In 1805, the Nez Perse people had gathered in Weipip, Prairie, a wide meadow nestled into the foothills of the Bitterroot Mountains of Idaho.

The Nez Perce people, or the Nemeepoo, in their language, were born from these lands.

Since time and memorial, they had come here to gather food, graze their animals, and live as they always had.

But in the fall of 1805, they encountered something new, a party of men, some white, and one black.

The men had fur on their faces, and some of the Nez Perse wondered if they were descended from dogs.

But they quickly befriended these strange men who called themselves

Lewis and Clark and welcomed them into their camp, shared food, knowledge, and laughter, taught

them to carve canoes, drew them a map, and offered to watch over their equipment. In his journal,

Clark even noted that the Nez Perce showed greater acts of hospitality than we have

witnessed from any other nation or tribe since we passed the Rocky Mountains.

When the group of explorers were ready to move on, the Nez Perce clasped hands with them,

saying that for all time, the Nez Perce and white people would be friends.

The Nez Perce had tried to honor that promise, but the men who followed

in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark did not return the favor. Mountain men, missionaries,

prospectors, and soldiers came to the region, at first in a trickle, and then in a flood. Some were friendly,

but many were not. They claimed land, made promises, broke their word, and made threats.

Tensions rose and rose for decades before erupting in violence, an outcome all but a few had hoped to avoid.

And now, 70 years after their meeting with Lewis and Clark, the Nez Perce once again found themselves in the We-Ipe Prairie,

but this time they were faced with an impossible choice. Should they return to their homelands, stand their

ground, or leave their home far behind, and enter into the unknown? The military was in violent

pursuit and closing in fast. With tears in their eyes,

they took a final look at the prairie and chose to run. Welcome to National Park After Dark. Hello, everybody. I'm Cassie.

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