Nez Perce
The Nez Perce (Nimiipuu) occupied a large territory encompassing the Clearwater, Salmon, and Snake River drainages in present-day central Idaho, southeastern Washington, and northeastern Oregon. The expedition encountered the Nez Perce in September 1805, arriving in their territory starving and exhausted after the harrowing Bitterroot crossing; the Nez Perce, led by chiefs including Twisted Hair and Cut Nose, provided food, shelter, and canoe-building assistance that almost certainly saved the expedition from disaster. The Corps left their horse herd in Nez Perce care for the winter, retrieving them on the return journey in spring 1806, during which they spent nearly a month among the Nez Perce waiting for snow to melt on the Lolo Trail. The Nez Perce were master horse breeders, skilled fishermen, and camas gatherers whose hospitality and practical assistance rank among the most significant Native contributions to the expedition's survival.
Biography
The Nez Perce (Nimiipuu, meaning “The People”) of the Clearwater and Snake River plateaus became some of the expedition’s most important allies. Their assistance was crucial at two critical junctures: when the expedition emerged from the Bitterroots in September 1805, and during the return journey in 1806.
When Clark’s advance party stumbled onto the Weippe Prairie half-starved after the Bitterroot crossing, a Nez Perce woman named Watkuweis — who had been treated kindly by Euro-Americans in her youth — reportedly urged her people not to harm the strangers. This intervention may have saved the expedition.
The Nez Perce provided food, helped build canoes, cared for the expedition’s horse herd for months, and furnished guides for the return Bitterroot crossing. The expedition spent more time with the Nez Perce than with any people except the Mandan — producing detailed ethnographic records of their culture.
The Nez Perce’s generosity was remembered when, 70 years later, Chief Joseph cited the Lewis and Clark friendship during the Nez Perce War of 1877. The broken promises that followed the expedition cast a long shadow over this initially hopeful relationship.
