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Coming Home to Nez Perce Country: The Niimíipuu Campaign to Repatriate Their Exploited Heritage
"Missionary Henry Spalding shipped two barrels of "Indian curiosities" to Ohio in 1847. The author delves into the story of the exquisite Nez Perce shirts, dresses, baskets, and horse regalia, the tribe's grassroots campaign to restore their exploited cultural heritage, and the ethics of acquiring and selling Native cultural history"--
216 pages, Paperback
Published June 19, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 28, 2021
The the story of the hard-won repatriation of Nez Perce tribal cultural heritage is inspiring. The overwhelming sadness I've felt after reading a half-dozen books surrounding the events of the Whitman Massacre has been replaced with just a bit of optimism after reading this book. It is possible to take restorative actions in the present that will help to right the many wrongs of the past.
January 1, 2022
As one would expect of a book based upon the author’s PhD dissertation Bond relied upon numerous primary and secondary sources. The former also included interviews of Nez Perce individuals involved in their ‘campaign to restore their exploited cultural heritage.’ As the author himself and these individuals are knowledgeable of their nation’s history and culture, Coming Home provides an informative and succinct history of the NP in the mid to late 19th century. This helps to place the objects described in the book into context for those readers unfamiliar with the NP. Useful information about NP lifestyle and spirituality as well as the impact which missionaries had on them in the 1830’s-40’s is also provided. Equally important at various points in the book is Bond’s discussion of the motivations for, the significance of, and the effect that the EuroAmerican penchant for collecting NA material culture from the past up until the present day has had.
As Coming Home is based on thorough academic scholarship the facts it shares are documented with footnotes. There are 17 pages of notes at the end of the book. It also has a 4 page bibliography and an index. Thus, those readers who wish to can readily follow up with more study on their own.
This book has some redeeming qualities which one sometimes doesn’t find in academic texts. First, and foremost IMHO, it is highly engaging and readable. Its prose is largely direct, almost conversational at times. As its chapters are focused on particular issues they generally are relatively brief. Dividing the chapters into sections makes it even easier for the reader to follow the arguments being made.
Second, using timely quotations from the NP’s whom Bond interviewed allows the reader to gain a palpable sense of just how courageously determined they were in their efforts to regain the artifacts which they lost in the 1830’s. My only minor criticism of the book is that some of the these quotes get to be a bit redundant towards the end of the book.
Finally, Coming Home has some excellent color photographs of the objects the NP were seeking to regain possession of. Some sketches of these articles also aid the reader in grasping their significance.
Overall, I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in Native American history as well as their current affairs. It easily merits a 5 star rating.
Washington State University has a website where one can view more photos and watch brief videos describing the various objects that make up this collection: https://plateauportal.libraries.wsu.e...
(spoiler alert) Finally, this article will provide a very recent development which took place with the collection:
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/ohi...
As Coming Home is based on thorough academic scholarship the facts it shares are documented with footnotes. There are 17 pages of notes at the end of the book. It also has a 4 page bibliography and an index. Thus, those readers who wish to can readily follow up with more study on their own.
This book has some redeeming qualities which one sometimes doesn’t find in academic texts. First, and foremost IMHO, it is highly engaging and readable. Its prose is largely direct, almost conversational at times. As its chapters are focused on particular issues they generally are relatively brief. Dividing the chapters into sections makes it even easier for the reader to follow the arguments being made.
Second, using timely quotations from the NP’s whom Bond interviewed allows the reader to gain a palpable sense of just how courageously determined they were in their efforts to regain the artifacts which they lost in the 1830’s. My only minor criticism of the book is that some of the these quotes get to be a bit redundant towards the end of the book.
Finally, Coming Home has some excellent color photographs of the objects the NP were seeking to regain possession of. Some sketches of these articles also aid the reader in grasping their significance.
Overall, I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in Native American history as well as their current affairs. It easily merits a 5 star rating.
Washington State University has a website where one can view more photos and watch brief videos describing the various objects that make up this collection: https://plateauportal.libraries.wsu.e...
(spoiler alert) Finally, this article will provide a very recent development which took place with the collection:
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/ohi...
