Nez Percé Indian Reservation

Land set aside for American Indian occupation in northwestern Idaho; area 3,095 sq km/1,195 sq mi, population (1990) 16,200 (12% Indian). The reservation is situated in the southern part of the Panhandle, south of Coeur d'Alene Lake and east of the Palouse country of Washington State. Its headquarters are at Lapwai.

The Nez Percé or Sahaptin people are known for their distinctive Appaloosa horses and their spirited resistance to White domination. In 1855, they were forced to relinquish much of their original homeland, which included parts of Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. When a gold rush tempted prospectors to encroach onto their remaining territory, in Oregon's Wallowa Valley, in 1877, the Nez Percé went to war under Chief Joseph. Defeated, the warriors were ultimately confined in the Lapwai region. The Nez Percé National Historical Park (1965) brings together 24 separate sites of historical, archaeological, or natural interest, spread over a wide area of northern Idaho.