by Rich Wandschneider | Feb 17, 2026 | Ellen Bishop, Imnaha, Indian history, Indian treaties, Lewis and Clark, Minam, Nex Perce history, Nez Perce, Nez Perce Homeland, Nez Perce treaty, Nez Perce Tribe, Wallowa Country, Wallowa County, Wallowa History Center, wallowa homeland, Wallowa Lake, Wallowas
Wondering what it must have been like has been a growing yearning as I’ve lived in this Wallowa Country for 54 years and met old-timers, history keepers, and Natives from the three reservations in Idaho, Washington, and Oregon that have stories and questions about...
by Rich Wandschneider | Sep 26, 2025 | Alvin Josephy, Indian reservations, Indian survival, Indian treaties, Indian wars, Indians and salmon, Nez Perce Homeland, Nez Perce treaty, Nez Perce Tribe, Nez Perce Wallowa Homeland, Nez Perce War, Nezpercians, Old Joseph, Oregon, Oregon history, Oregon Trail, Oregon tribes
On Monday, September 29 at the State Capitol in Salem, the Josephy Center’s “Nez Perce in Oregon, Removal and Return” exhibit will open for a month-long run with a 4:00 p.m. reception. It’s been a long and wonderful journey! About four years ago, a call went out from...
by Rich Wandschneider | Sep 23, 2025 | Chief Joseph, Nez Perce, Nez Perce Homeland, Nez Perce treaty, Nez Perce Wallowa Homeland, Wallowa, Wallowa Country, Wallowa County, Wallowa Lake
Last week on Wednesday I got up early, looked at Wallowa Lake’s east moraine and the mountain to the west now called Mount Joseph, and hit the road for an appointment in La Grande. It was a gorgeous day, bright, green with first tinges of browns and yellows. Light...
by Rich Wandschneider | Apr 26, 2025 | Chief Joseph, Colville Reservation, Colville tribes, First Foods, Indian religion, Nex Perce history, Nez Perce, Nez Perce Homeland, Nez Perce treaty, Nez Perce Tribe, Nez Perce Wallowa Homeland, Nez Perce War
Last weekend four of us from Wallowa County made the long highway drive to Nespelem, Washington for the annual Nez Perce root feast. After a service of drumming, singing and testimony, we sat for a huge feast of “first foods.” Wild foods from water and salmon through...
by Rich Wandschneider | Feb 13, 2025 | Alvin Josephy, Arab, Arab-Israeli War, Dawes Act, Diane Josephy Peavey, Donald Trump, Gaza, Indian land tenure, Netanyahu, Nez Perce treaty, Nez Perce Tribe, Tamastslikt, Umatilla, Umatilla Confederated Tribes, umatilla reservation, Walla Walla Indians, Walla walla treaty
My friend, Diane Josephy Peavey, has made several trips to Palestine over the last 20 years. She had it in mind years ago to write a book comparing the plight of the Palestinian Arabs (her hosts were most often Christian Arabs) to that of American Indians. It would...
by Rich Wandschneider | Dec 3, 2024 | Nez Perce, Nez Perce treaty, Uncategorized
Writing this blog is one of my favorite parts of working at the Josephy Center. Who gets to shout out about new things learned, old injustices exposed; about the resilience of the Native American people! And do you know that a 2021 blog post called “How much is a...
