Lewis and Clark and the Nez Perce

One of the things that I hope to achieve through this course is to expand my knowledge of the history and cultures of individual Native American tribes.  In keeping with this module’s theme of first contact, I chose to explore PBS Lewis & Clark: the Native Americans and was happy to find that the site included links to pages that recounted Meriwether Lewis and William Clark’s interactions with individual tribes.

 Lewis and Clark were appointed the lead explorer’s of President Thomas Jefferson’s Corps of Discovery expedition in February 1803.  The goal of this expedition was to explore the uncharted west. Upon meeting tribal leaders, the expedition was to basically inform them that their land was now the property of the United States and they had a new leader or “great father”, President Jefferson.   This was all accomplished with a great bit of fanfare that included a parade of Corps members with a gun salute, and an exchange of goods and tokens to commemorate the event.

In 1805, the expedition entered the territory of the Nez Perce.  The Nez Perce numbered about 4,000 and were renowned horsemen, but the lacked access to guns and ammunition which left them vulnerable to attack from their enemies.  The Nez Perce welcomed Lewis and Clark and the Corps and the interaction was described as amicable.  Communication, even signaling was difficult due the fact that the Nez Perce “spoke a notably different dialect than many of the Indians to the east.”.  Nonetheless, trading posts and intertribal peace were established in exchange for guns and weapons for Nez Perce. The Corps even enjoyed an extended stay with the tribe while waiting favorable spring weather to continue their journey.

What stood out the most to my in this reading was the mention of the difficulty in communication between the two parties.  When you consider different philosophies of land use and ownership between the Native Americas and settlers, you can imagine that it would have been difficult to convey the message the land was being claimed and the tribe no longer had rights to it.  Throw in the fact that there was no common language or other communication tools available makes the task seem impossible, which makes me wonder if the Nez Perce could have understood that they were losing their stake on the land and helping the government rob them? 

References:

"Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery, A Film by Ken Burns." PBS. PBS. Web. 5 Apr. 2015.