The Last Indian War: The Nez Perce Story

Pivotal Moments in American History

by Elliott West

This volume in Oxford's acclaimed Pivotal Moments series offers an unforgettable portrait of the Nez Perce War of 1877, the last great Indian conflict in American history. It was, as Elliott West shows, a tale of courage and ingenuity, of desperate struggle and shattered hope, of short-sighted government action and a doomed flight to freedom. To tell the story, West begins with the early history of the Nez Perce and their years of friendly relations with white settlers. In an initial treaty, the Nez Perce were promised a large part of their ancestral homeland, but the discovery of gold led to a stampede of settlement within the Nez Perce land. Numerous injustices at the hands of the US government combined with the settlers' invasion to provoke this most accommodating of tribes to war. West offers a riveting account of what came next: the harrowing flight of 800 Nez Perce, including many women, children and elderly, across 1500 miles of mountainous and difficult terrain. He gives a full reckoning of the campaigns and battles--and the unexpected turns, brilliant stratagems, and grand heroism that occurred along the way. And he brings to life the complex characters from both sides of the conflict, including cavalrymen, officers, politicians, and--at the center of it all--the Nez Perce themselves (the Nimiipuu, "true people").

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History, Native American, Westerns, Native Americans, Native American History

432 pages, Hardcover

First published March 18, 2009

About the author

A specialist in the history of the American West, Elliott West is Alumni Distinguished Professor of History Emeritus at the University of Arkansas. He received his B.A. from the University of Texas (1967) and his Ph.D. from the University of Colorado (1971). He joined the U of A faculty in 1979. Two of his books, Growing Up With the Country: Childhood on the Far-Western Frontier (1989) and The Way to the West: Essays on the Central Plains (1995) received the Western Heritage Award. The Contested Plains: Indians, Goldseekers, and the Rush to Colorado (1998) received five awards including the Francis Parkman Prize and PEN Center Award. His most recent book is The Last Indian War: The Nez Perce Story (2009).

In 1995 West was awarded the U of A Teacher of the Year and the Carnegie Foundation‘s Arkansas Professor of the Year. In 2001 he received the Baum Faculty Teaching Award, and in 2009 he was one of three finalists for the Robert Foster Cherry Award recognizing the outstanding teacher in the nation.

Reviews

[Sonny · Rating 4 out of 5]

― “ ‘The Spokans, Coeur d’Alenes, and Palouses were “entirely subdued,’ Wright wrote. Why they and others needed subduing is a question worth asking. All the fighting from 1855 to 1858 took place on land belonging to Indians. People living there, far from posing any threat, seemed well adjusted to the new order of things. Wright told of seizing thousands of head of cattle and horses and burning barns filled with wheat and oats as well as camas, berries, and dried vegetables. Whites had shown no significant interest in the land.”
― Elliott West, The Last Indian War: The Nez Perce Story

The Nez Perce were a tribe of Native Americans whose traditional territory consisted of approximately 17 million acres, centered on the lower Snake River and such tributaries as the Salmon and Clearwater rivers in the high plateau region in what is now northeastern Oregon, southeastern Washington, and west central Idaho. They called themselves the Nimi’ipuu. French Canadian fur traders called them the Nez Percé (“Pierced Nose”), having mistaken the nose pendants the tribe wore for nose piercings.

The Nez Perce were a peace-loving people whose domestic life traditionally centered on small villages located on streams having abundant salmon, which, when dried, formed their main source of food, in addition to berries and certain wild roots. After they acquired horses early in the 18th century, they were able to travel east to the Great Plains, where they hunted bison and traded with Plains peoples. They eventually became skilled horsemen, building one of the largest horse herds on the continent.

― “The Nex Perce not only took to horse, they became one of the continent’s greatest horse cultures.”
― Elliott West, The Last Indian War: The Nez Perce Story

Just six years after the Nez Perce welcomed the explorers Lewis and Clark in 1805, fur traders and trappers began entering the area; they were followed later by missionaries. By the 1840s, emigrant settlers were moving through the area on the Oregon Trail. In 1855 the Nez Percé agreed to a treaty with the United States that created a large reservation incorporating most of their traditional land. The discovery of gold on the Salmon and Clearwater rivers in 1860 resulted in an influx of thousands of miners and settlers, leading the U.S. to renegotiate the treaty.

― “With few exceptions, every major Indian conflict in the Far West between 1846 and 1877 had its roots in some gold or silver strike.”
― Elliott West, The Last Indian War: The Nez Perce Story

Rather than stop the newcomers from trespassing on reservation land, the U.S. government instead initiated another treaty council that would shrink the reservation by 90 percent. The new treaty created the conditions that would eventually lead to the armed clash between the Nez Perce and the US Army in 1877.

― “Many tribal members today call this the ‘steal treaty.’ Just under seven million acres would be taken, nearly 90 percent of what had been guaranteed under the treaty of 1855.”
― Elliott West, The Last Indian War: The Nez Perce Story

Disputes emerged when white settlers moved to claim ownership of the land. One of these disputes ended in the murder of a Nez Perce man by settlers; the crime went unprosecuted. General O. O. Howard entered the story of the Nez Perce a year prior to the outbreak of war. As Commander of the Department of the Columbia, he helped arbitrate claims on crimes committed against the Nez Perce. General Howard refused to recognize Nez Perce rights and moved troops to the area.

