Land area
Land of the Nez Percé in Idaho, Oregon and Washington, ceded 1863 (area 441)
- 1855
Set aside as a reservation
- 1863
Ceded to the United States
In the record
Kept by the Nez Percé as a large reserve in Idaho, Oregon and Washington in 1855, then given up in the 1863 treaty, except a smaller new reserve. The area covers about 6.6 million acres in what is now Idaho, Oregon and Washington.
The 1899 record names Nez Perce (Nimiipuu) as the people of this land.
How it was taken: a treaty made under documented pressure. The National Park Service describes a treaty signed by pro-treaty headmen that the government treated as binding on non-treaty bands, who disputed it, amid miner pressure on the reservation.
Today, Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation and Nez Perce Tribe carry the history of the people named here.
Written from the records linked here; open any of them for its sources.
Shapes come from C. C. Royce’s 1899 maps as georeferenced by the US Forest Service. They are approximate and are not legal descriptions of land. Royce recorded land the United States treated as ceded; the shape does not show a nation’s territory.
Who is doing the work
This history belongs to living nations. Start with them:
Land return and Native-led work nearby
- Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians Nation government Rocky Shores parcel near Yachats (about 7 acres, purchase pending as of Oct 2026)
- Puyallup Tribe of Indians Nation government 1989 Land Claims Settlement (about $162-163M)
- Potlatch Fund Native-led Native philanthropy and grantmaking to Native individuals and Native-led organizations Give on their site Website
- Indigenous Land Relationship Fund (Oregon Land Justice Project / Coalition of Oregon Land Trusts), allied host Native-led Funds Indigenous-led projects to reclaim and reconnect to land and First Foods in Oregon Give on their site Website
Native legal and land defense, nationally
- Native American Rights Fund (NARF) Native-led Litigation and legal advocacy for tribal sovereignty, treaty rights, land and resources Give on their site Website
- NDN Collective (LANDBACK Campaign) Native-led LANDBACK campaign (launched 2020; Mount Rushmore closure and return of Black Hills public lands), Indigenous… Give on their site Website
- Indian Land Tenure Foundation (ILTF) Native-led Land recovery and control by tribes and individual Indian landowners Website
- Decolonizing Wealth Project (Indigenous Earth Fund; California Tribal Land Return) Native-led Reparative philanthropy Give on their site Website
Gifts go straight to each organization; this atlas takes nothing. Listing is not endorsement: how organizations are listed.
Connections
Links marked “suggested” were matched automatically by name or date and have not yet been reviewed by a person.
Located in 3
Nations named for this land 2
- Nez Perce (Nimiipuu)as named in the 1899 recordsuggested
- Nez Perce Tribematched by the Forest Service, under reviewsuggested
Agreements recorded for this land 2
- Nez Perce Treaty of 18551855suggested
- Nez Perce Treaty of 18631863suggested
Sources
- Royce, Indian Land Cessions (1899), Schedule entry dated 1855-06-11primary record
- Kappler, Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties, text for 1855-06-11primary record
- Royce, Indian Land Cessions (1899), Schedule entry dated 1863-06-09primary record
- Kappler, Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties, text for 1863-06-09primary record
- Royce’s map sheet: Idaho (Library of Congress)primary record
- Royce’s map sheet: Oregon 1 (Library of Congress)primary record
- Royce’s map sheet: Washington 1 (Library of Congress)primary record
- USDA Forest Service, Tribal Lands Ceded to the United States (digitized Royce maps)reference work
The record’s fields
- Area number in the 1899 record
- 441
- Dates in the 1899 record
- 1855-06-11; 1863-06-09
- Kind of instrument
- Treaty or agreement
- Peoples as named in the 1899 record
- Nez Percé
- States
- ID; OR; WA
- Counties
- Adams; Asotin; Baker; Clearwater; Columbia; Garfield; Idaho; Latah; Lewis; Nez Perce; Union; Valley; Wallowa; Whitman
- Map sheets in the 1899 record
- Idaho; Oregon 1; Washington 1
- Geometry
- Approximate shape from Royce’s 1899 maps
Research notes
geometry_role is 'cession' for every USFS feature: no field in the source distinguishes cessions from reservations.
- Kind
- Land area
- Confidence
- Medium