by Rich Wandschneider | Apr 12, 2026 | Colville Reservation, Colville tribes, Indian religion, Indian Relocation, Indian removal, Indian survival, Indian Territory, Josephy Library, Nespelem, Nex Perce history, Nez Perce War, Treaty of 1855, walwa’ma
When we arrived at the Head Start building that is now used by the walwa ma Nez Perce for Longhouse services, an elder I have known for over thirty years came to say hello and remind me again that the distance from Joseph to Nespelem is the same as that from Nespelem...
by Rich Wandschneider | Apr 7, 2026 | Chief Joseph, Indigenous cuisine, Iran, Joseph Band, Nespelem, Nez Perce
I woke up this morning with a pit in my stomach, an ache for my friends, family, country, and indeed the world. And this after a wonderful weekend in Nespelem, Washington at a First Foods Feast with the walwa ma—sometimes called the “Joseph”—band of the Nez Perce...
by Rich Wandschneider | Dec 31, 2025 | Manifest Destiny, Marcus Whitman, Native Americans, Nespelem, Nex Perce history, Nez Perce
President Trump’s recent outbursts about Somali-Americans and their homeland being “garbage” have been the most xenophobic rants since those a year ago about Haitians eating pets in Illinois. There have been milder explosions about Venezuelans and South Africans and...
by Rich Wandschneider | Oct 13, 2025 | C.E.S. Wood, Chief Joseph, Erskine Wood, Mardi Wood, Nespelem, Nez Perce, O.O. Howard, Thunder in the Mountains
And what a crowd! Many the descendants of the legendary C.E.S. Wood. Readers of Nez Perce history might remember that C.E.S. was aide-de-camp to General O.O. Howard in the Nez Perce War of 1877, and is credited with taking down Chief Joseph’s speech at war’s end at...
by Rich Wandschneider | Jul 4, 2025 | 4th of July, Albert Andrews, Code of Indian Offenses, Colville Reservation, Indian assimilation, Indian boarding schools, Indian Offenses, Nespelem, Nex Perce history, Nez Perce, Nez Perce Homeland, Nez Perce Wallowa Homeland, Nez Perce War, Nezpercians
Years ago, Albert Red Star Andrews of the Joseph Band of Nez Perce on the Colville Reseravtion in north central Washington, told me about a unique Fourth of July event on his reservation. It was called Pasapalloynin, meaning “to make them rejoice, to make them happy!”...
by Rich Wandschneider | Jan 15, 2023 | Hamalainen, Jamelle Bouie, martin luther king, Nespelem, Nez Perce
Tomorrow, Monday, is Martin Luther King Day, and I’ve just begun reading Pekka Hamalainen’s new book, Indigenous Continent. It strikes me already that King’s dreams and the Indigenous philosophy as described by Hamalainen share underlying themes: unity, harmony,...