In 1877, Howard ordered all Non-Treaty Nez Perce onto the Reservation in a series of meetings with tribal leaders where he threatened military action. Angry about unavenged and unprosecuted murders of family, a few Nez Perce warriors began raiding homesteads in the area and killed settlers. Fearing retribution, the Non-treaty bands began their flight eastward.

With the Nez Perce nearing escape from Idaho, Howard attempted to capture them as they camped on the Clearwater River. While the battle was a tactical victory for the Army, they failed in capturing the Nez Perce. Howard followed the tribe over the next three months. He would not catch up to the Nez Perce until the final battle at Bear Paw, just south of Canada, where he was able to capture most of the remaining Nez Perce. During the campaign, more than 230 Nez Perce, including women and children, died. The tribe was then forced onto a reservation in Oklahoma rather than being returned to the homeland as promised.

A sad, but well-written account of the fate of Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce.

[Caleb Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

At long last, I've finished this wonderful history by West of the Nez Perce war, a topic with which I was especially interested to become acquainted as I live in Moscow, ID, within driving distance of the events recorded here. West truly is a historian and storyteller par excellence, interweaving scientific data, geography, primary sources, anecdote, and rhetoric into a masterful account of this tragic chapter from American's history.

I would heartily recommend this book (as well as another book of West's I've read, Growing Up with the Country: Childhood on the Far-Western Frontier) to anyone looking to acquaint themselves with this pivotal moment in the West's and America's history, or just looking to be inspired by West's mastery of both history and storytelling.

[Lizzy]

This review was written by Judy Austin and posted by Lizzy Mottern.

Elliott West is a professor of history at the University of Arkansas and the preeminent social historian of the American West. He is also a graceful writer whose prose is accessible to professional historians and amateur lovers of history alike.

West’s most recent book is The Last Indian War: The Nez Perce Story, a volume in Oxford’s “Pivotal Moments in American History” series. The book is about far more than just the so-called Nez Perce War of 1877. It is about two cultures that did not understand each other’s concepts of governance and leadership—especially military leadership. Nor did they understand each other’s social and community structures. And it is also about a nation whose Civil War had ended only eleven years before. Questions of how to deal with people of different racial background that were to some extent resolved in 1865 in the East were answered very differently in the West thereafter, and the author challenges his readers to think carefully about that difference.

The Last Indian War deals with the small-scale events of the conflict between the Nez Perce and the U.S. Army as well as those of the Nez Perce relationships with Anglo citizens. I know the story quite well, living and practicing history in Idaho for more than forty years. But West has involved me in the events and the choices of that story in ways I hadn’t anticipated.

- Judy Austin

[Richard Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here is a long but very well researched look at the whole concept of the Nez Perce War: giving and overview of first contacts with whites, congenial relations, willingness to work to solve problems followed by a gradual betrayal by the US government and their officials to the point where a peaceful people are literally driven into a war.

Spend a good week or so reading this book. Take it slowly, get out a map and follow the campaign, check out the sizes of the reservations and the way land was literally scalped from the tribe and then follow the movements of the last bands of resistors who went with Joseph on his epic attempt to find a new home where his people could live peacefully.

Read the statements of the two sides and realize that these political conversations of two parties of people viewing the world through different colored lenses of experience and tradition make human communication a morass of misunderstandings is so real today as we move from our own tribal world into the world of nation-state and globalism.

I will cherish this book as I have know the story since childhood but never before taken it to the depths that Elliott West presents so thoughtfully and eloquently. I wish I had read this before I wrote my own book, "Rough Enough" as it certainly would have featured as one of my references.

[Leigh Statham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent information, but I must be seriously spoiled by fiction. The writing style felt halting and tedious to me. A must read for those interested in Native American history, but be prepared to focus. (I'm never prepared to focus. Ha!)

[Jonah Lawson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elliot West is a fantastic story teller. this book highlights the sad reality of native Americans who lived in peace and wanted nothing but peace until driven to war by the expansion of the west.

[Ken · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked Ellliot West's perspective in this book. He sort of un-romanticized the Indians in this book and at the same time showed us why they were so well thought of, even by the people of their day. Some of the quips from soldier accounts had me laughing out loud. There is also a good point of view about the Great Hunt which left the American Bison near extinction. For being a concise history of the Nez Perce, this book contained some really great information and was really well written.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written. West does a great job looking at "peripheral" history and making it not so.

[Bj · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book while staying in Yellowstone National Park. An excellent history of the Nez Perce tribe. I learned much about their lives prior to any contact with Europeans or the settlement of their land by Americans starting mid 19th century.

This book is much more than about the 1877 war with the United States. Though the author does provide a great detail about that war and chase to Canada by General Howard and Miles.

There are a few surprises that I learned regarding Chief Joseph too.

Finally one aspect of this history is the author's explanation that while the fight against the Nez Perce was taking place in the West, reconstruction in the East was happening in the South, granting freedom to the former slaves. So ending repression for one minority group while trying to eliminate another group (original Americans).

