable amount of time time and the nesp Not only cared for their horses they fed them took care of them and of course if it wouldn’t have been for the nesp taking care of them they probably would have starved to death it’s ironic when we look back on what happened of the great care that the nesp shared with Lewis and Clark they made them Maps they taught them as their culture of burning out ponderosa pine trees and making canoes and using adses so that they could further their Journey from the clearw river down into the Columbia River the nesp often traded clear to the Dallas Oregon at Major Trade Centers excuse me they also would go into the oceans on the Pacific coast and trade there as well so that’s why they knew these waterways so well all this information they freely shared with Louis and Clark party and partly It is believed as part of the Manifest Destiny Lewis and Clark really did open in the way for more settlers and the miners to come into the area and subsequently to force the nesp onto a reduced reservation the video that we’re going to show you today uh we’re very proud of because we had a lot of people work on it the script was largely written by nesp people we have nesters voices in The Script we have nesters people who did some of the artwork that you’re going to see in the paintings we have Native Americans and nesters that are doing all of the music of the video and I work very closely with Jean calling out of the regional office in Missoula who I work for who is recently retired and researching and traveling and making this video to decide exactly what was going to shoot and what we weren’t going to shoot so without talking more about what the video is about and the true story so it’s not repetitive I want to show you this video and then we’ll take time if you have comments for me or questions I’d be happy to answer answer those at the back table I’ve brought a few brochures Maps posters I would invite you to get go back there on your way out after the presentation and help yourself we have some pens we have water hold water bottle holders we have a number of items that we’d like to share with you you will notice that our contact information is on them as well as our website and we invite you to come and visit us on our website we have won three national awards on our website in the last year one was for best kids website so if you’re a grandparent a teacher homeschooler or you have children that your family members we invite you to share that with them so that they can become better acquainted with who the nest purse really are with that we’re going to go ahead and cue the video and then I will be here with you so that I can answer questions and listen to your comments so with that can we go ahead and start the video video thank you a short video Kat thank you oh one thing about the video was very meaningful to me is I am a direct descendant of the Chief Joseph waaa ban my nesper name is tin Kama which means like the first snowfall and so the video was very uh touching and close to my heart even though it happened over hundred years ago or more as we March forward in time these memories are very close to many of us because we’re not that far removed my great great grandfather was watan and his son many wounds who both served as tribal historians and passed on this information if you’re familiar with the LV McCarter books Chief Joseph and his other book on Yellow Wolf it is my great great grandfather watan and many wounds U many wounds his son who served as an interpreter in taking him to these Battlefield sites and recreating those books for the story to be told to all of you today so um the story is very touching and close because having a great great grandfather who is involved um in the war is not that far removed my grandmother who passed away a year ago was that course that was her father so it is pretty close in time when we look at it from that standpoint as opposed to looking at how many years have passed this video is going to be made free to the public it’ll be shown in visitor centers interpretive centers it’s being shown right now back in DC at the new Native American Museum and we will make it available for public schools um none of our items we charge for whether it’s our brochures our videos anything that you’ll see on the back table and I’ll be back there shortly to join you to get some more items out for uh you to enjoy are do you have any comments for me on what we could do we’re still kind of tweaking this video a little bit sir question uh his question so you can hear it was when the people were moved out to Oklahoma what was the mode of transportation to to transport the people thank you for clarifying both to Oklahoma and from Oklahoma what was used was flatboats and box cars railroad that’s how they were shipped good question sir uh his question was the course of the nesp trail did not go totally East is that what you said to avoid the black feet um is that true or not true uh not necessarily uh the video does not bring this out very strongly because we have to cut so much out to keep it to a short period but the black feet on and off were friends of the nest p it was a uh what would you call relationship that sometimes they were friends and sometimes they weren’t but there was at least 12 other Indian tribes that was involved with the conflict of 1877 many times they were friends of the nesters sometimes they were foes sometimes they were both friends and foes at the same time but not necessarily was that true as uh why the RO the route they took they primarily took that route because that was a known route for them to go into Yellowstone and then into the plains yes the question is the nest Pur were famous for the Appaloosa horse and the answer to that is yes that is a big part of their Heritage um my family raises appolis we have the my Sweetwater Ranch we have about 2,000 horses and we raise those um breed them train them and sell them throughout the world and um many other families are still perpetuating the Appaloosa horse herd today and they were practicing gilding techniques when Lewis and Clark came through and that’s something that was noted in the journals that the npers what made their horse herd so valuable because of their um technique of gilding yes um it was the chief Joseph’s band that left the WWA there were five different bands that went on the flight of 1877 out of 13 different bands of nesp people some chose not to go on the flight obviously which was referred to as the as the treaty Indians and then of course the non-treaty Indians and they did have to cross your question of the rivers both the Snake River and also the salmon uh the Snake River was at Springtime so there was a runoff within the Hell’s Canyon and it was swollen and pretty high for them to cross but yes they did C Joseph’s band did cross there with with all of his people and as many belongs as they could pack on their horses and on themselves yes the question is is there more than one tribe within the nest Pur um The Nest purse were composed of 13 different bands but they were all one people of NES Pur people good question are there any other questions what in English does n person mean it comes from a French term n per which means pierced nose in English and a lot of people claim that the nest purse never really pierced their noses but when you have 13 different bands of people and they were borrowing dresses a way of beautifying themselves there is the possibility that some of them did just like today if we Pierce our ears or we have one earring or two earrings or whatever so I think people were very IND individualistic on how they Adorn themselves so I think it’s a possibility that shouldn’t be ruled out but as a general rule of thumb for the culture they did not Pierce their noses are there any other questions or do you have a comment on what we could do to make the video better or what you would like to see changed yes ma’am this was the narrator’s voice you’re referring to in the video that his voice drops a lot so we lose some of that sound you’re saying all right okay I appreciate that comment we’ll look into that thank you is there anything else that I could answer for you or do you have a comment for me that I can take back in trying to make this a better production no well I will turn it back over to Aaron then and cut the out you thank you very much

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Native perspectives on Lewis and Clark expedition language and terminology

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 00:35:59 +0000

