SECTION ONE
Lewis and Clark and the Indian Country: 200 years of American History
Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark and the Corps of Discovery have long been celebrated as
adventurers who “opened” the West for the United States. But what if we set aside the cliché that the
explorers traveled across a “wilderness” and the traditional assumption that American expansion was
“inevitable?” Viewed from this perspective, what can we learn about American history from the
expedition’s encounter with Native America and the aftermath of Lewis and Clark’s journey?
Lewis and Clark and the Indian Country re-examines two hundred years of American history, asking, “How
did the explorers pass through the Indian country?” “What did the journey mean to them?” and “What were
the consequences of their ‘adventure’?”
The exhibition examines the values and traditions that united the diverse communities of the western
“Indian country” at the time of the expedition and then describes Lewis and Clark’s historic encounter with
the region’s inhabitants. It explores the impact of the expedition on the Indian country as well as its role in
stimulating the expansion of the United States into the West.
To help tell this complex story, the exhibition focuses on five of the Native American communities the
Corps of Discovery met two centuries ago: the Mandans and Hidatsas of the Upper Missouri River; the
Blackfeet of the Northern Plains; the Nez Perces, whose homeland straddles the continental divide, the
Umatillas of the Oregon plateau; and the Chinook-speaking peoples of the lower Columbia River valley.
Many members of these communities continue to live in their traditional homelands.
By tracing the expedition’s role both in bringing two cultures and two histories together and in beginning
the process that has woven them into the fabric of America, the exhibition reveals the richness and the
possibilities embedded in our national past.
SECTION TWO
THE INDIAN COUNTRY 1800: A BRILLIANT PLAN FOR LIVING
The people the Corps of Discovery encountered during its two and a half-year round-trip journey to the
Pacific Ocean belonged to well-ordered communities. While not a country in the European sense, the
region the Americans traversed two centuries ago was bound together by common values and customs.
In 1800, the Native American communities in the Missouri and Columbia River regions were prosperous
and thriving. They knew how to take advantage of the abundant natural resources around them, and traded
for what they could not produce themselves. They had highly developed social structures to educate their
children, care for their elderly, and prevent and resolve community conflicts.
“Our ancestors didn’t need child welfare
agencies or food stamps. They had a system,
a way of life that took care of everyone.
They had a brilliant plan for living.” —Frederick Baker (Mandan-Hidatsa)
Creation, Gifts, and Obligations
For the people of the Indian country, creation was an ongoing process; supernatural forces shaped the world
in both the past and in the present. Elders explained that these forces took the form of spirit beings who had
the power to influence the weather, the hunt, and the size of the harvest, and all other aspects of the natural
and human world. They taught that creation was a complex process that required human participation as
well as the gifts and blessings bestowed by invisible helpers.
The exchange of gifts was part of the fabric of life in the Indian country. Each gift received meant that one
had to be given in return. Patterns of reciprocity within and between communities facilitated social
harmony. Within villages and hunting bands, gift giving
discouraged greed and drew individuals into a web of mutual
support. Gift giving between visitors (travelers, diplomats and traders) and their hosts, and gifts between
communities, established the important relationships and alliances that helped the region to prosper and
remain stable.
Gifts exchanged between the spirit world and the human world were also an essential component of life in
the Indian country. Gifts from the creators sustained the human world with the seasonal cycles of food,
healthy children, and wisdom. In return, humans showed their respect and gratitude to the spirit beings by
offering gifts of presents and prayers. Gifts from the creators could be as humble as the camas root, as
powerful as the elk, or as majestic as the red cedar. The special nature of these gifts—for example, their
seasonal lifecycles and their usefulness to humans—was discovered by Indian people over centuries of
exploration and experimentation.Gifts exchanged between the spirit world and the human world were also
an essential component of life in the Indian country. Gifts from the creators sustained the human world
with the seasonal cycles of food, healthy children, and wisdom. In return, humans showed their respect and
gratitude to the spirit beings by offering gifts of presents and prayers. Gifts from the creators could be as
humble as the camas root, as powerful as the elk, or as majestic as the red cedar. The special nature of these
gifts—for example, their seasonal lifecycles and their usefulness to humans—was discovered by Indian
people over centuries of exploration and experimentation.
“Beginning from the earliest times the children
of the Indians were taught how they might
best obtain their Weyekin [spirit helper],
which would be their helper, adviser, guide
and comforter, both in daily life, in war,
in hunting and fishing, in business
and in sickness.” —Phillip Minthorn
“Portrait of Phillip Minthorn” in
J. M. Cornelison’s Weyekin Titwatit Stories
(Titwatit Stories)
San Francisco: E. L. Mackey & Co., 1911
Newberry Library
Some gifts from the creators were intended for the entire
community. Others were personal—they came from the spirit
helpers that guided people through their lives. These spirit
helpers linked humans to the supernatural world and acted as
a channel for gifts. They promoted good crops, successful
hunts, and happy relationships.
George Catlin
“A Flathead Woman Basketing Salmon,”
copied from Souvenir of the North
American Indians As They Were in the
Middle of the 19th Century
Pencil on paper, 1852
Newberry Library
The Pacific salmon is central to the traditional
culture of Native people living within the
Columbia River watershed. Every part of its
complex life cycle has been carefully observed and
incorporated into their creation stories. The
salmon stories pay special attention to the fish’s
changeable nature. Enduring attacks and betrayals
by other animals, and by humans, Salmon survives
by shifting his form; moving back and forth
between youth and old age, and from an egg to a
man to a fish. The salmon stories are a tool for
teaching people about their origins, and about the
values that hold their communities together.
“Dip Net Fishing at Celilo Falls,” ca.1930
Courtesy of Washington State Historical
Society, Tacoma
Well into the twentieth century, Native American
fishermen working the Columbia River continued
to fish for salmon from the same points along the
river their ancestors had fished. Their right to fish
at these “usual and customary” spots, even when
they were outside of reservation boundaries, was
guaranteed by treaties signed by the U.S. and
tribal leaders in the nineteenth century.
Right
Karl Bodmer
“Mandan Village,” from Maximilian, Prince of Wied’s
Travels to the Interior of North America
London: Ackermann & Co., 1843-44
Newberry Library
In traditional Native American culture, men and women had their
distinct spheres, but contributed equally to the success of the community. The Mandans, for example, lived
in well-organized villages of earth-built lodges clustered along the banks of the Missouri River. Each lodge
housed up to three dozen people—usually groups of adult
sisters with their families. The men dominated public spaces and political leadership; they were also
responsible for hunting and for protecting the village from intruders. But it was the women who owned
property, such as the lodges and their contents, and they were in charge of the agricultural production. They
also were in control of trade, giving them considerable power within the community.
Although this view of a Mandan village was executed in 1833, a
generation after Lewis and Clark visited the upper Missouri River, it captures a scene that closely matches
the explorers’ descriptions.
