Chief Joseph and the Potatoes

[Pegasus]

I've been reading portions of two books about the Nez Perce. The quote below is from the book, "Feasting and Fasting with Lewis & Clark: A Food and Social History of the Early 1800s" by Leandra Zim Holland and published by Farcountry Press. It's in Part One: Food Culture of the Times, in section titled Native Relations - Food, Hospitality, and Diplomacy.

One of the more overlooked aspects of Anglo-American and native relations is the dependence of the newcomers (be they initially from Europe or later from the East Coast) on the local people for food. When John Smith, a soldier of fortune, claimed a peninsula on the James River in 1607 and founded Jamestown, it was only a short time before the colonists were relying on the Powhatan tribe for food. The newly arrived eaters needed help - is this plant edible or poisonous? This same reliance on native wisdom repeats itself when Lewis forbids his men to pick the staple root camas and tells them to trade only with the Nez Perce, who knew which camas was safe (the one with the blue flower) and which was deadly (the white flower). After all, if the plant has gone to seed, and the flower disappears, which is which? The Indians have both gathering and hunting wisdom. The Expedition follows the model of their Virginia predecessors, relying on local tribes for information and often sustenance.

http://books.google.com/books?id=h0CTmZ_kwQAC

The other book I've been reading is "Or Perish in the Attempt" by David J. Peck, also published by Farcountry Press.

http://books.google.com/books?id=bxy-aqWqILwC

There's a lot about the Nez Perce here:

http://books.google.com/books?id=bxy...sult#PPA206,M1

If you look over on the right-hand side of the page, Search results for 'Nez Perce', you'll find other references with the page numbers. You can use any search words you want in the text box, "Search in this book" and click on "Go." You need to perform a new search in order for the page numbers to appear. Just type in Nez Perce or any words in the text box.

http://books.google.com/books?id=bxy...um=4&ct=result

I was amazed to find how many books are written about Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b?...s=Chief+Joseph
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b?...ords=Nez+Perce

[Pegasus]

This is a striking photo of Chief Joseph.



http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/reso...ight/68_03.htm

[Pegasus]

Originally Posted by Epiphany

Here is a sad, eye-opening article written by Mary Christina Wood, an Oregon law professor. The end of the article explains her family's personal connection with Chief Joseph. I wonder if this disgusting subdivision was ever built. I hope not.
http://www.nezperce.org/~oldchiefjoseph/Mary%20Wood%20article.htm

Here is more about her:
http://www.law.uoregon.edu/faculty/mwood/

Even more interesting, written by a Nez Perce descendant, about Mary and her family. Lots of great pictures on this page:
http://www.historycooperative.org/jo...1/liberty.html

Close up picture of Old Chief Joseph's grave (father), the area where the subdivision was planned: http://365daysuntillove.files.wordpr...010008_011.jpg
If you magnify it, you can see the braid of sweetgrass hanging in the tree over the grave. Sweetgrass and white sage bundles were used as incense in sacred Native American ceremonies.

So where did Norma go?

I found another picture of the Chief Joseph Monument. Actually, I think that the photo that Epiphany is a better one in some ways because more sunlight is shining on the monument.


Chief Joseph Monument

http://www.sos.state.or.us/archives/...cwallowa49.htm

Nez Perce National Historic Trail

Existing Interpretive Resources
SITE: Chief Joseph Monument (Old Chief Joseph Cemetery)
LOCATION: OR 82, north of Wallowa Lake and one mile south of Joseph, OR
DESCRIPTION: A small sign on OR 82 directs visitors to "Chief Joseph Monument"
SUBJECT/TITLE: Cemetery site itself does not have an interpretive sign
OWNER: Nez Perce Tribe of Idaho and Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, and managed by the National Park Service
Notes: This highly visited and visible site on the shore of Wallowa Lake is an Indian cemetery which contains the grave of Old Chief Joseph (the officially designated stated of the Nez Perce NHT). Deeded to the federal government as trust land in the late 1920s by a local irrigation consortium, the site was originally intended to serve as a marked cemetery for the reinterrment of Native American remains disturbed by agriculture throughout Wallowa County. In 1928, the remains of Old Chief Joseph were reinterred at the cemetery. The site received a major renovation in the late 1930s and early '40s by a Umatilla Tribe Civilian Conservation Corps group. The resulting improvements, now historic structures, included a rock wall fronting today's OR 82, fencing, irrigation, landscaping, and miscellaneous rock structures. A dedication held in 1940 was widely attended by dignitaries and citizens from across the state. Following this period of intense activity, the site once again fell into federal neglect until it was included in the Nez Perce National Historic Park in 1992.

SITE: Old Joseph Cemetery
LOCATION: OR 82, north of Wallowa Lake and one mile south of Joseph, OR
DESCRIPTION: Historic markers
SUBJECT/TITLE: Oregon Geology, Wallowa Lake (a brief explanation of the formation of Wallowa Lake and the adjacent glacial moraine)/Oregon History, National Indian Cemetery (explains the use of the cemetery by the Nez Perce and Umatilla Tribes)
OWNER: Travel Information Council

http://www.historicoregoncity.org/HO...27&I temid=75