imp the Lear Expedition on Native Americans overall uh I’m going to introduce uh the individuals and talk a little about the moderator Amy M Amy M from left to right uh Mr Alan P his body K and Mr Rob few words about Amy Amy is a a man of the three affiliated tribes of North Dakota she’s a nationally recognized scholar advisor and presenter on life and legends of Sago The Interpreter for the ls par expedition in 1999 Amy Mass joined the National Council of the Louis clar B and in 2000 was named the first chairperson on the council circle of tribal advisers Amy received her master’s degree in education and marketing and complet for doctoral doctoral coursework at the University of North Dakota she is currently employed as tribal involvement coordinator to the National Council of Ls and Clark Classen she’s a member of the board of directors of the North Dakota leou and Clark Fort mement foundation and serves on the North Governor Park advis commit Amy and her family reside near theer river in Western OTA so let me welcome uh the panel moderator Miss Amy M thank you Tom it’s great to be here this morning and um we’ve had a splendid weekend here on both sides of the river and I would like to thank the organizers of this event U Mr Dale Chapman the executive director of the Illinois L par commission and Greg ker from the Sha nation of Oklahoma for all of the work that we have done to bring tribes into this commemoration at this point along the trail and a very meaningful significant and historically appropriate and accurate way and this is the homelands of the Shi uh and these are these we are now in the homelands here on the lower Missouri in the areas that TR to remove from following Expedition and so bringing tries back into the signat events on the FL Missouri has been quite a challenge but we’ had some tremendous people who are making all that possible as we Native American people became involved years ago in this planning or in the planning of the threeyear commemoration of the Lou Park Expedition we were continually presented with ideas conversations discussions symposia presentations focusing on Jefferson’s Vision the discoveries of Maris and William Clark the exploration and the settling of the West the West however was not an untamed unknown Frontier it was our home millions of Acres of prairie lands mountains Coastal lands were populated by millions our ancestors who for centuries had been living out there quite suc sucessfully I might add living what was during the early stages of this commemoration going as Jefferson’s a vision for the West that Vision included the opening and settling of the land out west the creation of an agricultural economy and an agricultural Community the develop an expansion of international trade the creation of an Empire of Commerce our ancestors for centuries have been doing all that and more to very highly civilized organized politically ceremonially ceremonially and socially organized structures within our communities that have been created centuries before Mary leis ever arrived in our home land and have sustained over time and are still in existence today the speakers on this panel will be discussing the concepts of Discovery civilization Wilderness and exploration first by Alan pink Alan will be followed by Lobby Connor who will discuss the longtime existence of tribes along the trail and their encounters with the Expedition and subsequent open of our homelands for American incursion with the subsequent unsettling of the West R Arte will discuss consequences of the ls Park Expedition and the disastrous impact the Expedition had on the removal and dispossession of tribes along this trail that which has created Monumental challenges that our tribal leaders still face today Monumental challenges including recognition an issue that tribes are having a tremendous time with today including the tribe from which was born into the lii I would now like to introduce all of the panelists at this time and after all of the panelists will all speak when all three speakers are finished we will then have a a period of time for questions and answers our first panelist is Alan ping Alan is a member of n tribes and he resides near laway idah Alan has served as the leader of and for his Nur people for most of his life he is a former Tribal Council chairman of the Nur tribe he served n years on their executive their executive tribe of council five of those years he served as the chairman he served 4 years with as chairman of the columia river tribes Indian organization which works for the protection and the restoration of salmon in the Columbia Rivers Ellen K was president of the affiliate tribes of the Northwest he served one term as vice president of the National Congress of American Indians Alan p is a veteran of the United States Marine cor and he spent 1957 in oala in his earlier years he worked as a fighter fighter el west and in the Northwest he narrowly escaped death by fire three times on the yak the UN Nation Allan spent 8 years working with the United States forest service for 3 years he was the tribal leaon of the National Council of the ls Park Vice Centennial he is one of the co-founders of our circle of tribal advisers which currently is comprised of 40 representatives from across the from across the trail actually from coast to coast representing most of the tribes that LS and Clark encountered during the 1803 to 1806 trip through our homelands Alan is currently a member of the board of directors to the National Council of the Lou and Clark High sentennial and he is our chairman of the circle of tribal advisors Alan King is the author of a book of all these people and their homelands and is entitled salmon and people he’s currently working on his second book and is contributing a chapter into the Elvin josephy Le Clark from a Native American perspective Book Project Alan retired from his position with the tribe in 2002 and he traveled along the par Trail he has 10 grandchildren Bobby Conor is Kaa you matilla and Miss CSE she is the director of The tamas Cult Institute which is owned and operated by the confederated tribes of Umatilla near Pendleton Oregon toas Institute is a 45,000 ft world class Museum and Visitor Center whose mission is to present accurate history of their tribe the katilla and the Wala and to perpetuate the cultural knowledge of these three tribes and to and to their um oh and also to to contribute to their tribal economy toas exhibits depict the tribe’s history including their encounters with the ls Clark expedition and the Oregon Trail migrations through their Homeland Bobby Connor received her bachelor’s degree at the University of Oregon and her master’s degree in management at Lanette University she is currently the vice president of the National Council of Lis by Centennial founder and one of the co-chairs of the council’s circle of tribal advisers and she is the coordinator for the council’s national cultural awareness campaign our third speaker is Ron arow Ron arow is len showing from the from Idaho Mr arow is a direct descendant of C the brother of Sania who L and Clark relied heavily upon in their successful passage across viate range of the Rocky Mountains from C a very young Shon leader the Expedition obtained fine horses and a knowledgeable guide before they left that Shon Village in August 1805 and embarked on that treacherous Journey over those mountains R arow is the executive director of the fort lenai Indi community and he is president of lenai environmental and Engineering he is currently the chief executive officer for the fal tribe of Laguna England Luna New Mexico Mr arow has two master’s degrees one in educational Administration and the other in environmental science he is a second he’s a second year candidate in his doctoral program in education at ID State University and the University of New Mexico R is here we are very honored that Mr is here with us at this again he is here this weekend with his lovely wife Rose and their two grandchildren ladies and gentlemen I would first like to introduce or call on our first panelist Mr alen P thank you and I’d like to express my appreciation for the people that put these events on and I’m honored and privileged to be here to speak before you today and I got involved in this uh Vice and because I perceive something with missing from this whole commemoration and one of the problems I had was there’s a number of words that if you use it in a context of from another culture it doesn’t fit with our cultural view or perspective and there’s no words that fit into this category now you’ll see them sometimes in the journals or even in dictionaries or other uses but if you put in the context to our our culture and and the way we view the world then it then it changes but I don’t want to change history what I want to do and what I feel is important here is that I want to add to history and that addition is from our perspective the native people of the United States and celebration is one I’ve heard it used a number of times and and if you look at the bylaws and the operation of the national Ming par by Centennial Council we use commemoration inste a celebration because I felt that there’s a certain perspective that celebration projects and that’s you know we’re joyful for something that’s occurring now for Indian people it was a joyful event when we seen Louis M par to a certain extent but then things started to change you know in in in those Changing Times my people predicted that that would happen to us and so we change celebration to commemoration and I think that’s a little more fitting and ACC claiming the contributions of what the Navy peoples contributed to the development of this country and I think that’s very important so when you use commemoration I think it’s more pitting when when it’s viewed from the perspective of neers You Know M Sue any other tribes that had Encounters in the first encounters with the non-indian people so this is also reflected in the 1492 you know we objected to the 1492 celebration you know it’s unfortunate that that that happened but I didn’t want to see that occur with the Gan Clark by Centennial because I think now is a time to educate people and if that means redefining or adding to the definition of words and I feel that needs to be done so we use commemoration instead of Celebration when we interact with TRS another one is the core of Discovery or exploration you know in that context you know it may be well and fitting for a certain culture say yes I discovered but at the same time the ners people discovered LS and CLK because we were in Fort mad in 1804 and why were that many thousands of miles away from our homeland 200 years ago because we wanted to find out what the heck was going on that’s why we that far away from our homeland and so we were exploring and discovering who are these new kinds of people that came to our Island and we call this whole United States and Island so we want