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Nation

Nez Perce Tribe

Not yet reviewed by this nation. What follows comes from public records and research. It does not speak for the nation.

Official name
Nez Perce Tribe
Recorded status
Listed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (91 FR 4102, January 30, 2026)

In the record

This nation carries the history of Nez Perce (Nimiipuu) in the treaty record.

Written from the records linked here; open any of them for its sources. This is what the United States’ treaty record says, not the nation’s own account.

Treaty or agreementTreaty under documented pressureAct of CongressExecutive orderShapes from the 1899 federal record: approximate, not legal boundaries.

The record over time

178018001850190019502000todayTreatiesNez Perce Treaty of 1855 (1855)Lame Bull Treaty (Blackfeet), 1855 (1855)Nez Perce Treaty of 1863 (1863)Nez Perce Treaty (1868 amendatory), last ratified treaty (1868)Land takenLand of the Nez Percé in Washington, ceded 1855 (area 366) (1855)Land of the Nez Percè, Blackfoot and Flathead Nations in Montana, recorded 1851 (area 399) (1851)Land of the Nez Percé in Idaho, Oregon and Washington, ceded 1863 (area 441) (1863)Land of the Nez Percé in Idaho, ceded 1894 (area 442) (1894)Land of the Nez Percé in Oregon and Washington, ceded 1875 (area 545) (1875)Land of the Nez Percé (Joseph's band) in Oklahoma, ceded 1893 (area 606) (1893)Land of the Nez Percé (Moses' band) in Washington, ceded 1883 (area 618) (1883)Land of the Nez Percé (Moses' band) in Washington, ceded 1883 (area 642) (1883)Land of the Nez Percé (Moses' band) in Washington, recorded 1879 (area 659) (1879)Promises brokenNez Perce: the 1855 reservation, the 1863 'thief treaty,' and 1877 (1863)In courtSohappy v. Smith (Belloni decision) (1969)

Circles are land the United States recorded as ceded, sized by acres and colored by how it was taken. Bars are treaties, broken promises, court cases and land returns.

Land recorded as ceded

This nation carries the history of peoples named in Royce’s schedule. Their record:

Nez Perce (Nimiipuu) About 29 million acres recorded as ceded by the end of 1894
  • Treaty or agreement13 million
  • Treaty under documented pressure14 million
  • Act of Congress100 thousand
  • Executive order2 million

Estimate from Royce’s maps; overlapping cessions counted once. Not a survey or legal measure.

9 cessions. Follow Nez Perce (Nimiipuu) through the years on the map

Who is doing the work

Native legal and land defense, nationally

Gifts go straight to each organization; this atlas takes nothing. Listing is not endorsement: how organizations are listed.

Connections

These links were matched automatically by name or date and have not yet been reviewed by a person.

Land recorded in this nation’s name 9, matched by the Forest Service, under review

Carries the treaty history of 1

Sources

  1. nezperce.org/about/history/unclassified
    Later, treaties with the federal government preserved the tribe’s status as a sovereign nation within the United States.
  2. Indian Entities Recognized by and Eligible To Receive Services From the BIA, 91 FR 4102 (Jan. 30, 2026)primary record
    Listed in 91 FR 4102 (Jan. 30, 2026).
Kind
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Confidence
High
Nation review
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