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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Longtime Elder Of Nez Perce Dies

From Staff And Wire Reports

Charles “Pete” Hayes, a longtime member of the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee, has died at his Kamiah home. He was 60.

“He was a champion for the tribe (in) everything he was involved in. He had a deep compassion for his people,” Vice Chairman Wilfred Scott said Friday. “We’re going to miss him.”

Hayes was born and raised in Kamiah, and served in the U.S. Army before moving in 1962 to Seattle to work as a Boeing Co. mechanic.

In 1969, he returned to north-central Idaho to work at the Dworshak National Fish Hatchery until 1976. He then returned to farm and wood products work until his first election to the committee. He served as chairman for three years.

Hayes represented the tribe on several panels, including the Columbia River Intertribal Commission, the U.S.-Canada Pacific Treaty Salmon Commission and the National Congress of American Indians.

, DataTimes