Coming Home to Nez Perce Country: The Niimiipuu Campaign to Repatriate Their Exploited Heritage

Missionary Henry Spalding shipped two barrels of "Indian curiosities"--exquisite Nez Perce shirts, dresses, baskets, and horse regalia--to Dr. Dudley Allen in 1847. Donated to Oberlin College in 1893 and transferred to the Ohio Historical Society (OHS) in 1942, the collection languished in storage until Nez Perce National Historic Park curators rediscovered it in 1976. The OHS loaned most of the artifacts to the National Park Service. Twelve years later, the OHS abruptly recalled the collection, demanding the full appraised value of $608,100. Given just six-months to raise the funds, the tribe mounted a brilliant grassroots campaign. One day before the deadline, they met their goal. The author draws on interviews with Nez Perce experts and extensive archival research to tell the fascinating Spalding-Allen Collection story. He also examines the ethics of acquiring, bartering, owning, and selling Native cultural history.

Author: Trevor J. Bond
Publisher: Washington State University Press
Published: 05/15/2021
Pages: 160
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.75lbs
Size: 8.90h x 6.50w x 0.50d
ISBN13: 9780874224054
ISBN10: 0874224055
BISAC Categories:
- History | Indigenous Peoples of the Americas