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ChaptEr ninEtEEn Tragedy of the Nez Perce War of 1877 An Archaeological Expression douGlas d. sCott introduCtion The year of 1877 was tragic for the Nez Perce. Broken promises, misunderstood treaties, and conservative factions on both sides caused open warfare between the Nez Perce and the U.S. government. In July, the Nez Perce fled Idaho, at first to find refuge in Montana and then, in a final desperate bid for freedom, they attempted to reach Canada. This trek became an epic event in U.S. history. The flight ended in October at Snake Creek near Bear Paw, Montana, with the surrender of most Nez Perce under the leadership of Chief Joseph. The Nez Perce fought several skirmishes and at least six pitched battles with the army. A number of the battle sites along the Nez Perce flight route are now preserved and interpreted by various state and federal agencies as memorials. One of those sites is the Big Hole National Battlefield in southwestern Montana. The Battle of the Big Hole site is now considered sacred by the Nez Perce for the events that occurred there in August 1877. As a memorial, the site highlights the tragic outcome of hostile relationships between two cultures. The premise of this contribution is that the modern study of a battlefield requires a combination of historical sources and archeological data. In solving a crime, police rely upon two very different types of evidence. Detectives interview witnesses while forensic scientists gather fingerprints, blood samples, and other physical evidence. These investigators address different types of evidence using unique methods. Evaluated together, this partnership enhances the likelihood of solving the crime. In this analogy, the detectives are historians, the witnesses the documents and oral histories, and the forensic scientists are archaeologists. The records and documents that historical archaeologists use, especially first-hand accounts of historical events, are tantamount to eyewitness testimony that can generate hypotheses to be tested against the archaeological record. They also furnish the basis by which archaeologically observed patterns can be assigned historically meaningful identities. The archaeological or physical evidence record contains clues in the form of artifacts and their contextual relationships. These relationships, which include distributions and spatial associations of various types of artifacts, can reveal a great deal about the activities that were carried out at a site. The historical archaeologist continually compares both sets of data as work progresses in order to explain the events under scrutiny. Sometimes history and archaeology may be at odds, necessitating, on occasion, significant revisions in current perceptions of historical events. For the past 130 years, the Battle of the Big Hole has been the subject of diverse opinion. Specific issues surrounding the nature of events during the fight fall squarely into the analytical domain of historical archeology and the archeological record. The historical issues and oral traditions surrounding the events of the fight provide direction in the research and aid in understanding battle events. Realizing that there exists a behavioral relationship between historical events and the physical remains of events, behavior on the battlefield can be understood by exposing these relationships and evaluating them in historical context. thE battlE oF thE biG holE, montana In a pre-dawn attack on 9 August 1877, the 7th U.S. Infantry led by Col. John Gibbon surprised a Nez Perce camp on the banks of the North Fork of the Big Hole River (fig. 19.1). The infantry suffered a decisive loss, but the Nez Perce, although winning the day, suffered an irreplaceable loss of 80–90 women, children, and men. Discussion of and interest in what happened began virtually as the gun smoke cleared from the field and continues today. An outline of the events leading to the Big Hole battle, and the sequence of the battle as described in the primary sources (Howard 1881; Shields 1889; Beal 1963; Brown 1982) as well as from the synthetic work of Aubrey Haines (1991) is synopsized here. The Nez Perce had agreed, in 1877, to a reduced reservation area as a result of increased Euro-American settlement in Idaho and Washington. There was disagreement and hard feelings among and between tribal bands and individuals regarding the loss of ancestral lands. Some bands, particularly Joseph’s, FiGurE 19.1. Aerial photograph of Big Hole National Battlefield, Montana showing the village, siege area, and howitzer site locations. From USGS seamless data distribution Web site http://seamless.usgs.gov/. Courtesy Archaeological Services Inc. [3.15.27.232] Project MUSE (2024-04-25...

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