The tribe, with an enrolled membership of about 3,500 (2011), is headquartered in Lapwai, Idaho. Today, the Nez Perce Indian Reservation consists of 750,000 acres, of which the tribe or tribal members own 13 percent. 17 million acres in what is now Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Montana made up the tribe’s homeland. The Nez Perce tribe was historically nomadic, traveling with the seasons from buffalo hunting in the Great Plains to salmon fishing at Celilo Falls. His surrender speech included the poetic phrase, “From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever.”
Nez Perce Chief Joseph, one of the most famous tribal leaders in American history.