Highly recommend

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read West's great *Contested Plains* awhile back and came to appreciate his gift for written expression. He is a brilliant narrator. Also heard him speak at a conference in October of 1998. When I heard he was working on the Nez Perce wars I knew I had to get it.

Most important about this book is that West elaborates upon the claim he asserted in his brilliant piece "Reconstructing Race" (Western Historical Quarterly 34 (Spring 2003): 1-14. He articulates it more precisely in his preface to *The Last Indian War,* in which West frames the Indian Wars into a broader, national context. Historians conventionally periodize 1861-77 as Civil War/Reconstruction era. A lengthy quote captures the gist. "The problem with this big picture," he writes,

"is that many developments with great long-term consequences have little or no place in it. Consider those shown in the Nez Perce story. Through it, we see the extension of the national presence to the Pacific coast--the flood of white settlement, the implanting of lifeways and economies, and the establishing of an increasingly muscular federal presence....
"These events and issues and conflicts are vital to understanding the full American story of the mid-nineteenth century. Yet when we hold them in our minds, and then put beside them the usual narrative of the Civil War era, there seems little or no connection between the two. What did the overland migration to Oregon, Protestant missions to the Pacific Northwest, and Indians' prophetic religions have to do with the crusade against slavery and the secession crisis? Where is a common thread to emancipation, the Freedmen's Bureau, and federal occupation of the South on the one hand and the western railroad surveys, reservations, Indian wars, and Yellowstone National Park on the other? It's as if there are two independent historical narratives, and because the one that is set in the East and centered on the Civil War has been tapped as the defining story of its time, the one that is set out West seems peripheral, even largely irrelevant, to explaining America during a critical turn of its history.
"The trick would seem to be to find a way to rethink these crucial years so that its historical segment and its great defining events both accommodate what happens in the big story as it is now told while also admitting what has been kept at the margins. This book suggests an option, offering the Nez Perce War, with its origins and its aftermath, as a pivotal moment that especially illuminates one of the most consequential periods of our history.
"This approach has three simple premises. First, the period itself, the historical segment, covers the thirty-two years 1845-1877. Second, this period was defined by two events that together set American history in a new direction. One was the Civil War; the other was the acquisition of the far West that came in three episodes over three years--the annexation of Texas (1845), the Mexican War (1846-48), and the acquisition of the Pacific Northwest, including Nez Perce country (1846). Third, far western expansion and the Civil War raised similar questions and led to twinned crises. Grappling with those questions and resolving those crises essentially remade the nation, a transformation that was genuinely continental in scope and with implications, including nagging questions, that have rippled ahead to the present day.
"I have called this period the Greater Reconstruction..."

This brilliant re-framing of the mid- 19th century pulls the American West out from the periphery and on to center stage where it belongs. I have long thought that the Nez Perce war fit within America's Civil War narrative. Indeed, most of the American soldiers involved were Civil War veterans. But of course, Elliott West says it better than I could have, and he has an audience that I do not have.

One quibble with this book, and it is only a quibble, is that West does not quite go far enough. This book remains a history of the United States. In that respect, West unwittingly reinforces the 19th-century nationalism of his actors. By beginning his period in 1846, West conveniently avoids having to deal with the English and Fur Trade in the northwest and the Spanish to the south. The USA's conquest of the West should be set within the framework of Euro-American expansion to India, Africa and the Far East. At the very least it is a parallel story, if not a part of the same broad narrative. West knows better, to be sure: every finite project must stop somewhere, and West did not purpose to take up a transnational narrative. But I fear some of his readers--i.e., my own students!--may overlook an important caveat. (If they do, I don't blame West.) So far as the Pacific Northwest is concerned, the US-Canada border at the 49th parallel is in many respects an arbitrary product of 19th-century nationalism. The border speaks to recent political realities, yes, but these are merely the dull realities of tidy governance and taxation. This border is highly permeable today, and yesterday it was altogether nonexistent. The the nationalized field of "United States History" obscures this fact. I could make the same rant about the American southwest.

My friends in the Moscow-Pullman, Lewiston-Clarkston area must read this book. About a dozen years ago I was already a longtime Moscow resident. It was then when I stumbled onto Nez Perce history. Being a history teacher, I felt a little ashamed for having stumbled onto it only recently. I was guilty of the all-too-common narrowmindedness which insists that my heritage (and REAL history--whatever that is) lies exclusively on the Atlantic coast, and across the waters beyond.

[Mark Lawry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this book up off the shelf at the gift shop at Big Hole National Historic site based on the recommendation of the park ranger at that location. I'm finding this is a great way to make a book selection at any of our national parks. It hasn't failed me yet and yet another perfect 5 from another U.S. park ranger.

Walking around Big Hole and Bears Paw I couldn't help but notice all the quotes from the U.S. soldiers and officers on the various historical markers along the trails. Their task was to hunt the Nez Perce down but clearly there was huge respect throughout the ranks for the very indians they were chasing. Now I have a far better undestanding as to why that was the case.

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

HST class book

[Will Rigual]

No Rating:
Excellent book, basically necessary reading if your interested in the Nez Perce or even western history in general. West’s style is accessible and compelling, check this one out!