to know what’s going on so how can a different kind of people live east of our territory on the East Coast what east of the Mississippi River how did they live there for 300 years to have us KN about it so we discovered L Park Way they knew that we were even near the Rocky Mountain you know so those are the kinds of things that we need to add to not particularly change but we need to to uh Identify some of these prot perspectives from tribal people and that is one you know we travel in all four directions the M people here we traveled North to a great lake we traveled East over the BS down in Missouri to five Great Lakes and we knew that there was a great river that flowed South to the ocean and of course we went South as well we went so far south that we seen a little animal and we call this little animal K and kqu the nurse means imitate and that little animal is the monkey so that’s how far south we tra so now if first people traveled in all four directions then we knew of these people now it’s unfortunate that words become descriped and and the way my father used to tell me is that when we these new creatures come into our territory they’re going to speak a language we never heard before they’re going to have eyes like fish some of them will have their faces on upside down and and they’ll bring good things and bad things and they smell and this is before ran C came to our country so we described them this is what he would say we knew what they looked like and how they acted and what they would do and this of course comes into the Prophecies of of our people and of the change in the world and there’s so many things attached to this that you know it take a great deal longer for me to try to explain these things but very briefly of course the language they spoke was English and French and other languages and then eyes like fishes with gray and green and blue eyes we call them s height height white eyes so those are kinds of things and then the faces oned upside down by the people with beards and mustache andol on top if there’s any of you out there you know who you are so so there’s a great deal that we do but at the same time you know we were very cautious and another word that means a little more definition is civilized and unil and you will see this written in the historical accounts also and other terms as well but then who who defin civilization you know it’s one that defines civiliz civilization is the one that writes the history and the one who who wins the most marveles in the whole game of life so this is where the definition then becomes critical from another cultural aspect that changes so sometimes I I ask people you know if I was civiliz uncivilized 200 years ago when have I become civilized this is the application applied to my people so just a little word of trying to understand who we are and what divides us and if we understand those things then we can become friends and neighbors and live among each other and the other word that you will see from time to time and that’s the word Wilderness this Wilderness you know you know as I went through G great school you know brought up the connotation oh the Wilderness full of wild beast and dangerous things and things that could kill you out there but that was our backyard we were part of the environment we were part of the Wilderness we never considered ourselves separate from all the animals and birds and insects and fish we were part of those beasts as well we call all the animal people are brothers and sisters because we consider them themselves ourselves separate from them and so that is another definition that we need to try to understand and need to understand that the animal people were here first and then the human beings came and then we got in conflict with all the animal people and they said that you cannot do this to us to us anymore you’re eating us and you’re using our hide and our bones for tools and clothing if you keep doing that we won’t talk to you anymore so when the human beings contined this practice then the animals said well let’s sit down and talk this over and so the agreement between the human beings and the animal people is that the animal people will become M because they talk to everybody they could understand each other and we could understand all the animal people but then when we abused them then they said we will not talk to anymore they became M and that’s the way we are today so we agreed in turn if we use you then we will talk for you among the human beings because you cannot talk among the human beings yourself so that’s way it is today so I thank you for listening I appreciate your attention thank you very much good day name is Sal I want to express before I begin to talk to you my gratitude to my ancestors and the ancestors of all of the na people who made sacrifices wise decisions and face challenges on our behalf so that we might be here we modern people are humbled by the Legacy they’ve left us they could have killed Leon Park many times and did not they made choices that were very difficult so that we might be here and some of the choices we face today are small compared to the choices they faced in the interest of setting the record straight about this context of Park Expedition I’d like to point out that the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 when this was still the northwest of the United States here in this area instructed that utmost good faith shall always be observed towards Indians and that lands could not be taken without the consideration of Rights of occupancy of the natives and proprietorship of the natives in my homeland in the Oregon Washington Idaho area we were influenced as Alan has already pointed out by the fact that more than 30 ships had reached the coast of what is now Oregon and Washington by the time leis and Clark arrived when the Expedition arrived in our homeland the land was ours we understood that it was the place the Creator gave us to live it was the only place the Creator would ever give us to live it is still the place the Creator gave us to live it is our home not a Wilderness as Alan said it was not part of the United States when they came there Russians Spanish British and French were interested in our neck of the woods and they sought control over the economics of our region and the Expedition came to help establish that route when Louis and cl came to our home we were regarded by President Jefferson as Nations we are still Nations today this story was is and always will be about land it will always be a story about land while Wars are fought over religion and philosophy and control of Economics But ultimately it’s about land our home as alen pointed out was not an unoccupied Frontier words we don’t have in our indigenous languages when they left North Dakota and came to what is now the Columbia Riv Plateau they encountered the most populous area they had reached when they reached the desper villages coming down the s River to The Mid Columbia to where our people were camped many villagers many lodges many of those Villages one right after another dry thousands of pounds of fish they had not been in such a populated area since they left Fort M and at the time Fort Mandan or the Mandan Villages near Fort Mandan were more populated than St Louis when they came to our homeland we had law we had philosophy we had a variety of forms of architecture the homes we lived in were completely dependent on easily renewable resources we were mobile we had alliances with Nations near us and far from us with reciprocity agreements in our transportation routes we were not heathens Squad drudges thieves Savages or even Chiefs a word that is from our borrowed language English whose Origins are from a neighbor in the United Kingdom of England we were peoples whose identities emanated from our families our Clans and our villages we had social order we had names for the places and all of the names for the places in our homeland were stories every single story was shortened into an abbreviated fashion that you would Now call a name but Louis and Clark came and renamed rivers and places as if they had not had names before one of the unfortunate parts of the lisis and Par journals but also fortunate is that they tried very hard to write native words sometimes they became very very close to the actual pronunciation sometimes they came close to the namin that people call themselves sometimes not in my homeand call themselves wul Louis and Clark called it wala wala wala wala is the place and KY has from the Ser of tribal advisers has one of our homeland Heritage Corridor maps that you’re welcome to take to see the na place names in our homeland compared to the names of Le and Clark Lewis and Clark when they came through our homeland were for a variety of reasons not considered very able many modern Americans read the journals and Marvel of the accomplishments of Louis and Clark where our people thought they were living precariously where they didn’t belong on our first one of our first meetings with them they bought 40 dogs to consume they were afraid of the fish Clark remarked that he enjoyed the boiled fish cooked for him by a man we point that out to all the men at home the boiled fish was cooked by a heated rock in a tightly woven watertight basket and it was tasty one of our leaders served him roasted mullet or a sucker fish it was a white beat fish and it was tasty but there were two problems it could not afford to buy dried fish from us because they were poor when they came to our country and we knew from trading for thousands of years with other people in homeland how to price our prods when Louis and Clark came our ners relatives Al ancestors escorted these strangers into our homeland and there were some remarkable things