Land area
Land of the Nez Percé in Idaho, ceded 1894 (area 442)
- 1855
Set aside as a reservation
- 1863
Set aside as a reservation
- 1894
Ceded to the United States
The 1899 record: “Confirms agreement with these Indians made May 1, 1893, by which they cede to the U. S. all their title and interest in the unallotted lands of their reservation in Idaho”
In the record
Kept by the Nez Percé as their smaller reserve in 1863; the land not allotted to individuals was ceded in a May 1893 agreement that Congress confirmed in 1894. The area covers about 825 thousand acres in what is now Idaho.
The 1899 record names Nez Perce (Nimiipuu) as the people of this land.
How it was taken: a treaty made under documented pressure. HistoryLink says Stevens used promised gifts and threats of force, and refused the Indians' request for a delay.
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
- Potlatch Fund Native-led Native philanthropy and grantmaking to Native individuals and Native-led organizations 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.
Nations named for this land 2, matched by the Forest Service, under review
- Nez Perce (Nimiipuu)suggested
- Nez Perce Tribesuggested
Agreements recorded for this land 2
- Nez Perce Treaty of 18551855suggested
- Nez Perce Treaty of 18631863suggested
Located in 1
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, Indian Land Cessions (1899), Schedule entry dated 1894-08-15primary record
- Royce’s map sheet: Idaho (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
- 442
- Dates in the 1899 record
- 1855-06-11; 1863-06-09; 1894-08-15
- Kind of instrument
- Treaty or agreement
- Peoples as named in the 1899 record
- Nez Percé
- States
- ID
- Counties
- Clearwater; Idaho; Lewis; Nez Perce
- Map sheets in the 1899 record
- Idaho
- 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