[Mike Kershaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Indian’s Last Stand. A review by Colonel (ret) Mike Kershaw of The Last Indian War: The Nez Perce Story by Elliot West.
On Friday, 5 October 2018, my father and I visited the Bear Paw Battlefield, just south of Chinook, Montana. My father, a quarter Creek Indian, always wanted to visit this historic spot and our annual hunting bird trip to Montana gave us this unique opportunity. After spending two days bird hunting on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation, we arrived in the early morning. Friday was the 140th anniversary of the day Chief Joseph surrendered to Colonel Nelson Miles and General Howard only 40 miles south of the Canadian border. Elliot West, a professor at the University of Arkansas, casts the flight and surrender of the non-treaty, Nez Perce bands, as a “Pivotal Moment in American History”. As part of this thesis, he casts the final subjugation of the Nez Perce as part of larger “Great Reconstruction” of America, occurring between, 1845-1878.
The tale of how 5 non-treaty bands of some 800 Nez Perce came into conflict with the US government has been told before. At the time, their epic movement of some 1200 miles, crisscrossing the continental divide, eluding and repeatedly besting their Army pursuers was followed at the time in the nation’s burgeoning press. Elliot casts the event in the larger context of an America coming to grips with a vast territorial expansion, centralization of political authority and a redefining of citizenship – what it meant to be ‘an American’. Elliot avoids the tendency among many contemporary authors to find convenient heroes and scapegoats to simplify his explanations. He also places decisions and decision makers in both the context of their respective cultures -- which had differing methods – and within the context of their times (not ours). As he follows the trek of the Nez Perce, he also explores various aspects of the history of the period, from diseases to religion, to the role of ‘mountain men’, the telegraph and of course, the Army.
Beginning with the Nez Perce’s initial contact with Americans, West follows their interaction with the rapidly expanding frontier culture. Among the first American’s they meet are the Lewis and Clark expedition, who lauded them for their friendship and critical support. The geography of their tribal lands – located in much of what is today central Idaho and portions of Washington State and Oregon – isolated them from many of the clashes that characterized the period. Like many tribes, they adopted the horse and traded for guns with the whites, which gave them increased mobility and lethality. However, these also established interactions which slowly eroded the isolation conferred on them by their geography and created concomitant dependencies. West points out that this insularity also made it difficult for them to understand the scope and scale of the people pushing around them and into their lands. While treaties, agencies and the Army sought to establish some form of equilibrium on the frontier, inevitably some economic impetus serve as a catalyst for conflict. West likens the mining concerns to an artillery piece lobbing a shell of ‘white’ presence into previously segregated tribal lands, in almost all cases leading to armed conflict.
West gives us a nuanced appreciation of leadership of the various non-treaty bands that formed the core of this story. He notes that the ‘treaty’ Nez Perce not only remain on their Idaho reservation but generally opposed a return of the non-treaty bands once exiled. He frames the famed Chief Joseph’s leadership in terms under which the tribes operated, constantly shifting leadership based on the situation and without a significant compulsory component. Tribal leaders led until their ‘medicine’ was seen as waning or, more commonly, until the situation demanded different leadership attributes. He points out that few engagements with the Indians last more than a day, in large part due to the shifting leadership among the tribes. The larger affect is that negotiations are consistently foiled as both government and Indian attempts at agreement and communication result in a form of ‘talking past each other.’ In fact, Joseph’s famous surrender speech, was mostly likely the liberal creation of a former member of the West Point Drama Club, a Lieutenant serving as aide de camp (Joseph spoke no English). I guess the Social Science Department hadn’t been created yet. Joseph’s skill, acknowledged among his tribe, were diplomatic and, much like Quanah Parker in Gwynn’s Comanche saga (Empire of the Summer Moon), proved critical in leading his people into a harsh exile.
Another challenge West brings to light is the constantly shifting relations between the non-treaty bands and the rest of the Nez Perce, the other tribes and white settlers (as it shifts between the settlers and the Army). Their flight over the continental divide and into present day Montana was largely based on an assumption that they would we welcomed or at least assisted by their Plains Indian brothers. Once Montana settlers realized the Nez Perce were in flight and not bent on fighting, they traded with them and left them somewhat to their own devices. The scattered military outposts were, for a period, outnumbered. But these alliances rapidly shifted – many settlers turned against them and their fellow tribes, particularly the Crows and Cheyenne, rejected their entreaties and, in most cases, actively assisted the Army in both tracking and pursuit. In fact, both the Assiniboine and Gros Ventures, the current inhabitants of Fort Belknap, harried the fleeing Nez Perce as their remnants fled toward Canada. This highlights again, the lack of understanding the Nez Perce had with the world outside their tribal areas.