they noted in the journals this is one of the very good things about the journals they noted the division of labor between genders and people they talked about anagrus fish salmon but they didn’t understand the life cycle of the salmon that travels the world and comes home again to spawn and die which is why they were afraid of all those dead fish that were floating in the river that we call Cre they noted that we had lofty elegantly formed horses and that men and women could ride equally well they know that the picketed graves and burial grounds for the most part they respected them something we hope that everyone who travels the trail today will also do leave the arrowheads where you find them leave the S of rocks untouched please we were we had a very lean nutritious diet with a great deal of variety probably 30 kinds of roots six kinds of berries and today notably scientists have learned that the darkest fruit for instance aqu berries or blueberries have the highest proportion of antioxidants we might have learned something about our diet from living on the landscape for thousands of years we had handsome men we still still do we had a variety of forms of games we still do some people politically prefer not to see tribes involved in game get used to it we’ve been doing it for thousands of years we had Norms of hospitality that were unequal we still do and we had captives people call them slaves anthropologists in particular but if you forget to leave our homeland we could marry you off we might put you to productive labor when you come to visit make sure you know where you leave your car when Louis and Clark arrived in our homeland we were the only people there with all of our relatives and animal people but somehow between their arrival in 1805 and the beginning of my involvement in plany meetings with this Ste people in 1998 we fell off with maps the circle of tribal advisers has been working very hard with the National Council to put tribes back on the map to make sure that we’re not invisible during this by sentennial because you don’t know how to find us we are trying very very hard to connect our history historical homelands as well as contemporary homelands through these Maps we want you to understand that our knowledge of the ecosystems in our homelands represents knowledge that can help America protect its resources if America listens the circle of tribal advisers has a few messages that I want to share with you now so that you understand very clearly what we come here to say we’re still here we’re not extinct we may live somewhere else but you can still come visit us today and if you’d like to come visit us the circle of tribal advisers have prepared a directory to help you travel the trail and visit Indian country and Katie has those directories and she’ll be handing those out as well we want you to know that this is still a story about the land and since it is now our mutual Homeland we have to all take good care of it including the water that gives all things life we want to remind you as Alan has that this is a celebration for us but a commemoration we want you to be respectful as you travel through not only our homelands today but the homelands of our people for thousands of years and we want this country to recognize the contributions that American Indians have made not only in the form of our land and our knowledge and all of the species of plants and animals and fish that we have contributed to your diet but we want the nation to recognize the contributions made from our philosophy and our religion and our laws and most of all we want to take care of the gifts that the Creator gave us in all of their forms winged in the water on land even the Rocks talk in our belief system we hope that when you come to visit Indian Country you can think about things and hear the stories in the place where the stories began when LS and Par traveled our landscape we were not the backdrop to the story the plants and animals were not the backdrop to the story we are the story that L and CLK traveled through thank you afternoon you know kind of after listening to P like to thank F here particularly as Amy said earlier to that’s a we’re from l s we if we are called by our Ally s the people the headwaters of of of the CL River and so th into country you know I heard a couple speak yesterday the L very frankly they very fond of her contribution help and assist and guide the court govern partaking in this in the C call courts govern the role she played as a mother as a friend I think demonstrates truly the the the the most touching humanistic side of motherhood has lost V the coin that was presented in res of p i was there in daying that happened with first lady you know it was a it was a special moment for the to have to have our grandmother to be HED that fion res on the US coin as I gr through grew up in in L High County we talking the birthplace sa the birthplace of the L people for 12,000 years long before the time of we look at the history of this country those tribes who play a significant role in this let say along the for Discovery to accomplish this go as second we was brought back into the valley bir place my we asked her to continue to assist these men the white men the titles we call Title in the last on and also the black one we call the the black white man New York we got pushed into L my country you know because of the pl PR we see the early rivals caners who want the L might occupied as far north as great fall Montana the Yellowstone you look at sh let me give you kind of little history here history l in sh hisory Chon speakers consist of Indian people from the present B San California through NADA through California through East Oregon the P our cousin as far north as can as well as in Utah Wyoming of Easter Eastern brother sisters as far south as North Texas New Mexico commandes we all speak sh about the L we occupi the East West Montana s yes we have exp The Black Crows man Ed us as well our Ally I he way from the speak sing a song yesterday at the at the college here College understand was also directed we had I could growing up in Sal in 1955 born 1955 count half my people spoke s so s joint Jack Teno the son of our last really honor Chief Endo at a NES house I’ve talk in the past with that with the other neser people most SL Thunder from reservation we had an alliance with many of our classes and and and really and honestly I think you know what happen was inevitable people have like let me get remind the contribution sa me and wife as long as they gu we hold fond we close to our hearts we are very static of contribution a little piece of History they car themselves as well my people but what happened later it’s difficult to some they accept in 1867 gr General stat elect High India reservation by executive order 100 by 100 m reservation of my valy 1906 T Roosevelt St them high their homelands we were placed on for H Indi a another tribe reservation a tribe that we shared the same language with the same Tri we also F periodically as it came into our head did the S so still today Alis are exiled within the four hall renovation we’re third classing within the forall reservation remember this is the same Tri a couple of years ago we recognized s like by us C the same tribe that helped for discover CH his goals the same tribe that provided was the tribe of Saia as well as the tribe of John Baptist AR p and our contribution to America is very tremendous very very Bond very proud of but to see what has happened to us is really difficult difficult to accept today why did it happen to my people it’s something we can’t even answer among ourselves today I look at the society here today you know you know majority people in here of the dominant race Europe Americans now you guys must be here for a reason you must follow probably students of L CL R and I have this in the past with number of hisor very M St Ambrose who talked about the L par invol the Daniel what it means to Le my people it’s very difficult to to like Mr P this CA the celebration commemoration appropriate the L high right now is like we have never lost our Indi this but the only way we’re going to return to L High Valley to be restored as a tri again to have Congressional Act return some land back to l l High County still 94% land today as we know they L High county says L medicine will we one of the medicine PRS one spoke at the at the big PR Wyoming my the massive varal SI their people goes back over 12,000 years about my family that was bomb the US Cal because way of BU is not non Christian and they BL up our remember this is the people sa we were talking about they gave so much to this cath when it’s in the Di gave gave the to the now this story this story is it’s very soon to many tribes look at the people of Chief Joseph they came through our Valley Le Valley trying to get away from Calvary in the present day of L and then the under the Moonlight under the Moonlight the L up with the left the for 160 horses and L ride it’s not any the B were in a valley in L High County basically we’re goinging to attack the the fleeing as Indians but the L High people we provided to this group of people Val 5al my like like about this called who n the the G jti you look also sh Brothers over in Oregon we were briefly recognized by actions of Bill Clinton president we turn around as and was again recognition by secretary nor we got the one there Falls I’m not recogn we have the little Montana as well the 53 something plus that recognized by over 150 non recognized tries this country and many of us like play a significant role and I was talking to V Park the great Grand Park we’re talking about the red hair the war chief if you read the 1855 Jal of the LDS church when he established the LDS Mission