Nez Perce National Historical Park

PO Box 1000
Lapwai, ID 83540

Phone
Visitor Information
(208) 843-7001

WELCOME to Nez Perce National Historical Park

Since time immemorial, the Nimiipuu or Nez Perce have lived among the rivers, canyons and prairies of the inland northwest. Despite the cataclysmic change of the past two centuries, the Nez Perce are still here. 

Join us in exploring the park's thirty-eight sites and experiencing the story of a people who are still part of this landscape.

The Nez Perce National Historical Park is a National Historical Park comprising 38 sites located throughout the states of Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington which are the traditional American Indian lands of the Nez Perce. 

The sites commemorate the history, culture, and stories of the people. Its headquarters are located in Lapwai, Idaho.

Big Hole National Battlefield

Early on the morning of August 9, 1877, soldiers under the command of Colonel John Gibbon unleashed an attack on the quiet camp of Nez Perce. Gibbon's attack was repulsed, but at a great cost to the Nez Perce, making the battle at Big Hole the bloodiest single day in the four month long struggle between certain bands of the Nez Perce, their allies, and the U.S. Army.

Bear Paw Battlefield

On September 29, 1877 800 men women and children made camp on Snake Creek, forty miles from the Canadian Border. At dawn the next day, the U.S. Army attacked the camp, beginning a siege that would last until October 5, when Chief Joseph ended the siege. This quiet and compelling site is sacred ground for all who fought here and looks much the way it did in 1877.

• Idaho Sites
• Montana Sites
• Oregon Sites
• Washington Sites