Disputes Among Indians Delays Wallowa Center Historical Split Of Nez Perce Affects Tribal Relations Today

When Terry Crenshaw and his friends went looking for land on which to build a Nez Perce interpretive site, some ranchers didn’t want to sell.

But any anti-Indian sentiment that lingers in Wallowa County, Ore., was outweighed by public enthusiasm for the project.

Private citizens have raised money to buy property for a powwow site and interpretive center. They see the project as a way of welcoming tribal members back to their ancestral lands.

Now, ironically, animosity among the Indians themselves is one of the greatest obstacles to building the center and deciding what will be displayed there.

“That’s a thorny issue,” said Crenshaw, a Wallowa High School history teacher.

“I think we’re going to say, ‘OK, the Native Americans are going to plan this.’ And no one wants to be left out, so they’re going to come,” he said.

“We hope this project will bring them together.”

The conflict is between the descendents of Chief Joseph who live around Nespelem, Wash., and the Nez Perce Tribe based in Lapwai, Idaho.

Joseph was one of the Nez Perce leaders who refused to sign a Treaty with the United States. He fled Oregon with his people in 1877 and headed toward Canada. Defeated, then exiled in Oklahoma, they were resettled in Nespelem.

“Those at Nespelem claim that they are the true descendants of the march, and they are the only ones to use Chief Joseph’s name,” Crenshaw said this week.

In the other historical corner are those Indians whose ancestors signed the treaty. Their leaders are the sovereign representatives of the Nez Perce under U.S. law.

“Those at Lapwai have lots of perks, land, money … Those in Nespelem are nobodies, still. They’re still in exile.”

The project organizers are on good terms with both bands, as well as Joseph’s descendents who live on the Umatilla reservation, Crenshaw said.

“We have all three groups working with us, but separately. We’ll get them together soon.”

Keith “Soy” Redthunder of Nespelem has been involved in the project for several years. He’s the great-great grandson of Chief Joseph.

Asked about the potential for making the interpretative center a successful joint effort, he said: “You can only hope.”

He considers the building of the center a kind of futuristic dream that Indians share with their white friends in Wallowa County.

He’d like to have people visit the center and learn more about Joseph.

“There’s a misconception publicly that he was a great war chief. I don’t believe that at all. I think he was a great humanitarian.”

Keith Lawrence of Lapwai thinks the issue of sovereignty - who speaks for the Nez Perce - is a major unresolved issue when it comes to the interpretive center.

But like Redthunder, he thinks it’s a good effort being spearheaded by well-meaning people.

It may take 10 years to complete the project, said Crenshaw. First, a campground will be built. The purchase of the 160-acre site near the town of Wallowa will be celebrated July 18-20 with dancing, music and singing.

Crenshaw knows that, for the people at the powwow, history isn’t something in danger of being forgotten.

“I’ve seen Native Americans have tears run down their cheeks just from talking about the Nez Perce war,” he said. “It’s not like it happened in the distant past.”

, DataTimes