Valley it was a redhaired l red that’s the leg you know people the son of and so you know our relationship was the country go beyond the Court Discovery you look at the L my son was great our John Baptist CH and it’s very difficult you know us as a father tell and a grandfather as well I let my children who res for reservation you know we yearn and bring going back to the valley the valley fors into the valley when new walk in the cor and it’s it’s a Dream It’s a hope that we still Envision today as a trial that’s our bir place the L High Valley create the L High Heritage also helped create the L call saage way there in LH High Valley I was working with a bu of B from University of in Canada there go Alim off the only place in the world is plan GR help development of milk in the wildlife be we partaken as as we ate the Buffalo the El and the moose and the deer White House the you know the if you look at the L Valley we are surrounded by Ms to the east we have mountain range to the north we have S through the Beast we have the L it’s our it’s our belief among our people we came from the Heavens to look at the B Mountain it touches the heavens the sky above so this is home to L people they home to s or home to her son as well but today we have a sa C City not one L IND County Today is know I think if we talk the par was and second today I think they would have liked to come back 200 years later seeing the one of my people prospering in their Valley cuz we were friends to the for there were friends to our grandmother S as well as her son pal you look at the earlier about Civ life look that the Civilized Tribes out here West of Mississippi who talk about cre chcka we move west across Mississippi to other Indian lands civilized I guess it’s it’s something we Define we thought we also we believe in a God one God my grandfather great grandfather Pearl old man is the last Le of their C our medicine man he came came the same equivalent to your give hope those your C for those of yous as been prophets he was the sign for 1867 we have the flag that given to him the sign of the Tre a religious man man at peace we’re not we were fishermen we Hunters that’s that’s you look at the s e is showing the bage and the P are sister they to us as the sity people one we eat the the S the S the fall Su the winers still called the winner s it’s it’s just it’s an unfortunate that what happened to Mayor crimes that Park fory met 200 years ago when has happened to us today we’re exiled from our own homel today what’s it going to take for us to return for help return to Indian people to their homelands you know I had the pleasure of going up to lii County first first 15 years of my life going up through I remember seeing all these Le and Par fls road maps you know Le and Par the bird place and most recently saw the the the trail for the the our Valley with the ners people as they fed the gallery on the way to Canada I come out here just the other day and saw again the same fla I grew up with the pla that the L white people are proud of you know our contribution to America we are proud of what the role second we have played go something as well and U you know we are we are glad to participate by S but I wish there was could under different conditions and recently we had a national Federation of women legislators support a resolution ask to return L high back people backing by my count and we’re also asking our the L par senate committee who Head Up by Larry Craig Senator Craig Mel and also Champion Senator Hill it’s not this the high where other tribes Sy tribes if we can just look back and open our hearts open our minds look at the needs of these people the Navy people who play such a such a manous role in helping for Discovery Alan mentions Discovery yes you know Liv been in that Valley for M almost 12,000 years I think we discovered that love my country it was home to us it always be home to us today the only time land those back by my county is to be buried in our Valle it’s a shame these are the these are descendant of Zia and her brother the only time we come back to W county is when to get bured but today we we are we are very honored to be here we honored to see the app for our grand grandmother we read chapter people and pal and this last week the ne press published a book called The sa people I worked with Washington University for almost 8 years that book published we po work with G mol as well this the most contemporary history to love my people our strugles today as we know today BR the return to God for our Val and uh we hope that people like themselves and support the recognition my people other times also recognition as I’ll be allow to return that same hear about the sh we’re also remitted in homelands we were friends and allies to the fire Park you know we hav’t forgotten where we’re from those promises are made to My People by Mary L and park who still hold close to her today and we hope for very than for thank you so very much Alan King Bobby Conor and R we have time for just a couple of questions and we have the mic back here so if anyone questions for any of the panelists uh thank you for your presentation uh my question would be as you point out second sorry I your name thank the events of years ago how would you parallel that to similar events say two Millennium ago as other cultures were stereotypes barbarians and Bal where these new terms were coin and other cultures were pushed out of the way by soal Civ civilized people would you say that there’s a very close parallel to that and history has repeated itself well it uh you know this this isn’t the only people worldwide that’s been pushed aside by socaled civilization you know this is happen worldwide you know South America and other places as well so I guess the definition of civilization is the one who applies it and then of course you get Manifest Destiny you know that says well in the name of Christianity we’re going to explore and and possess you know unoccupied lands and so you get into the context of the Explorer and the Discover and that’s international law by soal called civilization or civilized country so uh in our respect what happened to us we thought we were more civilized than other people so if you look at it from our side you know it’s quite different and because this the history has been written by those that one soal one you know they Define what it is backook will be Avail next week BR ration we also have projects and confederated tribes of you are working on the reprints of the Tha Indian the Imperial tribesman of old Oregon with the University of Oklahoma press we’re working on tribal history co-authored teams for each chapter by tribal Elders um Tri staff and Scholars and then we’re working on a native place named Atlas so I think um many many tribes and uh Indian Scholars are working on publishing material because so much that has written about us is limited in its perspectives uh hopefully our B that work I work on Dr she Edward she enti historian and we hope to have a book about R Park and asers specifically the book we just focused on that and hopefully will find a publisher by next year in thank you and just one final hist Americans you need to remember there are many books out there about our histories where our elders have been interview way back into the late 1800s early 1900s um interviewed perhaps but still written and interpreted from a non indan perspective and remembering again that leis and Clark has never been a priority for our SES and so Louis and Clark from a Native American perspective is a very New Perspective that is being presented by Scholars such as those that you see here today um I think that that’s going to wrap up our panel we have another discussion I want to thank again I am so honored to know and to work with these individuals Alan K Bobby Conor and R AR thank you all for being here thank you and you know the panel you you grac Us by your presence here today we can’t thank you enough for being you’re taking the time to do this to help us all learn uh the lessons that we should have learn all time uh we have a a symbolic gift for each of you so I’d like to ask Alan to please come forward first and maybe you do theor and um Bobby you’re right and imine Jack let’s give another round of applause we uh for for Greg pitcher and Amy we have a another symbolic gift for them they were here on the torrential downpours of the first two days so PR we have a an umbrella and a rain jacket from L Clark community so the next time to come back to see us they’ll be dry thank you all for being here thank you so much we cannot thank Dr Dale Chapman enough um youran tribal involved in here is an example that I hope we see with every signatur event from here all the way out to the Pacific coast and back to that final event in St Louis in 2006 thank you so very much have 32 I would also like to thank each of the panel for joining us today like to thank you each for visiting as well next presentation inside the tent will begin in just a few minutes and that is going to be by Tony Gerard and he will be giving a program entitled and cl vman so if that’s something that’s interesting to you please stick around there will be another program starting in moment walk good afternoon everyone and welcome to the cor Discovery 2 we are a mobile exhibit that’s traveling across the country over the next 3 years following the RAB L CLK and right now you are inside of the 10 and this tent has been set up for us to bring in different speakers of different backgrounds with different expertise to share different view points of the L Park Expedition and we are very fortunate

The post Native perspectives on Lewis and Clark expedition language and terminology appeared first on Lewis & Clark Research Database.

