Introduction

The Nez Perce tribe occupied the Wallowa Valley in Idaho and parts of Washington State. They were a people that gathered fish and wild plants in addition to hunting local game. The Nez Perce traveled with the seasons, moving into the mountains that contained river headwaters in the summer and moving into the deep canyons in the winter. This tribe is most famous for fleeing General Custer and the persecution of the American Calvary under the lead of Chief Joseph, who lead his people to freedom in Canada, and for the development of the Appaloosa Horse breed. The Appaloosa is easily identifiable by their spotted coat patterns and their dedication and trustworthiness to their riders. The Nez Perce were the first Native Americans to have a selective breeding program in which they bred certain mares to certain stallions to produce desired traits (like coat patterns, mindset, etc) and to castrate stallions that were considered invaluable. This is how the Appaloosa breed was started. 

The Nez Perce before Persecution

The Nez Perce tribe was a very peaceful and respectful tribe. Families that did not frequently travel lived in longhouses, which were large and housed several families. They were constructed with ridge and side poles, tied together. They were then “roofed” by cattail mats or canvas. When traveling, they used the recognizable teepee, which was easily movable.

 When it came to clothing, these people dressed modestly and respectively. The women wore knee high moccasins with long dresses. It was considered offensive and immodest for women to show any leg skin what so ever; and when they rode horses, they wore modesty blankets which covered their upper thighs. In addition to long dresses and knee high moccasins, the women also wore tall hats called Leetz-cow. Their moccasins, dresses, and leetz-cows usually had floral or geometric patterns-which the tribe soon became famous for. The men, on the other hand, usually typically wore a shirt breech-cloth  and moccasins. Their shirts usually were highly decorated with porcupine quills, fringe with beads or metal, and sometimes paint. The men also wore moccasins, but they were much shorter than the women’s knee high moccasins.

The Nez Perce were also quite known for their decorative bags and paraphernalia.  They made bags out of both leather and “twine” from grasses and other plants. The Nez Perce are also famous for their woven Corn Husk bags. These bags were woven with pieces of grass and other plants; and dyed to make several catchy patterns. When made from leather, bags were sewed beads with sinew (buffalo or deer muscle) and made patterns. They had two styles of sewing-normal, stringing one bead at a time, and lazy bead stitching, taking multiple beads and sewing once.

These patterns were also used on moccasins, dresses, leetz-cows, head dresses.

These people were very friendly and welcoming. Whenever guests arrived, they held a sort of parade.  They put their best foot forward; sending the Chief and his family first, followed by the “wealthier” and more respected people behind, and moving down the line to the poorer and less credible people. When getting ready for these parades, the Chief was mounted on the best horse in the herd, with his best clothing and paraphernalia. Families outfitted themselves with their best clothes, necklaces, and accessories, and did the same with their horses-dressing their horses in the best, prettiest martingales, saddlebags capes, and other accessories (see Appaloosa). 

Camus Prairie Festival

The Camus Bulb is a plant very similar to an onion that flourishes in Idaho and Washington. This plant produces a very pretty blue flower, and was a major food source for the Nez Perce and other Plateau tribes. Every year, when it came time to harvest these bulbs, several bans came together and celebrated. During this celebration, men and younger teenage boys raced their horses in various events. They include camus prairie stump, camus prairie stake race, and the camus prairie keyhole race. These events later became known as Barrels, Poles, and Keyhole race-present day gymkhana and rodeo events. When they weren’t racing, men and teenage boys would go on hunting trips for wild game. Boys would also learn important skills such as horsemanship, hunting, and other manly activities. The women would collect camas bulbs and socialize. At the beginning and at the end of the festival, a parade was held-similar to the parade held when guests arrived. Clans dressed up in their best clothes and dressed their trademark spotted horses in their best accessories

