Tribe obtains Oregon parcels

GRANTS PASS, Ore. – The Nez Perce Tribe has bought nearly 1,000 acres of remote and rugged canyonlands in the former homelands of Chief Joseph that have been held by the state of Oregon since statehood in 1859.

The three parcels along Joseph Creek in Wallowa County in Oregon’s northeastern corner increase to more than 11,000 acres the tribe’s Precious Lands wildlife habitat area dedicated to providing winter range for the Chesnimnus elk herd. The tribe is based in Lapwai, Idaho.

Joseph Creek runs north across the Washington border into the Grande Ronde River near its confluence with the Snake. It is named for Chief Joseph, who took his band of Nez Perce on a famous run for freedom in 1877 after refusing to cede their lands in the Wallowa Valley to the United States.

He was captured just short of the Canadian border and sent to Fort Leavenworth, in Kansas. His surrender speech has been famously translated to say: “Hear me my chiefs. I am tired; my heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever.”

Totaling 962 acres, the three parcels were purchased from Oregon for a total of $278,865, said State Lands Board spokesman Monte Turner. Two of the sales were approved by the board last March. The third parcel goes before the board Tuesday.

The parcels were granted to Oregon by the federal government at statehood and have been part of the common school fund but generated little revenue due to their remote and rugged character, said Turner.

That purchase marked the first land in Oregon owned by the Nez Perce since Chief Joseph and his band were driven out.