Chief Cliff Snyder on Chinook and Clatsop Relations with Lewis and Clark

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 00:35:56 +0000

and join us for the very last program today I want to welcome you to the core of Discovery 2 traveling exhibit and this tent of many voices I’ll tell you a little bit about us if you’re brand new to the tent I would be surprised I see a lot of familiar faces here in the crowd and I thank you all for coming back joining us for today and joining us for the past few years that’s right we’ve been traveling for four years on the Lewis and Clark Trail starting in January of 2003 in monachello Virginia we went all the way to the Pacific coast and now we’re back to St Louis just as Louis and Clark did 200 years ago yesterday they returned to St Louis well as we’ve been traveling the trail to various towns and cities along the way this is our 95th stop bringing presenters here to the tent of many voices to share their voice with you about Lou and Clark expedition and the people and the cultures they met along the way 200 years ago Lewis and Clark stayed with the Chinook and clats up people on the coast and with us today is a very special presenter he’s the chief of the chanuk people and he was our very first presenter in the tent of many voices 3 and a half years ago in monachello Virginia his name is Cliff Snider Chief Cliff Snider or grey wolf and it would be my honor if you guys would give him the biggest Round of Applause and welcome him to the tent thank you thank you very much I’m overcome have a SE have a SE yeah yeah CL you everybody because I’m seeing so many people I’ve known over the past few years I hope you uh don’t mind if I take a minute to welcome all those guys in the canoe that came down the river yesterday Captain Clark and his whole crew what a marvelous Landing down there what a great celebration I was with you guys in St Charles last night boy did we have a good time my friends my friends from Pacific County and Washington are here I’m certainly glad they’re here we were you know that particular group were the friends of uh uh sister city with Charlottesville Virginia I had a chance to be back there with them and they’re here in the crowd today thank God you’re here I appreciate it very much and all those people with them from uh Pacific County down the coast at the end of the trail I want to make sure that I recognize that you’re here I also want to recognize my chairman is here my vice chairman is here there’s some chinuk Indians here I have some clats up Indians here they’re all back here from our particular native land and I’m so glad they made this trip out here to the Mississippi River I’ll try and get going now the speak speaker before me I have in trouble with this the speaker before me is so good that he doesn’t need a note I’ve got pages of notes because I’m about 30 years older than he is I’m 80 years old now and I have to kind of look down once in a while if you don’t mind if I get lost just wait a few minutes and I’ll catch up with you this I know I’m going to for get some people like try to catch up with Terry last night I know the people who are taking pictures and everything I if I’ve forgotten you I’m sorry I’ll meet you out back and and we’ll talk it over anyway I’m going to mention some other people in the crowd later on people that had something to do with the beginning of this Trail this is the end of the trail what a wonderful day the great spirit gave us to have this final occasion no rain we hear about rain all the time from these people who work here but today look at it sun’s out nice calm Day Lewis and Clark on their return met at the Yellowstone and Missouri rivers and they begin the final leg of their trip back they dropped off Chicago AIA sakaia chachaa whatever you want to call her depends on what tribe you’re in they left her off in the Mandan Village Knife River with sharbono and her baby pump they continued up the river and they run into a couple of French Trappers they pick them up they picked up Chief Shahi at Knife River the chief of the Mandan tribe they’re going to take him back to see President Jefferson and they were on their way and they got to rushing you all took psychology in college you know about gold gradient don’t you the oh horses when they went out on the trip the closer they got the barn the faster they went well that’s what was happening the big rush was on we got to St Charles and look out in the pasture there there’s a moo cow we know that we’re getting close now and oh the joy St Louis in sight I kind of changed that a little bit but here we are in St Louis what a beautiful place to be one of the good reasons I like being on this Trail for 78 years is because now I get to see them Missouri I get to see the Mississippi I get to see the Grand Arch and then there a wonderful place I love St Louis as onary Chief the Chinook Indian tribe there’s a difference between a chief and a chairman we have a chairman with a beautiful uh uh Indian Council I was on the Council for 25 years fighting for recognition when I retired the tribe named me honorary chief for life so if you’re working on the internet you’re trying to find our leader it’s not me I’m just an honorary person our real leader is Ray Gardner sitting in the audience today we have come full circle and it’s time for everybody to celebrate I distinctly remember when I first began I was in partnership with the United States fish and wildlife and we’re having a meeting in Leon Idaho and we just had to introduce ourselves as we went around the table there were probably 50 60 people in this big round table and they were discussing what we were going to do on the Lewis and Clark celebration which was coming up and I was just there merely as an associate when I got around to me and I introduced myself as a chinuk Indian a member of an unrecognized tribe in United States of America everybody kind of looked at me Rod ARA white was next to me ly Shon he says we are also not recognized by the United States government who makes those decisions it’s not made by Congress it’s not made by executive order of the president but somebody in the Bia and nobody will take the blame for it and that’s why we were we were there we’re just talking about other things the next day they had another meeting that meeting the same thing happened they got around to me and I said uh I can’t see that we should be calling this a celebration and the word started moving around and the Indians felt that we couldn’t celebrate the Caucasians taking land from us and it by that by vote they started to call it the Comm commemoration and that still stands to this day I was proud to be part of that the second part of it was they’re unrecognized Indian here are all these Indians sitting around they’re unrecognized what are they doing here you remember what uh people were saying you know Indians should have uh equal rights and and anything that’s happening here and so uh they decided to include all Indians on the Trail whether they’re recognized or not out of that meeting was about seven or eight years ago I can’t tell you exactly but what a wonderful feeling to see that’s still happening today and then when Gerard Baker came in and he started talking about what the Indians are going to do on the trail he says we are not going to be p uh we’re not going to be involved in this unless we have equal rights we don’t want to be looked down on as second grade citizens and Gerard Baker is still my hero today for saying that give that big guy a big hand now most of you are acquainted with the Lo and Clark Trail by the authors that we had and the history books that you read and I bet you 99% of you know know more about the generals and I do I know a little bit about what the Indians thought and sometimes my thoughts are quite different than the history books because I’ve been talking to Indian leaders for eight years they’re telling me these little legends that aren’t even written down in the beginning our third president of the United States which by the way was born in England President Jefferson made the deal of the century by purchasing all the land that was to be all the way to the Rocky Mountains doubling the size of America he paid what $15 million 18 c a square mile for all that Land wait a minute am I missing something here who’s living on that land out there are the French living out there did na Napoleon really really uh own that land now the Indians felt this way and it’s the land was not owned by anybody we belong to the land and if any of you guys out there are part Indian and have Indian Heritage you know what I’m talking about we could not buy and sell the land it was not for sale we belong to the land so I just want everybody to know where they got the land from and what they paid for it and who really lived on the land maybe I have a little favoritism there I don’t know I’m going to El light over something because we’re going to have some some ceremony here after afterwards and I don’t have Sammy Meadows from Colorado to give me this I’m just going to have to hurry through it I talked a lot like to talk today about it says on the program I’m going to talk about the chip culture we’ve always been given the privilege to change the title around a little bit what I’d like to do is tell you about the Indian tribes that they met on the way I’m going to miss some but I’m going to put some of the important items and I’m going to put in there about some things that aren’t in the history books the stories are going to be different and I got this from Roger Wile who portrays droillard on the trail these are the Lost journals of Lewis and Clark right Roger and so I’ve been using using that your phrase for a long time because I’ve been in these Indian Villages and they’re telling me these stories and later I’ll tell you how they might contradict the history books that we have well you know the rest of the story Jefferson pointed Lewis and Clark and uh he didn’t have the slightest idea of what Li was lying ahead he had never been over the mountains he had been 200 miles west of monachello he didn’t know about the rivers the mountains and all those things terrible animals and things and above all he didn’t know a thing about those wild Indians that were out there we have to be kind of careful of those guys we don’t know whether when we go through those Indians are going to kill us or whether they’re going to help us or what’s going to happen so that’s the interesting part how did the Indians help Lewis and Clark go through this whole trip and back as a unit and why weren’t they eliminated and that’s the reason we’re all here today because they did make it I’d like to talk about some of the couple of the first tribes I met you