The Army, as Peter Cozzens points out in his The Sky is Weeping, although often cast as the Indians foe, more commonly served as the armed arbitrator between the tribes and the encroaching civilian settlers. Defunded by an economically challenged government and over-tasked with Reconstruction duty, the Army was chronically undermanned and outnumbered in their attempts to enforce the various treaties. Negotiations, primarily through Indian agents, therefore lack the force of authority to prevent white encroachment, a constant source of frustration for the tribes. Like most authors, West focuses on the senior Army leaders – Howard, Gibbon, Sturgis and Miles – in this account. Crook, Gibbon and others are variously quoted noting the Indian superiority in most combat engagements. The Indians individual superiority as warriors derived from their method of warfare, largely based on ‘counting coup’ or stealing horses from other tribes, actions which emphasized the individual nature of their combat. This produced warriors with incredible individual skills but played against collective action, particularly in extended engagements. The bands simply couldn’t afford to take casualties, with their requirement to protect both their village (the women, children and elderly) as well as their horses. The episodic nature of tribal warfare and the practice of taking hostages mitigated these issues and ensure tribal conflict while violent, rarely resulted in large numbers of casualties and could rapidly shift between conflict and relative peace. The US Army was a foe who would give them no rest. The Army’s practice of war was political and based on collective action -- discipline used to overcome casualties and ensure endurance. To overcome the gap in tactical proficiency, the Army used Indian Scouts and contractors (usually former Soldiers or settlers). West even falls into this trap – citing examples of Nez Perce superior marksmanship and target discrimination when he recounts leader casualties for the Army but the deaths of Indian leaders are almost always attributed to their initiative and bravery. In the Bear Paw engagement, the Nez Perce lost 3 of their 5 key leaders to either fire from the Army or fratricide – Joseph and only one other Indian Chief of any authority (White Bird) remained. This clearly impacted Joseph’s decision (or the tribes) to surrender.
Much as the non-treaty Nez Perce gain a reputation as they repeatedly confound the Army, the units which confront them represent a wide spectrum of the Frontier Army. Howard is an ill-starred officer with a mixed reputation from the Civil War, certainly not a favorite of the post war Army. Miles and Gibbon are Infantry Officers somewhat out of place amongst the Cavalry dominated officer corps which directed most of the campaigns against the Indians. In fact, the column led by Miles, an officer whose naked ambition inspired great hatred among his peers, is a polyglot of experienced Cavalry, hastily mounted Infantry and three companies of the 7th Cavalry which had been left behind when their Regiment (under the command of Colonel Sturgis, who’d lost a son with the 7th with Custer) set off on campaign. Recently reconstituted after the disaster at Little Bighorn the year previous, this much maligned rump battalion (the ‘Custer Avengers’) will lose all of their officers but one in the encounter. As a professional Soldier, it was sobering to look at the plaque bearing the names of the US Army Soldiers killed in action at the Bear Paw and realize that these 3 Companies lost 18 of the 23 killed – including all 3 First Sergeants -- while the more experienced 2d Cavalry and 5th Infantry (7 Companies between them) lost only 5. One thing the final action at the Bear Paw demonstrates is that, regardless of what side you were fighting on, it’s the ‘fighting’ or small-unit leaders that take the bulk of the casualties in close combat. Casualties, as an old Soldier once told me, don’t lie. This doesn’t refute the competency of the individual Nez Perce warrior in combat and horsemanship – he and his Plains Indian brothers earned their well-deserved reputations by hard riding and fighting. However, in the end, it’s the ability of these much maligned companies, which press the attack after their initial repulse, to put the Nez Perce in a dilemma they couldn’t overcome – a decision on whether to protect their encampment (and their women and children) and their horse herd. In the end, harried and tracked by Cheyenne Scouts, and the relentless advance of a driven and ambitious commander, the Nez Perce meet ‘their Waterloo’ at the Bear Paw. Ironically, it will be Colonel Nelson Miles, who rises to be the highest ranks in the Army, who lobbies on their behalf throughout their exile, to little effect.
West’s book includes an impressive bibliography for those who are more interested in this epic tale. I was interested to learn, for example, that the Nez Perce trail, which today marks the route they followed through Montana, passed just to the east of the town of Winifred, where we have hunted the past ten years. This past Saturday, representatives of the Nez Perce gathered at the Bear Paw Monument to memorialize the event. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the flight of the Nez Perce or the Indian Wars of the Northwest.
(photos unavailable)
Capt (ret) and COL (ret) Kershaw at the Bear Paw Battlefield, 5 Oct 2018. According the marker of US Army casualties at the site, these Soldier’s graves were moved to the Little Bighorn Battlefield Cemetery.

