Battle of White Bird Canyon

Battle of White Bird Canyon
Part of the Nez Perce War
White Bird Battleground panorama, Idaho, 2003
Date 17 June 1877 Location Idaho County, Idaho, U.S. Result Nez Perce Victory
Belligerents
United States Volunteers	Nez Perce Native American Tribe
Commanders and leaders
Capt. David Perry Capt. Joel Graham Trimble	Chief Joseph Ollokot White Bird
Strength
106 soldiers; 11 civilian volunteers, 13 Nez Perce scouts	about 70 warriors
Casualties and losses
34 killed 4 wounded	3 wounded

The Battle of White Bird Canyon was fought on June 17, 1877 in Idaho Territory. White Bird Canyon was the opening battle of the Nez Perce War between the Nez Perce Indians and the United States. The battle was a significant defeat of the U.S. Army. It took place in the western part of present-day Idaho County, southwest of the city of Grangeville.

The original treaty between the U.S. government and the Nez Perce, signed in 1855, established a reservation that acknowledged the ancestral homelands of the Nez Perce. In 1860, the discovery of gold on the Nez Perce Indian Reservation brought an uncontrolled influx of miners and settlers into the area. Despite numerous treaty violations, the Nez Perce remained peaceful.

In 1863, responding to pressures to make land available to settlers, the U.S. government forced another treaty on the Nez Perce, reducing the size of the reservation by 90%. The leaders of the bands living outside the new reservation refused to sign the "steal treaty" and continued to live outside the new reservation boundaries until the spring of 1877.

In May 1877, after several attacks from the U.S. Army, the non-treaty bands moved from their homelands towards the new reservation. The Wal-lam-wat-kain (Wallowa) Band, led by Chief Joseph, lost a large number of horses and cattle crossing rivers swollen with spring runoff. Joseph's and Chief White Bird's bands eventually gathered at Tepahlewam, the traditional camping ground on the Camas Prairie at Tolo Lake to enjoy the last days of their traditional lifestyle. It was an emotional rendezvous; not all the people agreed with the course of peace and compliance.

On June 14, seventeen young men, including Wahlitits, entered the Salmon River area to seek revenge for the 1875 murder of Wahlitits' father, Tipyahlanah Siskan and others killed in the attacks. The proclaimed success of their mission roused the desire for vengeance among other warriors and resulted in more attacks on settlers in the area on June 15. At least 18 settlers were killed by the Nez Perce. Settlers sent messengers from the community of Mount Idaho to Fort Lapwai describing these events and demanding assistance from the military.

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Wikipedia