know all the things they went through about going through France and and when they could leave St Louis and all that kind of thing but there were running into Indians right away that had seen white people before when they left St Louis and some of those Indians were oage Indians had a good opportunity to talk to some of them while I’ve been here and the Shaun some of my friends dark rain Tom and her husband beautiful Chinese uh sh people and then they ran into a team called uh I’m saying team because I’m an ex- coach but I ran into a tribe called kapoo now the only time I ever knew about the kapoo was from Lil Abner when I was a kid and they remember they used to drink kikapu joy juice and that’s where I got that name from I don’t know if any of you know about kikapu enjoy Jews I like to try it sometime then they ran into the omahas and the otos and they’re back there and they met with them and had a counsil and they were telling them how good our president was and so now they’re going to be that was their new leader and you know where the name Council Buffs came from when they talked to them and now they run into the yton Sue boy they likeed them they had They carried them on Shore with big carriers straped with skins they went to the camp and they danced and they had a great time no problem there some white people had been there before so they knew about him so far so good now there’s no problems with those wild Savages but they’re running into the ton Su and black Buffalo and you all know the story they wanted more tobacco they wanted more supplies because they were going to take a toll to go up the river and we’re not going to let you go by and so Clark says no way Lewis said no way so they drew the bows and arrows well Clark took out his saber Lewis ordered the cannon on board ship to be trained on the Indians that was in that battle right there and so they finally agreed to let the women on board the kill booat and take a small trip with them and they proceeded on is the way I put it but just think what would have happened at that particular point if they had got into a scuffle and there been a lot of people killed well it didn’t happen so good for them so now we reach s raras I’m getting a little warm with this blanket so glad to have it though the riod tribe and they saw this guy that was on the stage just before me they saw York they couldn’t believe it they come up and they rubbed his skin and they couldn’t rub it off they just didn’t understand it and I must say then that some of the Legends I discovered by talking to people that there were some seual interchanges that took place between the core and the Indians but I can’t confirm that but I just wanted to tell you that was something that I read how the winter was coming the reached Knife River they reached the mandans you all know that story they nearly starved they built a fort there that was a longest stay they had on the on the whole Trail and they said to the core there’s not much food here because of buffalo have gone but if we eat you eat and if we starve you starve and so that went on they made it to the winter they had a 3-day Buffalo dance and all of a sudden the Buffalo returned and that’s how they made it to the longest winter uh longest day they had on the whole journey at this point was the most fortunate thing that ever happened to him on the trail in my belief they hired Chicago WEA shano as guides and interpreters to continue on wait a minute now there’s a baby too and you know they had a dog now they got a baby that’s going to go on this trip it’s amazing they ever let that happen but what they did is they told them all what was going to Beall him on the trail ahead about the huge Falls that were several miles up the river we’re talking about the Great Falls when they got there well that’s just going to be couple days and we’ll get around the falls and we’ll continue on you people have read all the journals s was almost a month by the time they got around where those dog gone in Indians when they needed them where are the grow buns they were up in the hills they were watching them the whole time but they were suspicious and they didn’t want to come down and get killed but anyway the crew made it on their own and passed on well now we reaching the end of the River it’s like a creek that can jump across and the next thing you know they run into the Shon ly shonis if you were here in the last session you know how they were greeted how they were welcomed in the camp this is Chicago’s tribe and she recognized a girl that was captured with her and they felt like well maybe uh that Chicago had died had would never return and then of course you about the meeting with her brother C8 and so they hugged each other well that’s a good end there’s going to be a good chance we can do some trading now that they know each other in one of the sessions they say that a brother wasn’t necessarily a brother but it was just someone like a cousin or something like that so I can’t be definite whether it was a real actual brother or not well how are they going to to trade now we got no more water that’s the end of the water passage we got to go over some mountains to get to the Pacific we need horses well you’ve got horses well how did they trade with the Shi Indians very simple Lewis talked to leish in English leish talked in French to shano shano talked in Hadas to Chicago WEA Chicago WEA then talked to Kamaya in Shoni and then in the reverse took part can you imagine that they picked up 29 horses and a mule and they had a dog well they got a guide with them they’re going to go across the bitteroot mountain sometime but they run into the Flathead Indians flaad Indians received them very warmly some of the horses were giving out so they gave them uh some price horses seven or eight of them and some were Colts then they went over the bitter Roots boy there was a place that was probably one of the worst places on the whole Trail and how they got across I don’t know they nearly starved to death they had to eat some of the Colts but they finally made it nearly starved the made the way up Prairie on the clear waterer River and they ran into the nzp Indians our friends over there I’ll tell you what a welcome site we had they had fish and enjoyed a good meal but the young guys said oh boy look at all this stuff there’s guns there’s ammunition there’s horses and there’s trading Goods let’s kind of let’s kind of take some of that stuff and just destroy all these white guys wait said this lady who had been with the white people over in the plains and as an old woman she returned to the npar her name was wat kuis and she says they are good people do them no harm there books out about that I’m so proud of what she did and so the neps decided to let them go of course they made the canoes went down the Clear Water went down the Snake River and I’m going fast now because I’m omitting a lot of things but I want to tell you they did go upstream and and they uh met the Walla wals and they met the yakas and the WAMS and they were turning the corner on the Columbia and they looked over there there’s an Indian with a sailor jacket on red and blue my goodness we must be getting closer and there were other Indians wearing sailor clothing wow we can’t be too far from the Pacific Ocean but they kept running into these funny looking Indians they’re only 5 foot five tall and they had flattened heads who are these people we know them today as chinuk Indians but we’re coming to these Falls it’s called salila Falls nowadays it’s only 48 ft wide they met the Indians there and the chuks started ringing their hands and crying we’re all going to be killed here come these bears with upside down faces my goodness what are we going to do wait the Chicago whe there’s a woman and she has a baby this can’t be an armed group we can deal with them well let’s see them go over the falls which is about 30 ft tall you know and then when the canoe tips over whatever floats over at the beach we’ll just kind of take that and Stephen Ambrose really wrote about that how the chinuk Indians were kind of Thieves you know they smell like fish and they were kind of the thieves and our feeling was you know whatever is laying loose that’s for the taking it’s not the way we look at it today but that’s the way it was then well finally they just decided they shut the canoes over the falls and and the Indians helped them Portage and everything turned out all right they said look out for those Chinooks down there you know how many Chinooks on the river at that time 16,000 chinuk Indians at the mouth of every stream on the Columbia Gorge was a chook village with the canoes up on the shore there might be 40 people it wouldn’t like sitting bowl with thousands of Indians around them 40 people 60 people 20 people you got married you went and lived with your husband and his band I hate to call them bands because United States government frowns on bands of Indians they like the word tribe period we’ve run into that problem several times times anyway just imagine this if any of you have ever been to Oregon or even if you had to Heaven there’s these huge Cliffs on each side of the Columbia Gorge you’re floating down there in your canoes at night and on the shore you see all these canoes and now you’re going with the current and you look at all these canoes and look there there’s a fire here and a fire there this 50 fires in this one Village and you’re going silently down creek what a beautiful sight that must have been and now we’re getting closer place called Portland Oregon Vancouver nowadays they stopped in all these places they got by Beacon Rock whoa there’s a tide change we can’t be too far now tide changed from the Pacific Ocean scwr upt there on down they went they finally got down there and my fourth great-grandfather I can’t Indians don’t like to use the word great that’s just my grandfather from now on my grandfather discovered Lewis and Clark as they came down the stream not the other way around we were already there we discovered him just like we discovered 28 ships had been there before him had come across the bay my group gave them some fish dismal Niche showed them a place to Camp they went over at the beach and raved their name on the stump and searched around the weather can you believe the weather was so terrible and I’ll tell you how long it was later but it was raining there MO ERS were completely worn out their clothing was terrible they hated salmon by this time they didn’t like the smell of it what are we going to do are we going to Camp here Station Camp no we’re working on that now chairman on station G but let’s have a vote Stephen Beckham and leou and clar college doesn’t like to call it a vote he just took a poll who