[Kurt · Rating 5 out of 5]

In one of my college courses more than 25 years ago, the professor told his class that everyone should know a little about nearly everything and nearly everything about one thing. I kind of took that advice to heart. I have tried to learn about as many different subjects as possible, and while doing so I discovered the subject that I wanted to become an expert about. The subject was the history of native Americans as their cultures clashed with the encroaching white culture. Later I narrowed the subject even more to the specific study of the Nez Perce or Nimipu (meaning the real people) as they called themselves. So, in accordance with my professor's advice, I have read close to 30 books on the general subject and exactly 12 books on the specific subject -- the latest being The Last Indian War by Elliott West.

This book was superb in every way. While it doesn't attempt to be the definitive description of everything that occurred during this episode, it did shed a large amount of new light (at least to me) on some important aspects. For just one example, a lengthy discussion on the background of electronic communication throughout the sparsely populated West enlightened me about the details of how the military was able to coordinate their pursuit of the Nez Perce. It also made clear how incomprehensible such technology was to the Nimipu, and how it led to their ultimate defeat.

In summary, this book was excellent in the analysis of the Nez Perce War. It was also very well written -- completely absorbing to read, and it gave good, but brief, descriptions of all the major events.

[Jacquelyn Chappel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was not expecting to read this cover to cover, but the story of the Nez Perce, and their struggle for basically FREEDOM, was completely compelling and I found myself reading the book chapter by chapter with each chapter gaining in suspense as the American troops began to corner them.

The American government turned a thriving, abundant, impressive tribe (by many accounts) into a ragged, divided dying clan, that we no longer hear about, because it sounds like they dwindled in numbers.

Chief Joseph, it sounds like, is our template for the romantized American Indian.

I did not realize that sympathy for the Indian was great even as they battled them.

I did not realize that Indian tribes *continued* to battle one another even as the US were exterminating them.

The details that the author shares are incredible. Someone definitely should make a movie out of this.

The benefit of the book is it includes West's analysis of the events. He makes the case of the reservations set up for Indians was part of a "Great Reconstruction" that is related to the post-Civil Reconstruction in that it sought to integrate people of different cultures into a united America.

[Barry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mr West's book is a terrific achievement, very readable and engaging. The author tells the great story of Nez Perce history from their alliance with Lewis & Clark to their ably conducted war of 1877 to forced movements back and forth to reservations across multiple states. Mr West lays it all out in vivid detail. The author is also a very fun "jack of all trades" as he takes the reader through many nuances to this story such as the geological history of key sites, the history of the horse and its use by humans, the story of the buffalo population in the 1800's, the impact of diseases on newly affected populations, the importance to the West of the railroad and the telegraph, and the different attitudes of the American Indian population to land, property concepts, and local community governance. Such a good read!

[Donald Linnemeyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elliott West is a fabulous historian. In this narrative of the Nez Perce War, West brings in a wealth of great details and strange stories, and he also connects it well to the broader narrative of America history.

The only complain I had is that he didn't elaborate more in the conclusion after narrating the war. He introduced a fascinating way of reading the latter half of the 19th century, specifically in regards to race and American citizenship, but I wanted more about that after hearing the story of the Nez Perce. Unfortunately, there wasn't much.

Other than that, great book. If you're at all interested in the American West, Native Americans, American ideology on race, etc., definitely read this.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elliot West gives and excellent history of the last Indian War, where US army of thousands was beaten on every battle except the last, near the Canadian border. Provides a unique view of how the Nez Perce tribe actually worked. Instead of a hierarchical top down structure, it was more leadership by consensus. Unfortunately, the last decision by the tribe's consensus was to move slowly when they had the Canadian border almost in sight.

[Richard Ellis · Rating 4 out of 5]

very in depth and well researched,very good !

[Laurie]

just put this on our shelves at my little used bookstore. read 2 good and useful reviews ...so now will purchase and read.

[J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book well documented and exquisitely detailed about the Tribe, each of the battles, their movements across the west and details about their leadership. One surprise for me was that Chief Joseph was Sioux from Minnesota and I’d always I suspect like most people viewed him as Nez Perce. Also, the book illuminated the leadership during all their battles and it turns out that Chief Looking Glass lead most of the way and fell into disfavor and was replaced by Poker Joe and Yellow Wolf was also a key leader while Joseph’s role was primarily as a negotiator at the beginning and the end of their wars. Nevertheless, he was indeed a leader and fierce fighter in his own right and did make the now famous remarks at the end of the battle ...although highly embellished by writers apparently at the time. Chief Looking Glass and Poker Joe were killed in the last battle and it looks as if the Tribe had not changed leadership back to Looking Glass who slowed things down, interestingly how he fell into disfavor in the first place but tribal members were battle weary and tired but I believe they would have made it to Canada and safety if they hadn’t slowed down.

Also, the Nez Perce were became noted for their uncanny marksmanship... people moving or peeping from behind things were routinely picked off by sharpshooter and they specifically and expertly targeted the officers and NCOs. As if that wasn’t enough their tactics and horsemanship was routinely praised by officers who fought them. They were fighting while moving everything they owned and women, children, elders and their livestock across the plains and more than held their own all the way and even at the end fought the army to a standstill and nearly escaped. Yellow Wolf lived and escaped to Canada and returned to Idaho and lived until 1935 and wrote a book ...Yellow Wolf in his own Words I think is the name of the book. I’m gonna find it and read it as well.

Chief Joseph lived until 1904 and died in his tipi on the reservation in Colville, WA the book details his struggles after the battle to get back to their beloved ancestral lands in the Wallowa Valley of northeastern Oregon but sadly they never did. General Howard and General Miles promised that if they surrender they would return to their homelands. General Sherman ...yes that same Civil War fellow although he spoke admiringly of the fighting skills of the Nez Perce (by then Joseph was being called the Red Napoleon) reversed their decision and refused to allow his return. Generally Howard, apparently as was his nature quickly acquiesced to the Army’s position while General Miles a COL at the time never changed his position and pushed for years for their return as promised to their homeland. This book is fiercely unblinking in its revelations about the grossly biased and unfair manner in which their land was stolen in sham negotiations and treaties, federal and state mistreatment and unkept promises, the bumbling doubles of General Howard and other US Calvary officers in their failures in the field and even the poor leadership choices of Chief Looking Glass when his apparent arrogance as a leader, he ignored the advice and warnings both times of impending doom, and the fighting style of the Nez Perce when although fierce and effective they might just disengage and ride away when tired of fighting or miffed about something.

