E AST O REGONIAN
WEEKEND, JuNE 1, 2019
Dreams
become a reality
EOMG Photo/Ellen Morris Bishop
Celeste (CeCe) Whitewolf, a descendant of the Wallowa Band, Nez Perce and board member of the Homeland Project, delights in the stories told by the displays at the new
Wallowa Band Nez Perce Interpretive Center.
After years of planning, Wallowa Band
Nez Perce Interpretive Center opens
By ELLEN MORRIS BISHOP
EO Media Group
I
t’s a dream that has taken years
to come true. But on May 25, the
long-planned Wallowa Band Nez
Perce Visitor’s Interpretive Cen-
ter became an impressive reality.
Its contents were developed and
vetted by the Wallowa Band Nez
Perce. The center’s new exhibits were
fabricated locally. The exhibit is part of
the Wallowa Band Nez Perce Homeland
Project in Wallowa.
“I’m just thrilled by everything
that’s here,” said Wallowa Band descen-
dent Celeste (CeCe) Whitewolf. “It’s
accurate. It’s professional. It helps tell
our whole story, and it’s a way we can
share our story as people who are liv-
ing today with the community and with
everyone.”
The
new,
approximately
1,000-square-foot facility documents
the people and culture of Chief Joseph’s
band, the Walwáama, who lived in the
Wallowa Valley. It recounts the stories
of their lives prior to their tragic 1877
flight toward Canada, their imprison-
ment in Kansas and Oklahoma, their
return to the Northwest, and their lives
today. Numerous maps and images
show the path of their April-October
trek from Wallowa County through
Yellowstone to capture at Bear Paw
Meadow in Montana. Names of many
Nez Perce on the retreat, including a
long list of women warriors, are posted
alongside the map.
The exhibit also tells the story of
Joseph, and his band’s years of impris-
onment and loss at the Quapaw Reser-
vation in Kansas and Tonkawa Reser-
vation in Oklahoma. It documents their
return to the Northwest, and exile of
Chief Joseph and most of his band to
the Colville Reservation in northern
Washington. Today, the Wallowa band’s
descendants are spread across the Lap-
wai, umatilla and Colville reservations.
At the new center, you can learn about
their lives today as well as in the past.
EOMG Photo/Ellen Morris Bishop
Exhibit fabricator J.R. Rymut looks over the 3D map of the Wallowa Band Nez Perce territory that she fabricated while Ron
Cameron traces the route on the Wallowa Band’s flight toward refuge in Canada. The new center opened May 25.
The center includes historical arti-
facts and reproductions, a teepee that
kids delight in, and a “please touch me”
collection of materials, from feathers
and cured hides to roots, important to
the Nez Perce. The seasonal cycle of
foods, or “First Foods,” is also featured
in the exhibit. If you’ve ever wondered
what time of year is traditional for eat-
ing Chinook salmon, or deer or Qwos,
this is the place to find out!
For those who love maps and geogra-
phy, there’s a 3D relief map that shows
the extent of the Walwáama band’s
lands, including Hells Canyon, the
Imnaha, and the Wallowas. It shows
MORE INFORMATION
For more information, call the center
at 541 886-3101 or contact Angela
Bombaci at angela@wallowanez-
perce.org.
major trails and the Nez Perce names
for many places. J.R. Rymut fabricated
the map and other exhibit pieces in her
new studio in Enterprise.
The Oregon Heritage Commission
funded initial planning for the center.
The generous support of many individ-
ual donors as well as grants from the
Meyer Memorial Trust, Oregon Cul-
tural Foundation and Wildhorse Foun-
dation, supported remodeling and
exhibit production.
The Wallowa Band Nez Perce Visi-
tor’s Interpretive Center is located at 209
E. Second St. in downtown Wallowa.
A short walk from the center leads to
a new bridge across the Wallowa River
and into the Tamkaliks grounds. Sum-
mer hours at the new center are noon to
4 p.m. on weekdays. The center is look-
ing for a few more dedicated volunteers
who could help keep the facility open
for visitors on weekends.