wants to go up to Vancouver area who wants to go kamak area who wants to go uh over to the other side of the river whatever well my grandfather said well you don’t have much to trade we’ve been trading with 28 ships that already come in why don’t uh why don’t you guys go on the other side why should we go over there well there more elk over there besides that if you a ship comes in you can see it better and you’ll be out of our hair too well they went down to Pillar Rock when my mother was born and they crossed over there because the dog gone Cano you know how it was going through the locks yesterday coming down did you know that there going to be locks on that River coming down from St Charles well those canoes didn’t do very very well in the mouth of the Columbia and sometimes you were in a boat with a lot of freeboard you still wonder if you’re going to make it well they went down to where there’s some islands got around up to tongue Point cross over and they built that Fort at Fort claton my clat of brothers are back there now they know that history we all spoke the same language and so sometimes we feel that we’re just like Blood Brothers there but they went across there they set up the port and they stayed there the second longest time on the whole trip and that was good but they had elk meat and they they described it in the journal say poor elk meat p o r e because evidently it didn’t last very long in that kind of weather they saw 12 days without rain and only six did they see any sun at all you know about the salt K and the whale story and all that but they made it through and I made it through because the clat of Indians were helping them every day with food and and doing everything they could about directions and I must say something now about Dick bash his fourth or fifth great grandfather Chief cab or kol who was a classup chief at that time now he’s the director of the tent of many voices and we both served together for 25 years on the chook Indian Council my salute to Dick bash back there I love that guy on the way now I have to check my notes see where I am sometimes I get several Pages ahead of myself byway I’ll tell you by memory we just took off they uh while they were there a ship did come in Over the Bar you know there’s 10 and some ships buried out there I don’t know how they made it across in a tall ship it was called the Lydia and the Lydia came into Port was there for a while my grandfather told him oh where’s they has for Lewis and Clark oh heck they went back they’re already gone so the lyia Trad with them and then left and went around I always say they miss a good bus ride home and they had to come back by horse and B can what a shame that was but in a way there’s more stories on the way back I’m just going to tell you one or two the one or two are on the way back they tried to get a canoe from the clat spion they couldn’t do it they wanted to trade women they wanted to trade sexual favors and wanted to trade everything else and it just couldn’t happen so Lewis and Clark’s crew stole a Cano and they left and they were going up the creek and as they’re on their way up the creek they got into this Channel and they look back and here comes a clam Chinook Indian just pedling like mad to catch up with him what’s going on we stopped we talked to him this is a no in slooh here that you’re in the main river is out there you got to go back and by the way that’s my canoe that had you stole my canoe well good thing they had some extra elk skins so they traded him for those elk skins and away they went again the other one if you’re were in the crowd before Smokey was telling about only one man died on the trail and that’s a story that I learned by Legend from the blackbeat tribe the pans young I imagine young boys you know probably 15 to 23 something like that camped with ls and Clark that night and they slept with him they got medals they got the American flag but early in the morning they started to take off and they were stealing their guns and they were stealing their horses and they were taking off with them uhoh so I think it waso not Floyd but it was one of the guys and I’ll think of he’s nameing a second after I’m done but anyway he Fields Fields shot one and he got his stuff back and Lewis ran after one and he stabbed him So when you say Floyd was the only one killed on the whole Expedition it’s not two there were three people killed on the Expedition so I’m sitting in my home Portland Oregon I get a call from a man in a black foot drive he says come and through come have coffee with me and we had we’re were talking about those things he says that’s not true either I said how come he said the one that Lewis St uh shot I mean the one he shot recovered and then died so only two men died on the ls C Expedition that’s why I call them the Lost journals because they’re just a little bit different that you read about in the textbooks well I’m getting down there near the end I want to thank Diane back there for getting me here I want to talk thank everybody that’s responsible for the T of many voices dick bash and his boss and I want to leave you with one thing and I speak for the chairman of My Tribe Ray Gardner my vice chairman Sam Robinson I want to speak for them and say don’t forget the seven chinuk directions and those of you have been listening to me for the last several years know what I’m talking about seven directions are east and west north and south up and down in the directions of your heart cop from my heart Kaka so be it amen thank you I’ve got my drum here anybody wants to help me celebrate I can use the word now celebration is ready to gok if you have any questions for chief Snider you’re welcome to raise your hand I do have some colleagues out there with some microphones and um the chief Snyder can take your questions so go ahead and put your hands up if you have a question there’s a guy come on up in the back am yeah I’ll repeat it yeah I think I know where go ahead he asked if there were any sign language on the West Shore uh but but all only way we could communicate because the Chinooks had a guttural language that was even hard for anybody from one Village to another to understand I always put it in this perspective like England and there’s whales and there’s Ireland and there’s Scotland they all spoke the same language it’s difficult for everybody to understand each other any of you are watching the writer cup now you know what I’m talking about you can’t understand what those guys over there are saying but we had a lot of different dialects which started at the mouth of Columbia and went all the way to wishram and uh they had a kickish form of dialect up there the only way I can figure out that they even communicated because that language even Chicago didn’t understand the only thing that they could do is point and draw in the sand and and try and just beat it out of each other by sign language now when I’m with Roger back there and we’re talking to different schools he will do sign language with me like from my heart I’m talking to you you know things like that and that’s about the only way that we can communicate with each other from the old days and I think that’s what they had to do like this was be me I’m talking to you and which direction are we going that sort of thing that’s all I can say but we definitely they did not understand our language but on the trail there had been some white people in before that French Trappers and so forth and so they had some idea of a couple of words they might throw that in in the meantime any other questions I have a drum up here uh I’m going to set this down and when I’m when I’m talking to the kids in the school I also work for the Confluence group with my Lynn out of New York that did the Vietnam Wall so I’m talking to a lot of schools all the time grade schools high schools colleges all that and I always let the kids play the drum so I have it here and I can pass it around if you guys want to beat on a chinuk drum I’d love to have you do it this gentleman here I know would like to do it take this and and that anybody else any of my girlfriends out there I want to thank all of you for coming out I just wanted to mention I know that all of the Rangers would agree with me in saying that our family is sitting right here all of you are family to us you been traveling with us over the years you’re very close and dear to our hearts so I’m very glad to see you here for our very last presentation in the tent of many voices um before I get too far I would like you to give one big round of applause for our last presenter Chief Snider thank you stay right where you are okay at this time uh we were we’ll be preparing for our closing ceremony which is a very special time and I want to kindly ask the folks in the front five rows we’re going to um we’re going to make those reserved seatings so if you will have a seat but don’t I’m sorry don’t let anybody move yet oh excuse me we’re going to do an honor song I’m sorry it’s snooze I got just say one thing first I didn’t see them but my friends with the uh and I left that little part out in my speech about the circle of tribal advisers Bobby don’t run away I’m talking about you and Sammy these two ladies right here are just wonderful to the leaders of the circle of tribal advisers and they made it possible for all the Indians along the trail to express their views and respected their views and so that’s what happened over the last three or four years and I’m so proud of you guys I was glad to be part of your group thanks for coming and uh uh Diane Diane you can come up here too as the chair of classs close cloudia till comes con n King Chacha Jeff painter Nang I’m Jeff painer I’m one of the cultural resource Specialists of the clat up tribe and uh this is our chairman and vice chair and we just really want to honor up Grandpa Cliff here for all the work he does for our people and uh he’s a real healer and uh does a lot to make things come together between people that might be having disagreements and uh and I just had a talk with Ray and he said it be okay for us to do this so this is an honor song to honor to this man this song was composed in the 1700s when one of the epidemics came through our village at NL and the meaning of it it sounds like uh eii o vocable words but there’s a meaning with that song and it means you’re all so valuable we can’t afford to lose one of you and that is directed at that Grandpa over there but also to each and every one of you that’s witnessed this journey you know the talks today you’ll take that back to your community whatever uh culture that you’re from you’re all very important you’re all witness something here today hey he he

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