Finally the Nez Perce showed themselves highly adaptable in every circumstance even in exile in Oklahoma many became productive and effective farmers and ranchers and Indian Agents wherever they went were impressed they went to work and were prosperous and “to a fashion” adopted Christianity even before they left Oregon this was true and many were already presbyterians. Joseph was among those who rejected Christianity as they basically declared war against General Howard. It was interesting that in fact the Nez Perce saw themselves at war with General Howard and his troops and as they moved across Montana they felt betrayed by whites they knew and viewed as friends attacked them but they didn’t flench they fought back although at first were peaceful. I started this journey when I visited the “Bear Paw Battlefield” just outside chinook, Montana. It was a few miles from my motel and an American Indian friend took me to visit several nights after work it was a moving and memorable experience. Great Book it has my highest recommendation.

[Paladin · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the 1800s, the Nez Perce lived in what is now north-eastern Oregon and west-central Idaho. The first white men they ever saw were Lewis and Clark’s expedition, with whom they became friends. (Clark actually fathered a son to a Nez Perce woman.)
In 1855, a treaty with the US government officially gave the Nez Perce rights to this land. The tribe assimilated much of the white man’s lifestyle, such as farming, permanent homes, and many had adopted Christianity. Problems began in 1860, when gold was discovered on the treaty land. The US Army could not keep the gold-seekers out, so the government decided to reduce the Nez Perce’s treaty land. This initiated war, and in 1877, a group of Nez Perce decided to leave the reservation land.
The large band included entire families (including Clark’s son, granddaughter, and great-grandson), teepees, and as many as 2000 horses. The Army tried to catch them, and did numerous times, with the Nez Perce winning the battles and escaping each time.
Note that the Army was commanded by very experienced Civil War veterans. For example, the Commanding General of the Army was then Gen. William T. Sherman, who was in Montana for much of the chase. Other key officers included O.O. Howard, who had fought in at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. His troops did not perform well at either of those battles, but he did win the Congressional Medal of Honor for bravery during that war. John Gibbon’s troops repulsed Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg, and Samuel Sturgis and Nelson Miles also had great experience during the war.
Through a half-dozen battles, the Nez Perce continued to move, through Idaho, Yellowstone Park, and north through Montana. Interestingly, it was not superior combat tactics by the Army that won the war – far from it - it was the telegraph. From the time the band left the reservation, the Army knew basically where they were. With one cavalry chasing them, Sherman ordered others to head them off as they exited Yellowstone Park, but they escaped again. During the chase, they decided to leave the U.S. and re-settle in Canada. Finally, after 1700 miles of flight (the distance from Washington DC to Denver, CO), forty miles from the Canada border, they were finally trapped in the bitter cold and snow, and had to surrender. That was where Chief Joseph said “I will fight no more forever”.
I also love the cover painting, "Chief Joseph Rides to Surrender", by Howard Terpning.

[Kasey Lawson · Rating 3 out of 5]

“The more varied the American people, the more the reliance on that common ground. This is the paradox of the American experiment. Widening the United States’ political community has meant constricting its cultural boundaries, and the greater political inclusion, the greater the apparent need for cultural exclusion—and the greater need to tighten what it has meant to be American.
Westward expansion and the Civil War brought this paradox sharply into focus. Never had such a diversity of peoples been brought within the nation’s borders. Never had there been such torturous dissent over civic membership among those long within the national household. One result was the nation’s moral high point, emancipating and granting citizenship to southern slaves. Another was the violent and coercive assault on other people’s most essential possessions—their foundational beliefs and their understanding of who they were. Both, the ending of bondage and the cultural aggression, were seen as part of the same process, the fulfillment of lofty purpose and national destiny. “E pluribis unum” has always both an invitation and a threat.”

[Joshua · Rating 4 out of 5]

"War is made for taking something not your own" or so we are told by a Nez Perce Indian named Yellow Wolf. This story certainly affirms that Yellow Wolf hit the nail on the head when it came to the manner in which Washington dealt with Native Americans. It is no secret to any student of history that the white man's dealings with Indians has been nothing more than a trail of abuses, neglect, and broken promises. In one sense, the telling of Elliot West's story is not unique and could be applied to most Indian groups across the spectrum of American history. However, Elliot West argues that the war with these people is one in which serves as a pivotal moment. The subjection of the south in the wake of the Civil War bolstered the power of the federal government. The war with the Nez Perce serves as the other "bookend" opening and promoting greater expansionism on America's western front. The uprooting of these peaceful tribes served to demonstrate the lengths to which the government would go to bring the entire land under its jurisdiction.

The story begins in a very lively manner tracing the origin myths of the Nez Perce. The reader is drawn into the story by the colorful tales that comprise their understanding of their own tribal history. The Nez Perce were a peaceful and resourceful group of natives who lived as a loose knit community of hunter/gatherers in the hills of Idaho and Montana. West did a great job detailing the social structure of these tribes and one could get a real sense of the culture. Like many tribes they were affected by the arrival of horses and horses revolutionized the Nez Perce way of life. The initial contact that this group had with the United States government happened during the journey of Lewis and Clark. Clark even sired a child with one of the sisters of the chief. Later on white people began moving into the areas surrounding the Nez Perce. These Indians had no problem with whites and were interested in their ways of life as well as their religion. The belief held among these tribes was that the white man had a powerful God because he was able to give them all of the material things they had gained. Therefore, the Indians were interested in procuring the favor of this God.

