Bands Help Tribe Buy Back Artifacts Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Others Making Donations To Nez Perce

Some of the country’s biggest alternative bands are helping an Idaho tribe keep historical artifacts on its reservation.

Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Presidents of the United States of America and Pete Droge have donated money to help the Nez Perce tribe buy back 20 handmade objects created by tribal ancestors.

The bands are part of a growing list of donors who are trying to keep the artifacts from being moved from Idaho to the Ohio Historical Society, said Tom Hudson, executive director of the Nez Perce Heritage Quest Alliance.

“They were just all really enthusiastic about it,” Hudson said Saturday.

The Nez Perce need to raise $608,100 by June 1 to buy back the artifacts made by ancestors more than 150 years ago. They are currently about $125,000 short of the goal.

The items, which include hide shirts, women’s dresses, moccasins, and a saddle, were bought by the Rev. Henry Spalding, a missionary among the Nez Perce in the mid-1800s.

He paid $57.90, Hudson said.

The collection eventually became the possession of the Ohio Historical Society and for the past 16 years it has been on loan to the Nez Perce for display on the tribe’s reservation.

But two years ago, the historical society decided it wanted the items back, possibly to sell to private collectors, Hudson said.

The tribe has argued that the artifacts are of great historical and spiritual value. Tribal members have agreed to try to buy back the objects for their appraised value.

Hudson has been working for the past week to get rock bands involved in the money raising effort. Hudson does not yet know how much money Pearl Jam and the other bands have donated but said he expects to get word this week.

“I think that our younger people will hear from the celebrities that are important in their lives that this is an important cause,” Hudson said. “It’s telling our country that this is a cause for everyone.”

Hudson is trying to get other bands and celebrities to join in as well.

Anyone interested in helping can send donations to the Spalding-Allen Collection Fund at Key Bank, P.O. Box 1208, Lewiston, ID, 83501 or call 1-800-641-7819.

, DataTimes