The Nez Perce Indians And The Opening Of The Northwest: The Complete and Unabridged Masterwork of Lewis and Clark, Chief Joseph, and 1877

by Alvin M. Josephy Jr.

Is there any chapter in American history more dramatic than that of the Northwest from the time of Lewis and Clark to the tragic defeat of Chief Joseph in 1877? Heroic - and not so heroic -characters abound: explorers, fur traders, miners, settlers, missionaries, ranchers, Indian chiefs and their tribespeople. Now, when interest in Lewis and Clark and the American Northwest has never been higher, comes the first complete and unabridged paperback edition of Alvin Josephy's masterwork.

Genres: History, Native Americans, Native American, American History, Nonfiction, Indigenous

705 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1965

About the author

An American historian who specialized in Native American topics. He served as a combat correspondent during World War II and was awarded the Bronze Star for his coverage of the U.S. capture of Guam. His interest in Native American history started during an assignment from Time Magazine.

Reviews

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating story of the important contributions made by one Native American nation to the settling of our country. Of course, we showed our gratitude by slaughtering them and forcibly removing them from their ancestral home. I can't recommend this book highly enough.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Nez Perce tribe of the Columbia River Basin in the Pacific Northwest numbered around 7,000 in 1805, when Lewis and Clark were welcomed and guided through their lands. Flash to the mid-1880’s—after decades of white settlement, murder, and harassment of the natives, deceit and betrayal by the US Government and its agents, and a remarkable months-long but ultimately failed retreating war of liberation—and about 250 are transferred from a pestilential prison-like reservation in Oklahoma to isolated reservations near their ancestral homes.

Josehpy’s narration of war of 1877 doesn’t start until page 500 in his work. Most works on the Nez Perce have focused exclusively on war and its aftermath, Josephy says. His task is to give the history that led to it. He does it sweepingly, with well-drawn portraits and detailed accounts of changes in Nez Perce territory, first with encounters with Lewis and Clark, then on to fur trappers and traders, and long histories of Christian missions among the natives. The gold rush created a near-unstoppable tide of white incursion and settlement on the lands of the Nez Perce, who had near always welcomed whites and thought to share the land (As “the earth is our mother”, who could own it, right?). Outposts and garrisons of the US Army begin to punctuate major travel and river routes, disturbing traditional Nez Perce hunting and gathering trails.

By this time the tribe was—hopelessly it turns out—divided among Christian-converted farmers and pastoralists and the traditionalists, in whose camp were many of the younger warriors and “Dreamers”, or followers of the Sahaptin shaman, Smohalla and others who practiced a faith around visions of native revival in lands free of white settlers. These latter—despite tremendous pressure and in awful conditions of disease, war and starvation— remained loyal to their traditional lifeways and in resistance to lies, demands and thievery of colonists. If they would never return to their home, they also never gave it up.

[Kurt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Growing up in Idaho, and in my youth occasionally hearing some of the stories of the tragic flight of the Nez Perce, led me to read several books on the subject. No other story in American history is as fascinating as this one. Many good books have been written about it, along with a few that are not so good. This one is definitely one the best. Be warned, however--it is long (700+ pages), and nearly three fourths of the book deals with events that occured prior to the well-known Nez Perce war of 1877. For a shorter read about just the war itself Beal's I Will Fight No More, Forever might be a better choice. But for a comprehensive history of the entire region and its people, this is perhaps the best.

[Donald Linnemeyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used this book as a reference source for a paper I wrote on the Nez Perce War, and it was great. Huge, so I didn't get the chance to read straight through it, but remarkable for its scope and detail. He doesn't have the eloquence of Elliott Smith, but he's more thorough.

[Steven Shook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Josephy's book concerning the history of the Nez Perce Indians is simply outstanding and superbly edited. The book begins with the Nez Perce's first contact with members of the Lewis and Clark expedition and concludes with the final years of Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekht's (Chief Joseph) life.

I have read numerous histories of this tribe and neighboring tribes, as well as histories of the Nez Perce War, and Josephy is the most thorough in that he best captures the context that led to the war and the significant differences that existed between the treaty and non-treaty Nez Perce groups. This monumental work, though dense, reads quickly and provides a tremendous amount of information concerning the settlement by Americans in Indian territory between the Cascade and Bitterroot ranges.

[Pamela Okano · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was angry after reading this book. I'm still angry. The US Government has treated Native Americans, and in particular, the Nez Perce, absymally. Lies and more lies. Promises made and rarely kept. This book is the seminal book on the history of the Nez Perce, from Lewis and Clark days through Chief Joseph. A must read for those interested in Native American history.

[Thom Coté · Rating 5 out of 5]

A detailed and well-researched account of one of many racism-fueled invasions in U.S. history.

[Denise DeRocher · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best I have read about the Nez Perce, a tribe with whom I'm familiar: I taught in Lapwai, on the reservation, for an unforgettable year. Josephy's work by far exceeds any other I have read about the amazing historical events of these people.

[Pepper McColgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!

[David]

An incredible amount of information about the early exploration of the northwest and early explorers and various indian tribes.