Big Hole National Battlefield

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On August 9, 1877 gun shots shattered a chilly dawn on a sleeping camp of Nez Perce. Colonel John Gibbons and 163 men of the 7th Infantry and 34 Bitterroot Volunteers had orders to stop the non-treaty Nez Perce and return them to Idaho. The 800 Nez Perce men, women, and children had fled their native lands when being forced onto a smaller reservations.

		Bear Paw Battlefield The war lasted 4 months and the Nez Perce people traveled 1,170 miles trying to elude the US military. Five major battles occurred during the summer of 1877 with the last happening just 40 miles south of the Canadian boarder at a place called the Bear Paw. Here 200 Nez Perce were able to escape to freedom, while the remaining survivors of 425 who could not travel any further surrendered under difficult conditions.

		Nez Perce National Historical Park Nez Perce National Historical Park is a park about a people, for all people. It is not one place but many. Today 38 sites in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington commemorate the legends and the history of the Nez Perce and their interaction with others. As you travel from site to site you will come to sense the rich and diverse culture of the Nimiipu.

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PO Box 237
10 miles West, Hwy 43
Wisdom, MT 59761

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(406) 689-3155

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(406) 689-3151

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Big Hole National Battlefield

Big Hole National Battlefield Information