Chief Joseph

Chief Joseph (the younger) was born in 1840 and is known for his dedication to his people. His name is Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt, which translates into “Thunder Rolling Down the Mountain”, an extremely powerful name with great influence. After being baptized by a local missionary, he was given the name of “Joseph”. Young Chief Joseph was the son of Chief Joseph (the older), who had and kept extremely good standings between the Nez Perce and the white settlers. The Chief also was in good standings with Lewis and Clark. After Old Chief Joseph’s death in 1871, the government began pushing Chief Joseph (the younger) to sell the land within the Wallowa Valley. He was committed to not selling it, remembering his father’s death wish “This Country holds your father and mothers body. Never sell the bones of your father and your mother.” This remarkable chief tried exceedingly hard to try and keep some sort of peace between his people and the white settlers; however after a white man attack on his people, Chief Joseph knew something had to change. He refused to forfeit to the United States Government and live on a reservation. In 1877 Chief Joseph, in accordance with other clan leaders Chief Looking Glass, and Chief White Bird began their flight to freedom in Canada. Many battles were fought along the 1400 mile track, and 40 miles from the Canadian border, Chief Joseph gave his surrender speech. Chief Joseph never gave up on his people, and ensured that he did whatever possible to do what was best for them; even fleeing 1400 miles to lead them to freedom. Chief Joseph past away in 1904. 

The Appaloosa

The Appaloosa is a trademark breed, known for their beautiful spotted coats, long faces, “no tails”, and tremendous dedication to their riders. The Nez Perce were one of the first Native American tribes to begin using a selective breeding system.

Europeans and people along the east coast of the United States had been using a selective breeding system for years in the Thoroughbreds, but the Nez Perce were one of the first Native Americans to utilize it. In this selective breeding system, only Stallions with desirable characteristics-coat patterns, mannerism, and overall personality were kept at stud. On the other hand, Stallions that had a solid coat pattern (no spots) were sometimes gelded in addition to those stallions that may have had rude mannerism or may have had traits that the Natives did not want passed on.

The Nez Perce were superb horsemen. They trained their horses to cross rivers, travel up, down and through mountain sides and valleys. They trained them to care for women, children, and the elderly that were mounted upon their backs. This horse would lead the tribe of 600 forty miles to the Canadian border, where the United States government, in hot pursuit, finally gave the order to shoot this horse down in attempts to capture Chief Joseph and his people. Horses that did survive the mass murder were then captured and kept as Calvary horses. The United States Calvary then ruined the breed, destroying the Nez Perce’s selective breeding system and crossbreeding these incredible animals with any horse that was available.  They were bred with sometimes poorly bred Calvary horses that had unfavorable structure and poor temperaments. 

Nowadays, the Appaloosa Horse Club is based in Moscow, Idaho. The Appaloosa is one of the most popular breeds in the United States, and is represented on the show circuit, the Global Jumping and Combined Training circuit, Extreme Trail Riding challenges, and in back pastures and barns everywhere. Numerous horses’ that have been successful on today’s Equine world pedigree’s can be traced to horses that simply state “Nez Perce Pack Mare”, “Nez Perce Breeding Stallion”, or “Nez Perce Horse”. This is just a sign of the amazing bloodlines that the Nez Perce Tribe established. 

American Government vs. Natives

As white settlers began moving west, several Native American tribes were forced to move to tiny reservations along the Southern Plains. The first treaty the Nez Perce signed gave some land to the US government, but protected their beloved Wallowa valley. But when gold was discovered along the west coast, the White Settlers wanted more; and began attempts to get the Nez Perce to sign yet another treaty. Old Chief Joseph was disgusted, and refused. In 1871 when Young Chief Joseph became chief, he realized something had to change after several white man attacks on his people. With his father’s death wish ringing in his ears, Chief Joseph refused to sell his land and fled to Canada.  The Calvary was hot on their tail, and pursued after the Nez Perce. 

Persecution & War

The Nez Perce endured remarkable hardships along the 1400 mile path. Food often ran short. Children and the Elderly suffered from starvation and exhaustion, and were plagued by the extreme conditions. Blankets and moccasins suffered extreme use, and eventually became worn and holey. They often traveled all day, with few and brief breaks. There were not enough horses to go around, and many people were forced to walk. Horses grew tired but still pushed on. Winter brought extreme conditions through the valleys, mountains, and plains. Sickness took its toll on the people. As they neared the Canadian Border, and the Calvary inched ever closer, Chief Joseph gave orders to start leaving valuables behind-trade beads, dolls, parfleches, gorgeous martingales and saddlebags capes, blankets-in order to move faster (Many of these artifacts can still be founds in Montana).