Those who surrendered were sent to Kansas for the winter and exiled to Oklahoma during the summer. It wouldn't be until 1885 that they would be allowed to return to the Pacific Northwest and even then, many including Chief Joseph were relocated to the Colville Reservation in Washington, away from their people on the Nez Perce reservation.
Wheeler remembers one of the first times he visited the property shortly after they signed for the land. He visited alongside other tribal leaders including former secretary Rachel Edwards, executive leader Quincy Ellenwood, cultural resource director Nakia Williamson-Cloud and land enterprise manager Kim Cannon.
“We sang a couple of songs at that time over there just to be there. We stood on the ground and just reflected about the moment of us being there, what that meant,” Wheeler said, "knowing that in the future more of our tribal membership would be able to be there to celebrate and bless the ground that we were standing on.”
The coronavirus pandemic only delayed the inevitable, said Nez Perce treasurer Casey Mitchell, also a descendant of Chief Joseph.
“The time is now for us getting our land back,” he said. “It means a lot, not only to us here at the council table but to our people as well. Our people have been waiting a long time to go back to the land.”
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