The Flight of the Nez Percé
Tour Dates: August 29 to September 6, 2021, with historian Neil Mangum
We'll follow the Nez Percé National Historic Trail from Spokane, Washington to Great Falls, Montana, through some of the most beautiful landscapes of the American West, including their route through Yellowstone Park



Forced to abandon hopes for a peaceful move to the Lapwai Reservation, the Nez Percé chiefs saw flight to Canada as their last promise for peace. The flight of the Nez Percé began on June 15, 1877. Led by Chiefs Joseph, Looking Glass, White Bird, Ollokot, Lean Elk, and others, a band of 800 men, women and children moved northeast, hoping to seek safety with their Crow allies. Only 250 were warriors — the rest were women, children, elderly, and sick. On June 17 U.S. army and volunteer soldiers approached a Nez Percé camp on Whitebird Creek in western Idaho. When a party of six warriors bearing a flag of truce approached the soldiers, one of the volunteers fired at them, thus precipitating the Nez Perce War of 1877.

After defeating the cavalry force at the Battle of White Bird Canyon, the flight intensified and more than a dozen more battles and skirmishes would be fought in the next several months. Fighting the army all along the trail, the number of Nez Perce was severely reduced. Just 40 miles from Canada they were trapped at Snake Creek at the base of the Bears Paw Mountains in Montana by the U.S. Army. After a five-day fight, the remaining 431 members of the tribe were beaten and Chief Joseph surrendered on October 5, 1877    

[Excerpted from Legends of America]

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Itinerary

AUGUST 29 (Sunday): check in to our hotel. That evening, we'll gather in the hotel conference room for meeting and greet (pizza provided) and to hear an orientation talk by our guide, Neil Mangum
AUGUST 30 (Monday): board the luxury motorcoach for long journey. Stops on this day will include the monuments for the battles of Spokane Plains, and Four Lakes (from the Coeur d'Alene War of 1858, the second phase of the Yakima War), the Qualchan Hanging Site on Latah Creek, Treaty Site, and the Steptoe Battlefield. Lunch in Lewiston, Idaho. After lunch stops: Nez Percé National Historical Park, and Fort Lapwai. Overnight accommodations in Lewiston, Idaho.
AUGUST 31 (Tuesday): Stops include: the Battle of Cottonwood (Nez Percé National Historical Park), the Rains (Raines) Massacre, Foster Grave, Brave 17 marker, Nez Percé camp at Tolo Lake, the Battle of White Bird Canyon, Clearwater Battlefield. Overnight accommodations in Orofino, Idaho.
September 1 (Wednesday): Stops include Nez Percé at Weippe Prairie, Nez Percé Origin—Coyote vs. Monster, the Attack on Looking Glass Camp, Kooskia, Lolo Pass and Packer Meadow, and Fort Fizzle. Overnight accommodations in Lolo.
September 2 (Thursday): this day we'll travel up the Bitterroot Valley, Stevensville, Corvallis, Ross Hole, Big Hole Battlefield, Bannack State Park. Overnight accommodations in Dillon, Idaho.
September 3 (Friday): first stop, grave of Samuel Glass, frontier soldier, then off to the Camas Meadows Battlefield, Henry's Lake, Nez Percé on the Madison River. Overnight accommodations in West Yellowstone, or Old Faithful Lodge.
September 4 (Saturday): this day is dedicated to touring Yellowstone Park, with stops at the Norris Geyser Basin, Mammoth Hot Springs, Tower-Roosevelt. Overnight accommodations in Cody, Wyoming.
September 5 (Sunday): first stop, Buffalo Bill Cody Museum, Canyon Creek Battlefield, Reed and Bowles Trading Post in Lewiston. Overnight accommodations in Lewiston, Montana.
September 6 (Monday, Labor Day): Cow Creek Crossing of the Missouri River, Blaine County Museum, Bear Paw Battlefield, Fort Benton. Overnight accommodations in Great Falls, Montana.
September 7 (Tuesday): Depart for home. You can fly out of Great Falls if you choose, or ride our charter coach on a direct return to Spokane.
This (1994) video takes you on the 1,170-mile journey taken by the Nez Perce tribe in 1877. Pursued by the United States Army, 750 Nez Perce men, women, and children made a heroic yet futile flight seeking freedom and peace far from their homeland. The program highlights the need to preserve and interpret this landscape of history. [U.S. Forest Service]