Violation
Nez Perce: the 1855 reservation, the 1863 'thief treaty,' and 1877
Not yet reviewed by this nation. What follows comes from public records and research. It does not speak for the nation.
An 1855 treaty gave the Nez Perce a large reservation; an 1863 treaty signed by some leaders shrank it, over others' objections.
- Treaty
- Treaty with the Nez Perce (1855), 12 Stat. 957; Treaty with the Nez Perces (1863), 14 Stat. 647
- Nations
- Nez Perce (Nimiipuu), including the Wallowa and other non-treaty bands
- When
- 1863-1877
- Land affected
- About 90% of the 1855 reservation; the Wallowa homeland.
- Acreage
- 7.5 million -> about 750,000 acres (secondary)
What happened
The 1855 treaty set aside a large reservation for the Nez Perce. On June 9, 1863, at the Lapwai council ground, the United States concluded a new treaty with "chiefs, headmen, and delegates" of the tribe, changing the 1855 treaty. In Article I the Nez Perce relinquished "the lands heretofore reserved for the use and occupation of the said tribe," except for a new, smaller reservation described in Article II.
The ceded land was to be surveyed, appraised and sold. In Article IV the United States agreed to pay $262,500, out of the proceeds of those sales if they were enough. Most of it was for moving onto the new reservation, plowing and fencing land, farm tools, a mill and boarding schools. The Tribal Treaties Database lists the treaty as 14 Stat. 647, ratified April 17, 1867 and proclaimed April 20, 1867.
The National Park Service says Lawyer and other pro-treaty headmen signed on June 9, 1863. Chief Joseph, Chief White Bird and other "non-treaty" headmen thought they would not be held to any agreement they had not agreed to, but "the US government assumed they had reached an agreement with all Nez Perce." The Park Service states that the 1863 treaty "planted the seeds of conflict that would eventually grow to the 1877 Nez Perce War."
Summarized with AI assistance from 3 sources and checked against their words; not yet reviewed by historians or by the nations. Report an error
What the sources say, and how this was checked
Well supported by the sources below.
the US government assumed they had reached an agreement with all Nez Perce.
Treaty of 1863 (Nez Perce National Historical Park, NPS)the lands heretofore reserved for the use and occupation of the said tribe
Treaty of 1863 (University of Idaho, Nimiipuu digital library)Ratified Apr. 17, 1867.
Treaty with the Nez Perces, 1863, 14 Stat. 647, Tribal Treaties Database
Research notes. Acreage figures, the 1877 war's details and the 'thief treaty' nickname were not confirmed and are omitted. Whether the non-treaty bands' objections were ever adjudicated is not shown in these sources. The Nez Perce Tribe's own history pages were not opened.
Who is doing the work
This history belongs to living nations. Start with them:
Land return and Native-led work nearby
- Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) Nation government National Bison Range restoration (about 18,800 acres) Website
- 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
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
These links were matched automatically by name or date and have not yet been reviewed by a person.
Located in 4
Concerns the instrument 2
Nations named 1
Policy era 1
- Reservation1851
Sources
The record’s fields
- What happened
- Nez Perce: the 1855 reservation, the 1863 'thief treaty,' and 1877 -- The 1855 treaty (June 11, 1855; ratified Mar. 8, 1859) set a large reservation (about 7.5 million acres per a secondary source). The June 9, 1863 treaty (ratified Apr. 17, 1867; 14 Stat. 647) was signed at Lapwai by about 51 chiefs, headmen and delegates (V2 found no signer count for the 1863 treaty; the 1855 treaty OCR shows about 58 Nez Perce signers, so the count may be from the wrong treaty) with Lawyer as head chief, and reduced the reservation by about 90% to roughly 750,000 acres. Many Nez Perce, including Chief Joseph's Wallowa band in northeastern Oregon, rejected it: the bands whose homelands were ceded had not agreed. The name 'thief treaty' is used in the literature for a treaty signed by a faction. In May 1877 Gen. O. O. Howard gave the non-treaty bands 30 days to move; the Nez Perce War ran June 14-Oct. 5, 1877 (a fighting retreat of about 1,170 miles). After the surrender at Bear Paw, 418 surrendered and 150-200 escaped to Canada; prisoners were sent to Fort Leavenworth and Indian Territory; 268 survivors returned to the Northwest in 1885, and Joseph was not allowed to return to Idaho.unverifiednot yet checked against a source
- Legal aftermath
- No general restoration; the Nez Perce Tribe of Idaho and the Colville Confederated Tribes hold the history. Specific later land recoveries (Wallowa) not verified.
- Kind
- Violation
- Confidence
- Medium
- Nation review
- Not yet reviewed by this nation
- Notes
- Some details not yet checked against a source
- Some details unverified