Problems of course soon develop. West argues that there were a couple of big issues that affected this situation. First of all, Washington had difficulty negotiating with these groups because they assumed that the power structures of the groups were the same as their own. Therefore, they would negotiate with the Chiefs who actually had no authority to speak for the tribes or make decisions for them. Second of all, white people came in bringing the stricter forms of Christianity and trying to implement "white society" rules. This ran into major issues leaving a bad taste in the mouth of the Indians. Lastly, the government would make treaties with them only to break them when they were no longer convenient. The relationship between these Indians and whites naturally cooled after some time. As settlers continue to go west it became apparent that Washington needed to do something about the Native population to make their lands available to white settlers. When the Nez Perce refused to be placed on the reservation and became angry over the lies imposed on them by the government, they rebelled. West catalogs this episode thoroughly followed by observations on the way in which Indians were remembered in the aftermath.

There were a couple of drawbacks in my opinion. I felt that his criticisms of Christianity were valid up to a point. There were times that there was a subtle sarcasm that bled through those criticisms. Not all contact with Christians were negative for the Indians and not all Christians living in that time agreed with the nefarious methods used by some of the Missionaries. Again let me reemphasize before I get a bad vote over this. I felt he had valid criticism towards the Missionaries and the religious encounters with Indians but his own bias was evident ever though he was in sense trying to conceal it. I also found spots of the book to be quite boring. Although the maps were helpful since I have never been to some of the places I had a difficult time picturing the events themselves. The Indians had every right to rebel against the government but killing babies and raping women does not right anyone's wrong. I know white people did it as well and it is just as wrong. I think the book made that point but could have been stronger. The highlight of the book was Chief Joseph who becomes a focal point for the story. I thought he brought home some unique points about the man and his role in the mythologizing of American Indians.

Overall, I think the book is a wonderful read full of adventure and oftentimes sadness. The characters are vibrant and easily to become engaged with as the story moves along. His ending added a nice reflection on the story itself and made sure the reader knew what happened after the story. Most of it is not pretty. I think that he had an astute observation by seeing this event with the Nez Perce as a crucial moment in our nation's development. The blight of the Indian is a stain on American history and something which needs to be fully embraced. That is, it must recognized and we must realize that our ancestors and government are the ones that did it. If our future is ever to be one which frowns on the injustices of war we must face the past and see our own motives in the light of history's reflection. We still often find ourselves going to war in order to take something that does not rightfully belong to us and this story should be a point for the reader to perform a self-assessment. This was a great investment, the kindle copy was good, and I would recommend to anyone interested in understanding how the the west was stolen. Great book, great price, great story.

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Subtitled The Nez Perce Story, The Last Indian War chronicles the Nez Perce tribe of the American northwest, it's early achievements (particularly in light of the favorable view received by Lewis and Clark), the conflicts that arose as western expansion encroached upon their territory, and the final war that led to their defeat and removal onto a reservation far away from their homeland.

I had already read some books featuring the history of the Nez Perce, most notably their relations with Lewis and Clark, and the Whitman Massacre.  I was interested to learn more.  There's lots here, but I found the writing to be rather dry and boring in parts.

[Mark Mears · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Last Indian War: The Nez Perce Story

By Elliott West

An interesting account of the Nez Perce story, in particular Chief Joseph.

Mr. West gives fascinating details about the lives on both sides of the conflict. He also describes the difficulties forced upon the tribes in such a way that the reader can relate and sympathize. An example is when the “non-compliant” segment of the Nez Perce were removed to Northeast Oklahoma (my home) he described how horrific the change in climate was for them; many died. The climate was easy where they had lived for centuries in the Northwestern segment of the continent. The Oklahoma heat was brutal for them.

Definitely worth the read.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best reads in a while. The weaving of national events and effects of that on the west is amazing. Having spent most of my life in Oregon we are quick to claim Chief Joseph and yet the people of the Wallowas, still not overly populated place, would not let Joseph and his people return. I actually had to put the book down before finishing it as I wanted a different ending even though I knew how it would end. I did not know Canada may not have meant complete freedom for the Nez Perce and why Sitting Bull returned. And still to this day the Nez Perce are not a federally recognized tribe.

[Mariah Oleszkowicz · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is so very telling that the (very large) piece of land had just over 5000 people on it in 1900 and in 2000 had just over 7000 people on it. The Nez Perce wanted to keep their land and were willing to die for it and America broke all their promises. I appreciate how the author tried to point out all the misunderstanding between the Native and American political structures; and I like how he waded through all the different versions of the same battles. This gives me a good grounding for beginning my knowledge search of the Native experience in a white America.

[James Empson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes it's a good history of white contact with the Nez Perce, but an even better history of how the Indian wars figure in the making of a uniquely American mythology and of the inherently conflicting issues of religion, values and technology (post Civil War) when in confrontation with non-white, non-African American society. Author highlights an earlier confrontation with the ongoing question of what it means to be an American citizen?