Western Red Cedar (“Thuja plicata”), in Thomas Nuttall’s
The North American Sylva
Philadelphia: D. Rice & A. N. Hart, 1859
Newberry Library
The western red cedar is indigenous to the coastal regions of the Pacific Northwest. It can grow to heights
of 185 feet, and some
thousand-year-old specimens have been identified. Its rot resistant
and water repellent qualities were much appreciated by the inhabitants of the damp coastal areas, and they
used all parts of the tree. The wood was used for everything from building materials and tools to
ceremonial implements; the fibrous inner bark was used for rope, clothing and baskets.
Camas (Camassia quamash)
Specimen collected by Lewis and Clark Expedition
Courtesy of the Academy of Natural Sciences (Philadelphia), Botany Department
The camas plant was an important food source for Native communities in the Columbia River region.
Women from the mountainous
Nez Perce country to the Pacific coast visited well-known camas prairies to dig for the edible roots. They
practiced sustainable
agriculture, harvesting only the largest roots and replanting the rest.
John James Audubon
“Elk (Cervus canadensis),” from The Quadrupeds of North America
Newberry Library
A Vast Network
By 1800, complex networks of trade, alliance, and competition linked every corner of the Indian country.
Horses first brought to America by the Spanish were bred and traded from the Columbia Plateau to the
Missouri River. Traders carried steel tools and glass beads from Europe up the Missouri and Columbia
rivers, and south from Lake Winnipeg.
Native groups jostled one another for space: Sioux bands moved west, Arikaras moved north, Shoshones
moved south. Indian farming and trading villages along the Missouri and Columbia rivers struggled to
maintain their independence and preserve their standing in the marketplace. No single power dominated the
region; it was governed instead by overlapping networks of trade, travel and diplomacy.
Peter Fidler
Ac ko mok ki’s Map of the River System of the Rockies
1801
Hudson’s Bay Company Archives: Archives of Manitoba (HBCA G.1/25)
This remarkable map provides some of the best evidence of the extensive knowledge Native people had of
their environment. It also demonstrates the importance of the relationships forged between Indians and
Europeans prior to the Lewis and Clark expedition.
Drawn first in the snow by Ac ko mok ki, a Blackfeet leader, in February 1801, the map was copied onto
paper by Hudson’s Bay Company trader, Peter Fidler. Ac ko mok ki’s map is oriented with west at the top
of the page; the double line crossing from left to
right represents the Rocky Mountains. The map shows two rivers running west from the Rockies, and
seventeen rivers flowing east. The line down the center of the map is the Missouri River. Fidler added
details regarding the Native American tribal populations
in the region.
Blackfeet Tribe, unidentified artist
War Party
Paint on cloth, before 1897
Courtesy of The Field Museum, Chicago (J. Weinstein, photo)
Although warfare was a male activity, success in battle required the
participation of both men and women. This painting, by an unidentified Blackfeet artist, shows a war party
returning to its village. While the men were away, the women prayed for victory, and therefore shared in
the glory
of the men’s success. Carrying pieces of scalp given to them by their warrior relatives, the women sing
songs praising the successful raid and thanking the spirit helpers for their assistance.
“Lean Wolf Using Sign Talk,” in Garrick Mallery’s
Sign Language Among North American Indians Compared
with that among Other Peoples and Deaf Mutes
Washington: United States Bureau of Ethnology, 1881
Newberry Library
In addition to the Chinook trade jargon, Native American diplomats
and traders used a language of signs to bridge linguistic barriers. This
“sign talk” was an independent system of communication not based
on any one tribe’s language. At the time of Lewis and Clark, sign talk
was well established in the Indian country. This was probably the
reason why the American commanders recruited George Drouillard,
the half-Shawnee hunter and interpreter, to be a civilian member
of the expedition.
In this illustration from Sign Language Among North American Indians, Lean Wolf, a Hidatsa leader, is
commenting on a recently broken agreement with the United States. He signs “Four years ago the
American people agreed to be friends with us, but they lied.
That is all."
S. F. Coombs
Dictionary of Chinook Jargon as Spoken on Puget Sound
and the Northwest
Seattle, WA: Lowman & Hanford, 1891
Newberry Library
Across the Pacific Northwest trade between dozens of small tribal groups produced an informal language
known as the Chinook trade jargon. Named after the Chinook, a local Columbia River tribe, the trade
jargon actually incorporated vocabulary from a number of Indian languages, English, French and Spanish.
When Lewis and Clark arrived in the Northwest, they found that use of the jargon was a common feature of
Indian trade along the Pacific coast. Coombs’ glossary, published in 1891, shows the endurance of the
Chinook trade jargon into the late nineteenth century.
SECTION THREE
CROSSING THE INDIAN COUNTRY, 1804 – 1806
Meriwether Lewis, William Clark and their company of explorers set off on the historic “Voyage of
Discovery” on May 14, 1804, from Wood River, in Illinois. During 1804 and 1805, the group traveled west
towards the Pacific Ocean, making the return journey to St. Louis in 1806. Their assignment was to find an
easy route to the Pacific Ocean and report on the geography, people, and resources they found along the
way.
During their three-year trek, the men of the Corps of Discovery crossed the traditional homelands of more
than 50 Native American tribes. Their interactions with Indian country peoples brought together very
different worldviews, motivations and expectations. It was a cultural encounter of major proportions.
Although the Corps and Indian people often had very different reasons for wanting to establish
relationships, encounters between them were successful when both parties appeared to achieve their
objectives. Unfortunately, differing perspectives and assumptions often led to misunderstandings between
them. The expedition would have failed without Native generosity, hospitality and
information. But the Americans did not always understand what they owed in return.
On their way west, the Americans were eager to establish friendly ties with tribes. However, once they
reached the Pacific coast, they considered themselves experts on the Indian country, and no longer felt
motivated to spend time fostering relationships with Native Americans. As they headed home in 1806, this
attitude, along with their anxiety about ever-dwindling supplies and their impatience about completing their
mission, undermined much of the goodwill they had accumulated.
Why Head West?
Soon after becoming president in 1800, Thomas Jefferson proposed sending an expedition to explore
beyond the Mississippi River, outside of American territory. His plan languished until April 1803, when
American diplomats in Paris agreed to purchase from France “Louisiana,” the largely undocumented area
between the Mississippi and the Rocky Mountains, for $15 million. Napoleon Bonaparte had acquired this
land from Spain in the hopes of creating a French empire in North America.
Even before Congress approved the Louisiana Purchase in October 1803, Jefferson appointed Meriwether
Lewis to lead an expedition up the Missouri River and over the Rockies to the Pacific Ocean. Jefferson had
a multi-faceted goal for the expedition. He wanted to expand trade with Native Americans, find a water
route to the Pacific, and identify natural resources that could be exploited for commercial purposes.
James L. Dick, after a painting by Rembrandt Peale
Portrait of Thomas Jefferson
Oil on canvas, 1805
Courtesy of Monticello/Thomas Jefferson Foundation, Inc.
The Corps of Discovery
Thomas Jefferson appointed his secretary, Captain Meriwether Lewis, to lead the expedition to the Pacific.
Lewis, born in 1774 on a plantation near Jefferson’s Virginia home, had served as an
officer in the American army in Ohio and Tennessee. To prepare him for the journey, Jefferson sent Lewis
to Philadelphia to study with the nation’s leading scientists, among them Dr. Benjamin Rush, a physician,
and David Rittenhouse, a noted astronomer and mathematician.
Soon after his own appointment, Captain Lewis offered joint command of the expedition to his former
army comrade, William Clark. Clark’s practical experience and talent for diplomacy made him an ideal
expedition leader. He was also assigned the job of principal mapmaker for the expedition.
The “Voyage of Discovery” was organized under the auspices of the U.S. Army. After Lewis and Clark
received their commissions from President Jefferson, they began to prepare a group of men for the trip
west. The Corps of Discovery, as the 27-member company is now known, began the journey on May 14,
1804. The Corps included 14 soldiers, nine civilian woodsmen, an interpreter, two boat men and Clark’s
black slave, York. Later that year Toussaint Charbonneau, a French Canadian fur trader, and his Shoshone
companion, Sakakawea (also known as Sacajawea), joined them.
Charles Willson Peale
Meriwether Lewis (1774–1809),
Oil on canvas, painted from life, 1807
Courtesy of Independence National Historic Park
Charles Willson Peale
William Clark (1770–1838),
Oil on canvas, painted from life, 1807-08
Courtesy of Independence National Historic Park
Joseph Whitehouse
Journal Commencing at the River Dubois
[Wood River, IL]
May 14, 1804 – November 6, 1805
Newberry Library
Thomas Jefferson gave Meriwether Lewis explicit instructions about keeping field notes and diaries: the
Corps was to record details of geography, geology, and climate; flora and fauna; and information about
local inhabitants. As a safeguard against loss, they also made copies of their records. Lewis ordered all the
Sergeants in the company to keep diaries as well.
Joseph Whitehouse was the only enlisted man in the Corps to keep a journal. After he deserted the army in
1817, Whitehouse and his unpublished diary disappeared from history, only coming to light in the twentieth
century. The Newberry Library owns two versions of Whitehouse’s journal. One is a manuscript written
by Whitehouse himself. The other is in the handwriting of a professional scribe who
copied it from Whitehouse’s original, making corrections and changes at Whitehouse’s request.
What the Americans Knew
When the Corps of Discovery embarked on its journey in 1804, the Indian country of the Upper Missouri,
Rocky Mountains and Columbia River lay shrouded in mystery and fantasy. Although the British had
recently mapped the coastline north of San Francisco, and Spanish and French traders were familiar with
some of the Indian communities of the central plains, the Americans lacked detailed information about the
North American interior. This lack of knowledge is reflected in the best-known maps of the era, in which
the regions between the Mississippi River and the Pacific Ocean are shown as nearly empty.
The up-to-date scientific training Captain Meriwether Lewis received from leading scientists in
Philadelphia prior to the voyage was not of much help. Lewis believed the incorrect assumptions of
mapmakers and scholars that the Missouri River drainage extended nearly to the Pacific, and that there
were easy passes through the mountain ranges. Based on this information, he certainly had no reason to
expect the journey to be as arduous and challenging as it was.
“Map of North America,”
from Brookes' General Gazetteer
Improved (...), based on Aaron
Arrowsmith’s 1802 map
Philadelphia: Jacob Johnson,
& Co., 1806
Newberry Library
A Map of Lewis and Clark’s Track
Across the Western Portion of North America
from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean
Ink and pencil on paper, 1811
Private Collection
In December 1810, William Clark drew a three-foot by five-foot map of his route to the Pacific for
Nicholas Biddle, the Philadelphia editor preparing the official history of the expedition. Clark
recommended that Biddle also consult George Shannon, a private in the Corps of Discovery. In 1811,
Biddle reported that he and Shannon had modified Clark’s map “to make it illustrate the route principally.”
Shannon is believed to be the draftsman for the manuscript map shown here. The map included in Biddle’s
History (published by Paul Allen in 1814) is the same size, and identical in nearly every detail.
The New Experts
When the Corps of Discovery returned to St. Louis in the fall of 1806, the explorers were immediately
acknowledged as experts on the Indian country. Sergeant Patrick Gass’s frequently reprinted Journal (1807)
and Nicholas Biddle’s official History of the Expedition (completed by Paul Allen in 1814) provided vivid
descriptions of the western territory.
The Corps’ ideas and impressions about the region and its inhabitants informed the next generation of
westward travelers. However, Native voices were not included in their reports, making it difficult for the
American public to understand the complex reality of Indian life. The importance of gift giving, for
example, became central to future Indian-white relations. But Native values and customs that the Corps
misunderstood, or disapproved of, were labeled “backward” or “ludicrous.”
The members of the Corps made the most of their expert status. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark,
however, achieved the greatest national prominence. Thomas Jefferson appointed Lewis governor of the
Louisiana Territory in 1807, a position he held until his death in 1809. Clark was appointed the principal
Indian agent for the Louisiana Territory in 1807, and he was given Lewis’s governor’s post when Lewis
died (in late 1812, the northern portion of Louisiana was renamed the Missouri Territory). When Missouri
became a state in 1821, Clark served as its Superintendent of Indian Affairs almost until his death in 1838.
Karl Bodmer
“Pehriska-Ruhpa, A Minatarree” from
Maximilian, Prince of Wied’s Travels to the
Interior of North America
London: Ackermann & Co., 1843–44
Newberry Library
George Catlin
“Stu-mick-o-suks (The Buffalo’s Basket), Head Chief of the Blackfoot Tribe,” copied from Souvenir
of the North American Indians as They Were in the Middle of the 19th Century
Pencil on paper, 1852
Newberry Library
After returning to St. Louis, William Clark controlled much of the access into the Indian country, and had
the authority to license fur traders, negotiate treaties with tribal leaders, and mediate disputes between
Native Americans and settlers. He also assisted travelers who wanted to explore the Indian country on their
own. Relying on Clark’s aid, these travelers, such as the artists Karl Bodmer and George Catlin, played an
important role in shaping public perceptions of Indian life in the nineteenth century.
William Clark
Account book, May 25, 1825 to June 14, 1828
St. Louis, 1825-1828
Newberry Library
William Clark used the cover of this account book to compile a list of the members of the Corps of
Discovery, noting who remained alive. He incorrectly listed Sergeant Patrick Gass among the deceased.
Clark also noted that Sakakawea (“Se car ja we au”) was dead, contradicting the modern belief that she
lived to an old age.
SECTION FOUR
CROSSING THE INDIAN COUNTRY – 1804 – 1806: THE EXPEDITION TIMELINE
During their three-year journey from St. Louis to the Pacific coast and back again, the Corps of Discovery
crossed the traditional homelands of more than 50 Native American tribes. The Indian people they met
along the way provided food, horses, directions, supplies, and information about the people, geography and
natural resources of the region. Without their help, the
expedition would surely have failed.
Most Native Americans welcomed the explorers and were generous hosts. Some tribes, however, regarded
the heavily armed strangers with suspicion. Those who had already established alliances with outsiders
were often less welcoming than those who saw the Americans as potential trading partners. The most
accommodating tribes were those who felt threatened by neighboring groups and were seeking allies.
If few Native Americans felt an immediate impact from the expedition, the information and attitudes that
Corps members acquired during their three-year expedition certainly influenced the expectations and
assumptions of the next generation of travelers into the Indian country.
Late 1803
Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery assemble in St. Louis and begin preparations.
May 14, 1804
The Corps of Discovery sets off from Camp Dubois (Wood River, Illinois).
November 1, 1804
The Corps of Discovery establishes its winter camp close to five Mandan and Hidatsa villages on the
Missouri River.
Patrick Gass
“Captain Clark and Men Building Huts,” in Journal of the Voyages and Travels of the Corps of
Discovery, Under the Command of Capt. Lewis and Capt. Clarke
Philadelphia: Matthew Carey, 1811
Newberry Library
Karl Bodmer
“Winter Village of the Minatarres [Hidatsas],” from Maximilian, Prince of Wied’s
Travels to the Interior of North America
London: Ackermann & Co., 1843–44
Newberry Library
The Corps of Discovery established its winter camp close to five Mandan and Hidatsa villages sited along
the Missouri River. Fortunately for the Americans, who needed food for the coming winter and information
about the unknown territory ahead, these villages were lively trade centers, and the Indians who lived there
were interested in creating alliances that could help them defend their villages against raids by rival tribes.
Under the direction of Sergeant Patrick Gass, the Corps constructed Fort Mandan. The fort consisted of two
rows of cabins arranged in a “V.” A picket fence completed a triangular enclosure, and a palisade
surrounded the encampment. The Americans were soon visited by curious tribesmen and diplomatic, trade
and social relationships quickly developed.
January 1, 1805
The Americans spend New Year’s Day celebrating
with the Mandan.
“The Men commenced dancing …
the Natives signify[ed] their approbation
by a Whoop….” — Joseph Whitehouse, January 1, 1805
April 7, 1805
The Corps leaves the Mandan villages. A small party of men returns east, carrying a report and specimens
back to Thomas Jefferson.
Thomas Jefferson
“Message from the President of the United States,
Communicating Discoveries Made in Exploring the Missouri,
Red River, and Washita, by Captains Lewis and Clark,
Dr. Sibley, and Mr. Dunbar (...).”
Washington, DC: A. and G. Way, 1806
Newberry Library
Lewis and Clark compiled a summary of what they had learned thus far about Native Americans into a
report to the President. Their “Statistical View of the Indian Nations” contained information regarding each
tribe’s name (A), location (I), their current trading partners (J), and the dollar value of the goods they might
require per year (L), as well as the market value of the furs they might produce (M). When published in
February 1806, this report represented the first official word from the government on the expedition’s
progress.
June 2, 1805
The expedition comes to a fork in the river. Seeking the Great Falls of the Missouri, the men think the north
fork is correct, but the commanders disagree. After a few days of scouting, they continue up the south fork.
June 13, 1805
The expedition reaches the Great Falls, proof that the
captains had been correct.
August 12, 1805
Now in the Rocky Mountains, the expedition ascends the Lemhi Pass, on the present day border of Idaho
and Montana.
August 17, 1805
Lewis tries unsuccessfully to negotiate with a village of Shoshones for horses to cross the mountains.
Detail of the Rocky Mountains
from A Map of Lewis and Clark’s Track Across the Western Portion
of North America, 1811
Private Collection
The maps that the Corps of Discovery carried were of no help to them when they reached the eastern ranges
of the Rocky Mountains. Instead of the simple line of mountains shown on those maps, the Rockies were a
labyrinth of peaks and valleys. To make matters worse, the weather had already turned cold. With
unexpected good luck, the Corps of Discovery came across a Shoshone band led by Sakakawea’s brother,
Cameahwait. Anxious about hostile and well-armed neighboring tribes, the Shoshones eagerly traded
horses and directions for iron tools carried by the Americans. Unfortunately, the Shoshone only had limited
supplies to trade, and before long the Americans were in trouble again.
September 5, 1805
The expedition successfully acquires horses from
a band of Salish Indians.
September 18, 1805
Clark and a scouting party set out to find a route
through the mountains. They awake to find
themselves covered in snow.
September 20, 1805
After nearly starving in the Bitterroot Mountains, the Corps emerges near modern day Weippe, Idaho,
where they are welcomed and fed by the Nez Perce.
Edward S. Curtis
“Portrait of Nine Pipes (Flathead Leader),” in
North American Indian Portfolio
Cambridge, MA: The University Press, 1907–1930
Newberry Library
The Salish band the Corps of Discovery met in September 1805 was worried about well-armed Blackfeet
raiders from the east, and anxious to have a reliable source of European trade goods. Eager to befriend the
Americans, they immediately offered help. They traded their fresh horses for the Corps’
sick ones and directed the expedition toward the Lolo Trail, a centuries-old Indian track through the
Bitterroot Range.
The Salish were erroneously called “Flatheads,” probably because the sign gesture for them suggested they
flattened the sides of their head. Nine Pipes, photographed by Edward Curtis in 1907, was a descendant of
the Salish band that helped the Corps of Discovery through the mountains.
Patrick Gass
“Moonlight on the Western Waters,” in Lewis and Clark’s Journey to the Rocky Mountains in the
Years 1804,-5-6; As Related by Patrick Gass, One of the Officers in the Expedition
Dayton: Ellis, Claflin & Company, 1847
Newberry Library
Although the Corps had received directions and fresh horses from the Salish, the following weeks were
marked by diminishing food supplies, disappearing trails, and worsening weather. Suddenly, on September
20, Clark and a seven-man scouting party found themselves in “level pine country.” They had arrived at
Weippe Prairie, a camas root digging site visited each fall by Nez Perces. To their great relief, the nearby
earth lodges were inhabited. They were taken in and fed (“buffalo meat, dried salmon, berries, and roots in
different states.”). The rest of the expedition arrived several days later. Luckily, the expedition had
encountered another Native community seeking trading partners and military allies. Anxious to acquire
guns and other trade goods, and to make contact with trading posts downriver, the Nez Perces were
interested in forging alliances with strangers.
October 7, 1805
The Corps of Discovery sets off from the Nez Perce village.
Edward S. Curtis
“Nez Perce Dugout Canoe,” from
North American Indian Portfolio
Cambridge, MA: The University Press, 1907–1930
Newberry Library
A Nez Perce man named Twisted Hair took the Americans under
his wing. He helped the captains locate a stand of pines, and work crews soon began carving the trees into
dugout canoes. The Americans worked swiftly, with Patrick Gass noting in his journal that they had
adopted “the Indian method of burning out” the interior of the logs.
When the Americans headed off down the Clearwater River, Twisted Hair and another Nez Perce man
joined them. Around the Dalles (a narrow gorge along the Columbia River), the Nez Perce men left the
Corps and headed back upstream.
“They Swaped to us Some of their good horses and took our worn out horses, and appeared to wish to help
us as much as lay in their power.” — John Ordway, September 5, 1805
November 7, 1805
Storms on the lower Columbia River pin down the group for almost three weeks before they arrive at the
Pacific.
November 24, 1805
The Corps establishes Fort Clatsop, near what is now Astoria, Oregon. Tensions between the Corps and the
local people arise almost immediately.
William Alexander
“Salmon Cove,” prepared to illustrate George Vancouver’s
A Voyage of Discovery to the North Pacific Ocean
Watercolor, 1798
Newberry Library
By the time Lewis and Clark arrived, European traders—especially Russians and British—were a common
presence along the Pacific Coast from Alaska to modern Oregon. The local tribes were accustomed to the
guns, iron pots and other metal goods they received in trade for sea otter pelts. As a result, they were not
particularly impressed by the bedraggled Americans and their meager supply of trade goods.
For their part, the Americans seemed uninterested in learning about the customs of the coastal tribes. The
unpleasant damp weather of the Pacific Northwest at this time of year only added to their problems.
January 1, 1806
Captain Lewis begins enforcing strict rules governing
contact between the Corps and the local Indians.
Newman Myrah
Bartering Blue Beads for Otter Robe [at Fort Clatsop]
Oil on Canvas, after 1970
Courtesy of the National Park Service,
Lewis and Clark National Historical Park
During their winter on the Pacific coast, Lewis and Clark grew increasingly worried about completing their
mission. The company was nearly out of supplies, and worse, the commanders thought the enlisted men
were spending too much time socializing with the local Indians.
On New Year’s Day, 1806, Captain Lewis decreed that henceforth the gates to the Americans’ compound,
Fort Clatsop, would close daily at sunset and all Indians would have to leave, adding that “troublesome”
Indians could be removed at any time. Furthermore, every member of the expedition would serve guard
duty, and anyone who traded or gave away government property without authorization would be tried and
punished.
“At sunset … both gates shall be shut.”
— Meriwether Lewis, January 1, 1806
March 18, 1806
Four Americans steal a canoe from the Clatsops.
March 23, 1806
The Corps leaves Fort Clatsop to begin the homeward journey.
“We yet want another canoe, and as the Clatsops will not sell
us one at a price which we can afford to give we will take
one from them in lue of the six Elk which they stole
from us in the winter.” —Meriwether Lewis, March 17, 1806
April 28, 1806
The Americans are entertained by tribesmen from the Upper Columbia who are eager to form new trade
alliances.
Edward S. Curtis
“Umatilla Maid,” in North American Indian Portfolio
Cambridge, MA: The University Press, 1907–1930
Newberry Library
By late April, the Corps was far upstream from Fort Clatsop. Nearing the mouth of
the Walla Walla River, they came to a Walula village. There they met Yellepit (“Friend” or “Trading
Partner”), an important tribal leader.
Historically, the coastal Indians, especially the Chinooks, had prevented the tribes of the upper Columbia
River, such as the Walula, Yakama, Cayuse, and Umatilla, from participating in coastal trade networks. In
befriending the Americans, Yellepit saw the opportunity to create new alliances that could bring highly
desired trade goods, including metal tools and guns, into the area. To help solidify this valuable new
relationship, Yellepit hosted a grand celebration for the Americans, inviting members of other local
tribes—perhaps as many as 550 guests in all. The Americans, however, may not have understood the
diplomatic implications of the festivities.
Although this photograph is from the early twentieth century, it gives us a good idea of the festive garb that
was probably worn during the 1806 celebrations.
May–June, 1806
The expedition rejoins the Nez Perces on the west side of the Bitterroot Mountains. They must wait for the
snow to stop before they are able to continue eastward over the range.
July 3, 1806
After crossing the Bitterroots, the Corps splits into two parties. Clark heads down the Yellowstone. Lewis
takes a shortcut to Great Falls and explores the Marias River.
July 27, 1806
The expedition has its only deadly encounter with the Indians, killing two Blackfeet youths.
“Captain Lewis Shooting an Indian,” in
Journal of the Voyages and Travels of the Corps of Discovery, under the Command of Capt. Lewis
and Capt. Clarke
Philadelphia: Mathew Carey, 1812
Newberry Library
In late July 1806, Lewis and a small scouting party set out to explore the Marias River. In the hills near the
Two Medicine
River, they encountered eight young Blackfeet men. After a
cordial meeting, they decided to camp together, and Lewis
presented them with a small American flag and a peace medal.
He told them that the Americans were allies with the Nez Perce, Salish, and Shoshones, not realizing they
were traditional enemies of the Blackfeet.
The following morning, the young Indians, perhaps alarmed by Lewis’s speech, grabbed some guns and
tried to escape. Lewis’s group recovered their weapons, only to discover that the fleeing Blackfeet were
trying to steal their horses. As Lewis led his men in pursuit, Private Reuben Fields grabbed one of the
Blackfeet and stabbed him in the heart. Lewis shot a second man in the stomach, mortally wounding him.
John Reich
Jefferson Peace and Friendship Medal
Philadelphia: John Reich, 1801 (silver)
Newberry Library
It was common practice for European governments to give medals to Indian leaders to seal alliances. The
Corps of Discovery left St. Louis with nearly 90 medals in at least four sizes and distributed them liberally
to their hosts. Most of the medals were the so-called Jefferson peace medals.
After the Americans’ fatal encounter with the young Blackfeet, Lewis retrieved the flag and peace medal he
had given out the night before and set the Indians’
baggage ablaze. To add insult to injury, he placed the medal around the neck of one of the dead youths.
“I … left the medal about the neck of the
dead man that they might be informed
who we were.” —Meriwether Lewis, July 27, 1806
August 12, 1806
Downstream from the mouth of the Yellowstone, the two parties of the Corps reunite.
Olin Dunbar Wheeler
“Portrait of Wolf Calf [in 1895],” in
On the Trail of Lewis and Clark
New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1904
Newberry Library
In 1895, anthropologist George Bird Grinnell interviewed Wolf Calf, a 102-year-old Blackfeet man, about
the encounter between the Corps of Discovery and the Blackfeet youths.
(See “Captain Lewis Shooting an Indian,” below). The young men, Wolf Calf reported, did not know
anything about the Americans. They had tried to capture the strangers’ guns and horses out of youthful
bravado. “Captures” of this kind were
a common part of the Plains warriors’ competitive culture. According to Grinnell and Wheeler, Wolf Calf,
shown here on horseback, was one of the young men who met Lewis and Clark.
September 23, 1806
The Corps of Discovery arrives in St. Louis.
SECTION FIVE
A NEW NATION COMES TO THE INDIAN COUNTRY
Little changed in the Indian country in the first years after Lewis and Clark completed their expedition.
The Corps of Discovery had failed to find an easy route to the Pacific and few people wanted to follow
their difficult path. However, the information the explorers compiled vastly widened the “mental map” of
the continent, and their reports encouraged many American political and business leaders to think about
continuing the national expansion that began with the Louisiana Purchase.
In the early years after the expedition, the highly profitable fur trade encouraged the construction of
outposts and new settlements. By the middle decades of the nineteenth century, national and international
events—the Texas revolution against Mexico, the creation of the nation’s border with Canada at the 49th
parallel, and the California gold rush—meant that information provided by the Corps of Discovery was
more important than ever.
Once the American claim to the land seemed secure, the traders were followed by miners and homesteaders
who, unlike their predecessors, saw no advantage to building relationships with Native Americans. Instead,
these land-hungry newcomers preferred to push Indians aside. The coming of the railroads completed the
transformation of the region. This process was not a peaceful one, rather it was punctuated by violence and
military conflict.
In the nineteenth century, American westward expansion impacted all of the Indian country. Here, we focus
on some of the activities that transformed the tribal areas along the route of the Corps of Discovery—the
fur trade, mining, homesteading, ranching, and the “Americanization” campaign. By century’s end,
Americans had a new name for the Indian country. They now called it “The West.”
Homesteaders
In the summer of 1855, Isaac Stevens, the Oregon Territory’s first governor, met with the leaders of the
upper Columbia River tribes to negotiate a treaty covering large portions of the modern states of
Washington, Oregon and Idaho. His main argument was that an influx of non-Indians into the region was
inevitable and that a treaty between the tribes and the federal government offered the Indian people the best
protection against encroachment by newcomers. On June 9, 1855, the Walla Walla, Cayuse, and Umatilla
Treaty was signed. Similar agreements were also reached with the Nez Perces, the Middle Columbia tribes,
and the Yakamas.
In the treaty, the signing tribes ceded 6.4 million acres to the United States. In return, they were guaranteed
rights over the remaining territory. They also reserved the right to fish, hunt, and gather traditional foods in
“usual and customary” locations on the ceded lands. The federal government pledged to provide them with
schools, housing, health care, and various subsidies. Unfortunately, promotional materials that advertised
homesteading opportunities downplayed the Native American presence in the West.
Can you stop the waters of the Columbia river from
flowing on its course? Can you prevent the wind from blowing?
Can you prevent the rain from falling? Can you prevent the whites from coming? You are answered No!
Like the grasshoppers on the plains; some years there will be more come than others, you cannot stop them.
—Joel Palmer, Superintendent for the State of Oregon, June 2, 1855
The Fur Trade
In the nineteenth century, the already well-established American fur trade was transformed into a truly
transcontinental industry. Built on the abundant supply of fur-bearing animals in the Indian country, it also
relied on the diplomatic skill of the fur traders (Corps of Discovery veterans John Colter and George
Drouillard were among the pioneers of this burgeoning enterprise) and access to Native American labor.
But if the fur trade made John Jacob Astor America’s first millionaire, it brought profound changes to the
Indian country. The growth of commercial trading posts disrupted Native American economic
systems by encouraging Indian people to abandon their mixed economies of subsistence and trade, in favor
of a more purely cash economy. Worst of all, the outsiders also brought devastating new diseases to the
Indian country.
I have done everything that a red skin could do for them, and how have they repaid it! With ingratitude! …
I have been in many battles, and often wounded, but the wounds
of my enemies I exalt in, but today I am wounded, and by whom? By those same white Dogs that I have
always considered, and treated as Brothers. —Mato Tope (Four Bears), quoted by Francis Chardon
John James Audubon and John Bachman
“Beaver,” from Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America
New York: V.G. Audubon, 1846-1854
Newberry Library
In the first years of the nineteenth century, mountain men were amazed by the number of western beaver
they found, and delighted that the animal could be hunted year round. However, within a generation, the
beaver population was depleted by over-hunting, so hunters and traders turned to commercial buffalo
hunting to sustain themselves.
George Catlin
“Mah to toh pa (The Four Bears),” copied from Souvenir of the North American Indians As They
Were in the Middle of the 19th Century
Pencil on paper, 1852
Newberry Library
In the summer of 1837, American Fur Company trader Francis Chardon was working at Fort Clark, the post
adjacent to the earth lodge villages that Lewis and Clark had first visited in 1804. There, he witnessed a
devastating smallpox epidemic that swept through the Mandan settlements.
Chardon recorded the dying words of Mato Tope (Four Bears, 1795–1837), a popular Mandan leader who
had been a child when the Corps of Discovery wintered with his tribe. Although devastated by smallpox
and other diseases, the Mandans
reorganized their villages and lived on.
Unidentified Photographer
“Arikara Children: Susie Nagle and Mary Walker”
Fort Berthold Reservation, c.1890
Newberry Library
Native American communities often used family ties to create and strengthen relationships with outsiders.
As a result, relationships between Native women and European fur traders had long been a familiar feature
of Native life. As the number of fur traders multiplied in the West, the population of mixed-heritage
children also grew. These children were accepted in Indian communities, but were often scorned as “halfbreeds” by racially conscious whites. This photograph was taken at Fort Berthold, near the site of the
Mandan villages.
Miners
Gold (and other mineral resources) drew thousands of Americans into the Indian country. One of the most
traumatic gold rushes of the nineteenth century hit the Nez Perces in the early 1860s, when gold was
discovered on their reservation land, near where the Corps of Discovery had built canoes in the fall of
1805. The resulting invasion by miners, who were often unaware they were trespassing on tribal property,
set off disputes between the tribe and the miners. Furthermore, there were arguments within the tribe over
how best to respond to the crisis.
The story repeated itself in 1874, when Colonel George Armstrong Custer led an expedition through the
Black Hills to investigate rumors of gold. His report that indeed, there was gold, set off a rush to the hills.
This time, thousands of prospectors trespassed on Sioux reservation lands. In 1877, the tribe was forced to
cede the Black Hills to the United States.
Daniel W. Lowell & Co.
Map of the Nez Perces and Salmon River Gold Mines in Washington Territory.
Compiled from the Most Recent Surveys
San Francisco: Whitton, Waters & Co., 1862
Newberry Library
Published at the height of the Nez Perce gold
rush, this map showing the gold mines of the Washington Territory (now central Idaho) makes no mention
of the Nez Perces or the fact that the new mines were located on tribal land.
Edward S. Curtis
“[James] Lawyer” in
North American Indian Portfolio
Cambridge, MA: The University Press,
1907-1930
Newberry Library
Unwilling to force miners from tribal property, federal officials convened a treaty council in May 1863 and
pressured a group of Nez Perce chiefs to accept a 90 percent reduction of their homeland. A Nez Perce
tribal leader named “Lawyer” was strongly in favor of negotiating with the U.S. government. A direct
descendant of Twisted Hair (the man who had guided Lewis and Clark down the Columbia in 1805),
Lawyer also participated in the Walla Walla Treaty Council of 1855. When photographer Edward Curtis
visited the Nez Perces in 1905, he took this photograph of Lawyer’s son, James Lawyer (note the peace
medal he is wearing).
Unidentified Photographer
“General John Gibbon and Chief Joseph on the
Shore of Lake Chelan [Oregon] 1889”
Newberry Library
In June 1877, several Nez Perce leaders living outside the tribal
reservation began to resettle within its boundaries. At the same
time, a few young Nez Perces attacked some white settlers,
triggering military retaliation by the United States Army.
Six hundred Nez Perces fled across the Bitterroot Mountains
to Montana, trying to reach Canada, but most surrendered in
October, just short of their goal. Their spokesman was a leader
the whites called “Chief Joseph.”
Exiled to Indian Territory (in present-day Oklahoma) until
1885, Chief Joseph eventually returned to the Northwest, but
was forbidden from settling on the Nez Perce reservation.
In this 1889 photograph, he is shown seated with General
John Gibbon, one of his adversaries during the summer of 1877.
Ranchers
After the American Civil War, ranching attracted thousands of outsiders to the Indian country. These
newcomers quickly used up the available public lands, and urged federal authorities to permit them to graze
their herds on what they saw as unused Indian lands. Indian communities along the Lewis and Clark route
were particularly hard hit by these changes.
Some Native people, however, found that ranching offered an attractive way to make a living. The annual
cycle of ranching activities was not much different than the seasonal cycle around which traditional Indian
life was organized. Unfortunately, tribal ranching ventures did not have access to land beyond reservation
boundaries, or to bank loans and other financial support. As a result, successful Indian cattlemen could be
self-sufficient, but they were rarely able to compete with large non-Indian ranches, or influence national
cattle or land use policies.
Frank Linderman and Winold Reiss
“Plume” in Blackfeet Indians of Glacier Park
St. Paul, MN: Brown & Bigelow, 1940
Newberry Library
At the turn of the twentieth century, the Blackfeet sold a portion of their tribal land to finance the creation
of family cattle herds. Blackfeet ranchers fattened their livestock on hay they raised along streams running
east out of the Rocky Mountains and used the Great Northern Railway to ship their steers to markets in St.
Paul and Chicago. The ranchers were constantly threatened by weather and the shifting priorities of
reservation bureaucrats, but by 1900 the tribe had registered 500 brands, and the community’s herds totaled
more than five thousand head.
This portrait of Blackfeet rancher Plume reflects the modest prosperity that Indian cattlemen enjoyed in the
early years of the twentieth century. Painted by Winold Reiss, the portrait was part of a promotional packet
distributed by the Great Northern Railway.
Unidentified Photographer
“Cattle Ranching on the Ft. Berthold Reservation”
Courtesy of Minnesota Historical Society, Gilbert Wilson Photograph Collection
The U.S. Indian Office first issued cattle to Indians to raise for food, but in the 1890s federal officials
began encouraging the tribes to develop commercial herds as a way to generate jobs and cash. The Mandan,
Hidatsa, and Arikara families whose lands were combined to form the Fort Berthold reservation began
building such a herd in 1891. Within a decade, ranching became a major aspect of life there.
In winter, Indian ranchers kept the cattle close to their Missouri River homesteads, while in summer they
set the animals loose on the surrounding prairies. These photographs of the fall routine at Fort Berthold
show how quickly Indians
The “Americanization Campaign”
By 1900, Native Americans could no longer maintain their traditional ways of life. Tribal communities
faced constant disruption from new governments, new businesses, and new settlers. In an effort to help
tribes adapt to these conditions, government agents, teachers, and state-subsidized missionaries encouraged
Indians to purchase private property, convert to Christianity, and give up speaking their tribal languages.
U.S. authorities operated four types of schools for Indians: off-reservation boarding schools; reservation
boarding schools; day schools; and mission schools. The schools operated under rules issued by the Indian
School Service, a division of the Office of Indian Affairs. Some of these rules became excuses to suppress
all aspects of traditional culture; others were openly punitive.
Native Americans did not want to abandon their traditional lifeways, but they understood the necessity of
adapting to the changing world around them. Ironically, non-Indians considered Indian efforts to change
with the times a sign of weakness.
These schools should be conducted upon lines best adapted
to the development of character, and the formation of habits of
industrial thrift and moral responsibility, which will prepare
the pupil for the active responsibilities of citizenship.
—United States Office of Indian Affairs Rules for the Indian School Service
Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1898
Olin Dunbar Wheeler
“Day School at Independence”
1904
Newberry Library
Federal officials insisted that in order to become “civilized,” Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara families would
have to abandon their traditional riverfront villages and move into single-family households on individual
pieces of property. They also forced Indian families to send their children to schools where they would
learn English and vocational skills. This photograph, taken in 1904, shows a government school teacher, his
family and a group of his students gathered in front of a school building at Fort Berthold, near the site of
the Mandan villages visited by Lewis and Clark a century earlier.
“The members of the tribal council sign this contract with
heavy hearts. Right now, the future does not look so good to us.
Our Treaty of Fort Laramie made in 1851, our tribal
constitution, are being torn to shreds.”—George Gillette, May 20,1948
SECTION SIX
THE INDIAN COUNTRY TODAY
Today, Indian people living in the areas visited by Lewis and Clark belong to two nations. They are
American citizens who work, pay taxes and send their young people to serve in the military. At the same
time, they belong to tribal nations which are trying to sustain distinctive ways of life and are determined to
carry on the values and practices of their ancient cultures.
Indian communities are subject to the same pressures and problems facing all communities with high levels
of poverty. But they are being empowered by a new understanding of their history, traditions, and tribal
languages. Customs and values from the past are helping to guide tribal peoples as they decide for
themselves what it means to be Indian in the twenty-first century.
This section of the exhibition presents just a few of the ways in which Native communities are working
successfully to defend, rebuild and sustain the Indian country.
Who am I?
Am I the person of my past
Am I the person who is lost
Who am I?
I hear tales of my ancestors
I feel my chest fill with pride
Knowing where I am from
But . . .
I can never live as they did
So my past is my past
Who am I? . . .
Excerpted from “Who Am I?”
by Roger D. White Owl (Mandan/Hidatsa),
first published in /Tribal College Student/,
Fort Berthold Community College, Summer 1999
Used with permission from the author
Environmental Issues
In the summer of 1855, American Indian tribes living along the Columbia River ceded millions of acres of
tribal land to the United States. In exchange, they received secure titles to reservations where they could
live undisturbed. They also reserved the right to continue traditional practices (such as fishing, food
gathering, and religious ceremonies) in the “usual and customary” areas outside the
reservation boundaries.
Since that time, the region has suffered serious environmental
degradation. Today, the tribes that signed the 1855 Treaty are actively involved in protecting and restoring
these damaged areas. They regard it as their inherited responsibility to care for the natural resources that are
so central to their traditions and identity.
Unidentified Photographer
“Members of the Colville Tribe at Kettle Falls,
on the Columbia River during the Ceremony
of Tears, 1940”
Courtesy of the Northwest Museum of Art
and Culture, Spokane
The Columbia River tribes performed the Ceremony
of Tears to commemorate the salmon and the salmon
habitat to be lost when the area was flooded by the
construction of the Grand Coulee Damn
Above
Columbia River
Inter-Tribal Fish Commission Logo
The tribes living within the Columbia River watershed recognize that environmental restoration and
protection is a regional issue best addressed cooperatively. In 1977, the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish
Commission (CRITFC) was formed to coordinate the fish management policies of four of the Columbia
River treaty nations: the Umatilla, Nez Perce, Warm Springs, and Yakama.
“Wildlife Mitigation Agreement for Dworshak Dam,
Bonneville Power Administration, State of Idaho, 1992”
“Memorandum of Agreement between the United States
Fish and Wildlife Service and the Nez Perce Tribe and
for Joint Management of the Dworshak National Fish
Hatchery, 2005”
“Memorandum of Agreement between the State of Idaho
and the Nez Perce Tribe Concerning Coordination of
Wolf Conservation and Related Activities in Idaho, 2005”
Eight years after the Walla Walla treaty was ratified in 1855, the Nez
Perces agreed to reduce the size of their reservation, but they did not
abandon their sense of responsibility for their original homeland.
The Nez Perce Tribe has entered into numerous agreements with
state and federal agencies which focus on environmental issues
affecting the traditional tribal lands outside present reservation
boundaries. Together with these non-Indian agencies, the Nez Perce
tribe develops environmental protection, restoration, and management
plans. The agencies then contract with the tribe to complete the
work outlined in the plans.
Informational Brochures from the Nez Perce Tribe
Land Services Program; BioControl Center; and Environmental Restoration and Waste
Management (ERWM), ca. 1996-2003
The Nez Perce Department of Natural Resources develops and manages a variety of environmental
protection and restoration programs, including programs for wildlife protection, watershed restoration,
sustainable agriculture, environmental and waste management, conservation, air quality monitoring, and
forest management.
“Does the earth know what is happening to her?
Does the earth know that these lines are being drawn across it?
Who is going to speak for the earth?”
—Otis Half Moon (Nez Perce), quoting a tribal elder who signed the 1855 treaty with the United States
Retaining Traditions
Throughout the Indian country, the U. S. government used
federally-regulated schools to suppress traditional Indian ways, and turn Indian people into “real”
Americans. Today, Native Americans are using Indian-run schools to revitalize their communities.
Community-controlled grade schools, high schools, and tribal colleges are finding innovative new ways to
bringthe study of Native American history and traditional cultural practices into the classroom. As they
learn more about themselves, these young people are being empowered to determine the direction of the
Indian country in the twenty-first century.
Fort Berthold Community College
New Town, ND
Fort Berthold Community College, founded in 1973, serves the Three Affiliated Tribes (Mandan, Hidatsa,
and Arikara) of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation. The college awards associate degrees in traditional
academic subjects, provides teacher training, and offers vocational certification. FBCC has also taken a
leading role in efforts to preserve cultural traditions by offering courses, encouraging local artists and
writers, and providing an institutional home for cultural preservation activities.
Student at Nizipuhwahsin “Real Speak” School
Browning, MT: 2000-2004
Nizipuhwahsin is a language immersion school, meaning that all instruction takes place in Blackfeet. The
curriculum at the school integrates traditional academic subjects with specialized language training. It was
designed by staff
of the Piegan Institute, and conforms to Montana state education guidelines for kindergarten through the
eighth grade. Students who have graduated from Nizipuhwahsin have gone on to achieve significant
academic success in high school.
Student work from Nizipuhwahsin
“Real Speak” School
Browning, MT: ca. 2004
Piegan Institute Informational Brochure
Browning, MT: ca. 2000
The Piegan Institute was founded in 1987 to promote the study of the Blackfeet language and develop
programs for reviving its use. Its most innovative program is Nizipuhwahsin “Real Speak” School,
a Blackfeet language immersion school serving students through the eighth grade. Today, only three
percent of all Blackfeet—mostly elders—are fluent speakers of their language. The goal of Nizipuhwahsin
is to create a new generation of speakers.
The Piegan Institute is part of a larger international movement to preserve and revive indigenous languages.
Staff from the institute often consult with staff from other similar organizations.
Preparing for the Tricentennial
“Will we still believe in our distinctive Indian identities?”
—Frederick Baker (Mandan-Hidatsa)
“Will the United States continue to uphold our
treaties so that we can continue to celebrate the gift of salmon?”
—Marjorie Waheneka (Cayuse/Palouse/Warm Springs)
“Will we speak our tribal languages?”
—Darrell Kipp (Blackfeet)
“Will all Americans join us as we speak on behalf of the earth?”
—Otis Half Moon (Nez Perce)
“Will Indian art forms continue to
inspire both Native Americans and others?”
—Pat Courtney Gold (Wasco-Wishram)
CREDITS
Lewis & Clark and the Indian Country: Two Hundred Years of American History
was originally organized by the Newberry Library, Chicago, Illinois.
The traveling exhibition, organized in partnership with the American Library Association, is made possible
in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: great ideas brought to life.
Additional support comes from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
At the Newberry, the exhibition was supported by grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The Sara Lee Foundation was the Lead Corporate Sponsor of the exhibition.
Major underwriting has been generously contributed by Ruth C. Ruggles.
Additional support for the exhibition and related public programming was received from the University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the National Park Service’s Lewis and Clark Challenge Cost Share grant
program.
Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this exhibit do not necessarily reflect
those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Many people have contributed to the success of this project, and deserve our sincere appreciation.
Curator: Frederick E. Hoxie, Swanlund Professor of History, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Project Director: Riva Feshbach, Newberry Library
Project Consultants:
Frederick Baker (Mandan and Hidatsa), Fort Berthold Community College
Loretta Fowler, University of Oklahoma
Pat Courtney Gold (Wasco-Wishram), Independent Artist
Otis Halfmoon (Nez Perce), National Park Service
Darrell Robes Kipp (Blackfeet), Piegan Institute
Rosalyn LaPier (Blackfeet/Metis), Piegan Institute
Jacki Thompson Rand (Choctaw), University of Iowa
James Ronda, University of Tulsa
Marjorie Waheneka (Cayuse/Palouse/Warm Springs), Tamástslikt Institute
Photography: Catherine Gass, Newberry Library;
Landscape photography by Richard Mack, from The Lewis & Clark Trail: American Landscapes,
Quiet Light Publishing, Evanston, IL, 2004.
Exhibition Tour Coordination: American Library Association, Public Programs Office, Chicago, Illinois
Exhibition Design: Chester Design Associates, Washington, DC and Chicago
Indian Voices and the Lewis & Clark and the Indian Country Web site (www.newberry.org/lewisandclark)
were produced under the direction of Sally Thompson, University of Montana.