Land area
Land of the Nez Percé in Oregon and Washington, ceded 1875 (area 545)
- 1873
Set aside as a reservation
The 1899 record: “President sets apart reservation at Wallowa valley for roaming Nez Percee”
- 1875
Taken back by the United States
The 1899 record: “President restores to public domain Wallowa Valley reservation, set apart by Executive order of June 16, 1873”
In the record
Set apart in the Wallowa Valley for the Nez Percé by executive order in 1873, then returned to the public domain in 1875. The area covers about 1.2 million acres in what is now Oregon and Washington.
The 1899 record names Nez Perce (Nimiipuu) as the people of this land.
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)
- 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
- Na'ah Illahee Fund Native-led Indigenous-led regranting for Land Back (building on E'lip Tilikum Land Conservancy), land and water protection,… 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
Located in 2
Sources
- Royce, Indian Land Cessions (1899), Schedule entry dated 1873-06-16primary record
- Royce, Indian Land Cessions (1899), Schedule entry dated 1875-06-10primary record
- Royce’s map sheet: Oregon 2 (Library of Congress)primary record
- Royce’s map sheet: Washington 2 (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
- 545
- Dates in the 1899 record
- 1873-06-16; 1875-06-10
- Kind of instrument
- Executive order
- Peoples as named in the 1899 record
- Nez Percé
- States
- OR; WA
- Counties
- Asotin; Wallowa
- Map sheets in the 1899 record
- Oregon 2; Washington 2
- 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