Nez Perce flight commemorated by speakers Saturday

The Blaine County Museum will be holding "Hear Me, My Chiefs," a special talk by Nez Perce elder LeRoy Seth and Montana Artist Terry Ball Saturday in the Blaine County Library to commemorate the Nez Perce Flight of 1877.

Blaine County Museum Director Samantha French said the talk was originally meant to coincide with the commemoration usually held at Bear Paw Battlefield by Nez Perce Tribe members, but that was canceled due to the rising COVID-19 numbers.

French said Seth is a talented speaker and descendant of a veteran of the flight, and she's excited to finally be able to meet him in person as he talks about the history of the flight, its aftermath and its significance.

"By all accounts LeRoy is a very gifted story teller with a great sense of humor," she said.

She said the Nez Perce Flight, which culminated in Chief Joseph's surrender at the Bear Paw Battlefield in 1877, is extremely important not just to local history but American history, as it marked the end of the Indian Wars, though it certainly wouldn't be the end of violence experienced by the tribes.

French said Seth is a meaningful speaker to talk about the history of the place because his grandfather Peo Peo Tho-lekt is one of the reasons so much about that final battle is known.

She said he was a member of Chief Looking Glass' band who managed to escape to Canada, but later returned in the Bear Paws in the 1920s to help historian L.V. McWhorter document the battle, identifying the sites like that of his chief's death, and Chief Joseph's surrender.

"It's one of the reasons why we know what we know about Bear Paw Battlefield today," French said.

She said Seth himself was raised with his native language and has an incredible amount of cultural knowledge he can share.

French said she's been the director of the museum for around two years and since then has learned a great deal about the flight, and wanted to do something in town to coincide with the commemoration at the battlefield, which she found inspiring when she first saw it.

She said she had originally planed to have the event last year using a $1,000 Humanities Montana Opportunity Grant, but had to cancel for COVID-19.

However, she said, the museum will be able to host the event this year, which she's thrilled about.

"We're really excited to be doing something in the community to commemorate that historic event," she said.

French said, despite the importance of the events that took place there, the Bear Paw Battlefield is not nearly as well-traveled as it should be, and while many people may recognize Chief Joseph's famous words "I will fight no more forever," many don't know much about the historical context of those words, and she wants to help change that.

"We overlook it a lot, which I think is unfortunate," she said.

French said the talk will also feature Montana Artist Terry Ball, who will be talking about a blanket he designed, which Saturday's event is named after, to commemorate the flight.

She said Ball was a Pendleton blanket salesman for 40 years and after his retirement decided to design one of his own.

Ball was interested in the story of the Nez Perce and their flight and wanted to design the blanket to commemorate it, so he got in touch with Seth and another Nez Perce elder, Silas Whitman, to help make sure the design was culturally appropriate.

She said over the course of their collaboration Ball and Seth became close and when the former called the museum asking if he could sell some of the blankets there, and potentially come up to do a presentation on them and what they're commemorating she thought it was a great opportunity.

The event is free and will be held at the Blaine County Library Conference room at 2 p.m. Saturday where they will raffle off one of Ball's limited edition "Hear Me, My Chiefs" blankets with tickets costing $10.

She said these tickets will be on sale in advance of the event and will raise funds for the Nez Perce Tribe's Boys & Girls Club.

Two donated Chief Joseph blankets, will also be raffled off for $5 per ticket, but only event attendees can win those.

French encouraged unvaccinated people to wear masks to the event.

With the delta-driven COVID-19 surge in the state, which includes recent deaths in this area, officials are urging people to take steps to slow the spread of the virus that causes the disease.

People who feel ill and unvaccinated people who have been exposed to the virus should stay at home and vaccinated people who have been exposed to the virus should be tested within three to five days of exposure, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends.

People are urged to wear masks and socially distance when out in public.

And everyone who has not is urged to get vaccinated as soon as possible.