July 9, 2021
New book arrived today, Coming Home to Nez Perce Country: the Niimíipuu Campaign To Repatriate Their Exploited Heritage by Trevor James Bond is extremely well-researched, well-written, revealing much about those collectors . . . . . as well as the former Spalding/Allen collection. After careful deliberation, the name selected was wetxuuwíitin’ which means “returned after a period of captivity.”
In order for the Nez Perce to get back their artifacts, they had to buy them back from the Ohio Historical Society, the price, $608,100 with a seemingly impossible six-month payment deadline.
In 1841, Henry Harmon Spalding knew the value of the Nez Perce items being sent to Allen. He noted that the two dresses he sent were “worn by the rich” and often were valued for “three horses.” The dresses included precious dentalium shell decorations and rare elk teeth. According to Spalding, “The elk teeth on the dress also on the cradle are obtained only from the Buck Elk, two from an animal.”
“Dresses like those shipped by Spalding to Allen would have engaged the skills of the entire family. Female relatives designed, beaded, and sewed the dress. Male relatives hunted for deerskins and traded for the dentalium shells and black and white pony beads, which were expensive. It might have taken a year or two to trade fo the ornaments on this dress.” noted Jacqueline Peterson and Laura Peers.
“The nation rallies to the Nez Perce Side.” Chapter 12 tells of the fundraising campaign and Nez Perce Quest Alliance. Each of the twenty Spalding/Allen artifacts had webpage with a photograph and further information on the item, including its appraised value, as well as the information about the sponsor.
Major donors came forward. The Lilian B. Disney Foundation provided a $100,000 gift to sponsor the man’s bead and quillwork shirt; this was matched by an anonymous $150,000 donation. Lilian Disney had a close connection to the region. She grew up on her family’s farm in Lapwai, Idaho, near the Spalding mission, and she and Walt were married in nearby Lewiston in 1925.
The fundraising was a success and the collection returned.
This book is so engaging, pulling no punches. Spalding most likely did not pay or trade for the artifacts he sent. Spalding does not go into how he acquired most of the goods or the individuals who made them.
The author also explains what happened to one of Chief Joseph’s shirts. . . . . which sold at auction for $877,500. Public reaction to the sale was not positive. The Nez Perce Tribe never had chance to bid on it.
Need to add the cover of the book . . I am not certain how to do that.
In order for the Nez Perce to get back their artifacts, they had to buy them back from the Ohio Historical Society, the price, $608,100 with a seemingly impossible six-month payment deadline.
In 1841, Henry Harmon Spalding knew the value of the Nez Perce items being sent to Allen. He noted that the two dresses he sent were “worn by the rich” and often were valued for “three horses.” The dresses included precious dentalium shell decorations and rare elk teeth. According to Spalding, “The elk teeth on the dress also on the cradle are obtained only from the Buck Elk, two from an animal.”
“Dresses like those shipped by Spalding to Allen would have engaged the skills of the entire family. Female relatives designed, beaded, and sewed the dress. Male relatives hunted for deerskins and traded for the dentalium shells and black and white pony beads, which were expensive. It might have taken a year or two to trade fo the ornaments on this dress.” noted Jacqueline Peterson and Laura Peers.
“The nation rallies to the Nez Perce Side.” Chapter 12 tells of the fundraising campaign and Nez Perce Quest Alliance. Each of the twenty Spalding/Allen artifacts had webpage with a photograph and further information on the item, including its appraised value, as well as the information about the sponsor.
Major donors came forward. The Lilian B. Disney Foundation provided a $100,000 gift to sponsor the man’s bead and quillwork shirt; this was matched by an anonymous $150,000 donation. Lilian Disney had a close connection to the region. She grew up on her family’s farm in Lapwai, Idaho, near the Spalding mission, and she and Walt were married in nearby Lewiston in 1925.
The fundraising was a success and the collection returned.
This book is so engaging, pulling no punches. Spalding most likely did not pay or trade for the artifacts he sent. Spalding does not go into how he acquired most of the goods or the individuals who made them.
The author also explains what happened to one of Chief Joseph’s shirts. . . . . which sold at auction for $877,500. Public reaction to the sale was not positive. The Nez Perce Tribe never had chance to bid on it.
Need to add the cover of the book . . I am not certain how to do that.
April 29, 2026
This was WONDERFUL. One of the best books I have read this year.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews