Saturday, January 23, 2010

The Nez Perce: A People in Exile

I live along a river in a land that once was the northern portion of the Colville Indian Reservation. Often I allow my mind to drift upstream, rock to rill, back in time, long before the reservation, along the shores of this river before the arrival of the white man...
Being fortunate to have a number of Native American friends I perceive the history of my 'Colville' neighbors, and subsequently this land, is more complex than most of us care to know or understand. I found this video, from the 2007 Spokesman Review video archive worth sharing: "When Chief Joseph said he would “fight no more forever” at the battle of Bear Paw, he gave up his rifle, but not his way of life or his claim to his ancestral land. Today, nearly 130 years after the last great battle of the Nez Perce War, descendants of the Joseph’s band continue his struggle to preserve the old ways, including their spoken language."

I'm dedicating this blog post to a wonderful lady living up the mountain near Boulder Summit, in the Kettle River Range - Lucy Antoine who celebrated a birthday this week. She, a distant cousin of Chief Joseph, tells the story of hearing her elder kin refer to the great chief as 'Uncle Joe'. Happy birthday 'Ruby' Lucy...


1 comment:

antoine said...

Ruby Lucy loves the 'card' and says thank you!!