NEWS
Wallowa.com
Wednesday, December 25, 2019
B9
Nez Perce art, traditional and contemporary, features tribal artists in many mediums
Josephy Center
show opens Jan. 5
THE WALAMA (JOSEPH BAND)
NIMIIPUU (NEZ PERCE):A VERY SHORT,
VERY RECENT HISTORY.
By Bill Bradshaw
Wallowa County Chieftain
JOSEPH — On Jan. 5,
the Joseph Center will open
its doors to a new exhibit:
Nez Perce Artists: Tradi-
tional and Contemporary.
The eclectic show opens
with a 2-4 p.m. reception,
and runs through Sunday,
Feb. 23. Most of the art-
ists featured are young Nez
Perce tribal members.
“We’ve got beadwork,
necklaces, earrings, an ant-
ler war club and other weap-
ons, six large paintings, bas-
ket hats – hats made in the
style of a basket using bas-
ket-making techniques —
and there’s more now,” said
Rich Wandschneider, library
director at the center.
Traditional
artwork
includes beadwork and
leatherwork. Basketry done
by traditional methods and
with traditional materials
is also a major part of the
work. These pieces are new,
but they are crafted in the
same ways as similar items
found in a Nez Perce village
long before contact with
Europeans.
Wandschneider showed a
photograph of an antler war
club that will be on display.
“That would be some-
thing that today is purely
decorative but at some point,
would’ve been a war club,”
he said. “Probably things
like that dug into people’s
skulls.”
The traditional art doesn’t
necessarily have to be old.
“It could be, but some
similar items are still used
today,” Wandschneider said.
Contemporary art is still
Nez Perce art but doesn’t try
to hide the fact that it’s done
in the 21st century.
Wandschneider showed
as an example of contempo-
rary art: a photograph of a
beaded wall hanging show-
ing traditionally attired Nez
Perce in the rural North-
west countryside but a mod-
ern building stands in the
background.
Stacia Morfi n, a young
artist and entrepreneur from
the Nez Perce Reserva-
tion in Lapwai, Idaho, is the
curator of the show and also
will display her work.
Artists who will be dis-
playing their work include
John
Seven
Wilson,
Joan Scabbyrobe, Carla
Timentwa, Kevin Peters
and Maurice “Pistol Pete”
Wilson.
Most of the artists are just
beginning careers in art, but
both seasoned and emerg-
ing artists will be featured in
the exhibit. Many have stud-
ied at the Institute of Amer-
ican Indian Art in Santa Fe,
N.Mex.
Wandschneider
said
often tribal artists created
their works as useful items,
items that were culturally
signifi cant or simply as part
By Bill Bradshaw
Wallowa County Chieftain
The Nimiipuu (Nez Perce) have lived throughout pres-
ent-day northeast Oregon, southeast Washington and
western Idaho since time immemorial.
Most of their leaders signed the Treaty of 1855 that reserved
a major part of the Nez Perce traditional homeland for
their use. But when gold was found on the reservation and
the agricultural and water resources of the Wallowa Valley
became apparent to would-be settlers, a new “liar’s treaty”
was drawn up as the Treaty of 1863. It restricted the tribe to
what is now the reservation in Idaho, reducing tribal lands
by 90%. Some leaders, including Tuikakas (Old Joseph)
refused to sign.
Bill Bradshaw
It’s art now but at one time could have been used as a war club and is an example of traditionally
made Nez Perce art that will be on display at the Josephy Center for Arts and Culture in Joseph
in a display of contemporary and traditional Nez Perce art beginning Jan. 5.
After Tuikakas’ death, his son, Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt
(Young Chief Joseph) was forced by the U.S. government in
1877 to lead the tribe to the reservation. Violence broke out
that became the Nez Perce War.
After fending off armies and marching 1,400 miles on the
way to refuge with Sitting Bull in Canada, the Nez Perce
were forced to yield at Bear Paw Meadows, Mont., just 40
miles short of safety and the border.
The captive Walama Band was transported to Oklahoma
by cattle car, wagon, and forced marching, where for eight
years the band endured disease and more death. After
Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt (Joseph) pleaded with senators
and supporters in Washington D.C., the U.S. Army agreed
to allow the Walama Band to return to “the Northwest.” But
rather than transporting them to their home in the Wallowa
Valley or even the reservation in Lapwai, Idaho, the majority
were taken to exile on the Colville Reservation in northeast
Washington 340 miles from here, where most of Hin-mah-
too-yah-lat-kekt’s (Chief Joseph’s) descendants remain
today.
This month we are honoring Judy Neil,
a longtime reader with our Books
Bridging Generations (BBG) program.
She is often seen walking the town,
even in the cold winters, going from
one volunteer spot to another. Judy
is a happy smiling face to all of the
children that she
encounters. Judy,
thank you for your service
and dedication!
Courtesy of the Josephy Center
These examples of Nez Perce beadwork, with their intricate geometrical patterns, are examples
of traditionally made Nez Perce art that will be on display at the Josephy Center for Arts and
Culture in Joseph in a display of contemporary and traditional Nez Perce art beginning Jan. 5.
maintain Nez Perce culture
and presence here in their
Wallowa Valley homeland.
Wandschneider said the
center plans further events,
including a beading work-
ship later in February and a
moccasin-making workshop
sometime after that.
For more information
about the show, contact him
at 541-432-0505 or email
rich.wandschneider@gmail.
com.
JUDY
NEIL
Building Healthy Families
541-426-9411
oregonbhf.org
Introducing Pediatric
Occupational Therapist
Adaline Boden, MS, OTR/L
Courtesy of the Josephy Center
This painting by John Wilson is an example of contemporary
Nez Perce art that will be on display at the Josephy Center for
Arts and Culture beginning Jan. 5.
of their culture with little
thought of commercial gain.
The institute in Santa Fe has
opened the eyes of many to
the potential that they could
continue making their art but
also could earn money for it.
“Tribal art, in my experi-
ence, should be something
they can take somewhere
and sell,” he said. The insti-
tute is “trying to get them
into the mode of selling their
art.”
He said the center wel-
comes this opportunity to
work with Indian artists
— and to help further their
careers in art and in the com-
munication of Nez Perce
culture to the broader world.
He also said next month’s
show is part of the con-
tinuing effort to revive and
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