Elder talks about the history, importance of Nez Perce flight

The Blaine County Museum Saturday hosted Nez Perce elder LeRoy Seth and Montana artist Terry Ball to talk about the importance of the Nez Perce Flight of 1877 which ended with the Battle of Bear Paw in what is now Blaine County.

The event was in conjunction with this year's Sugarbeet Festival and was called "Hear Me, My Chiefs," which is also the name of a limited edition Pendleton blanket Ball designed commemorating the event, which part of the talk was about.

Over 80 people were in attendance filling the conference room of the Blaine County Library where the talk was held and blankets were raffled off.

Normally, that first Saturday in October would be the day the battle is commemorated by the Nez Perce, but the event that would normally be held at the battlefield itself was canceled this year due to COVID-19.

After a brief introduction by Museum Director Samantha French and Ball, with Ball saying proceeds from the blankets being raffled off at the event would go to the Nez Perce Boys & Girls Club, Seth began a presentation about the flight, its battles and the Nez Perce.

He said that final battle and the surrender of Chief Joseph that followed are fairly well-known historical events, but the flight itself was made up of many battles from Salmon River to Yellowstone to the Bear Paw Battlefield.

Seth said he and his cousin have taught college courses on the flight, wanting to teach students not just about the events, but about the Nez Perce people, and in that respect the Battle of the Big Hole was very important.

"We wanted them to understand the humanity and inhumanity of the things that were done," he said.

Seth said Nez Perce warriors, one of whom, Peo Peo Tho-lekt, Seth is a direct decendent of, were always told by their leaders never to harm non-combatants, especially the elderly and children, but that philosophy was not held or practiced by the U.S. Army on that day.

He said the Army, frustrated by a series of defeats at the hands of the Nez Perce despite significantly outnumbering them, took them by surprise that day, shooting low into the teepees or setting fire to them, killing many non-combatants in an effort to wipe them out completely.

He said the Nez Perce were able to drive the Army off, but this genocidal zeal by the army took its toll on them.

During the questions section of the talk a professor from Aaniiih Nakoda College asked Seth why so many of the events that took place along the Nez Perce's path were called "skirmishes," or "incidents," given that so many were simply the sites of war crimes on the part of the U.S. Army.

Seth said he didn't write the history books and suggested that if he had the terminology used may be a bit different.

By the end of the war, Seth said, as the Nez Perce reached what would become Bear Paw Battlefield, the cold was setting in and ammunition was low, and though the Nez Perce won many battles, often against great odds, they were eventually defeated.

He said some, including his ancestor Peo Peo Tho-lekt, managed to flee to Canada, but the war ended with the famous surrender of Cheif Joseph.

He said the military put a price on the head of those who fled, but they found refuge with the Sioux, a tribe the Nez Perce were often in conflict with but then united with in opposition to the Army which they disliked far more.

Ultimately, Seth said, despite everything that happened, the Nez Perce endured.

"I don't think we lost the war because we're still here," he said.

Peo Peo Tho-lekt would later return and help historians piece the story of the battle back together, Ball said, and that history would live on.

Ball said the story of the flight was something he always found compelling and he remembers the profound feelings he experienced standing on those battlefields, especially the spot where Chief Looking Glass was killed.

His Pendleton blanket "Hear Me, My Chiefs" was designed to commemorate the flight and he collaborated with Seth and other Nez Perce elders during its design to make certain it was culturally appropriate.

He said he and Seth have since become friends and he's happy to be able to raffle off some of his blankets for a good cause.

Blaine County Commissioner Delores Plumage, who attended the talk, said she's known Seth for many years and said she's glad they had an opportunity to have him speak.

Plumage, who represents Fort Belknap, said its important for people to understand that for Native Americans something as long ago as the Nez Perce Flight seems like yesterday in their cultural memory and remembering these events is very important for everyone.

She thanked French and the museum for hosting the event and said she hopes the museum will see increased involvement from the community.

"We need to have a vision for out children and grandchildren about what story we're going to tell them about Blaine County," she said.