Next year will be 150 years since the Wallowa Band Nez Perce were forcibly removed from their homeland in Oregon. They scattered throughout the Pacific Northwest, Canada, and Oklahoma though many descendants still live on the Colville, Umatilla, and Nez Perce reservations in the Pacific Northwest. Financial, logistical, and other barriers have kept many descendants from returning to Wallowa which is why 30 years ago, residents—Native and non-Native alike—came together to organize a powwow which has since grown into the Tamkaliks Celebration.
The first event was held in a local high school gym and more people came than expected. It was a rare gathering for a people who had been divided. Organizers did it again the following year with even better attendance. Eventually, the Tamkaliks Celebrations led to the formation of Nez Perce Wallowa Homeland, a nonprofit that now stewards over 320 acres in the area—land set aside as space for anyone with a connection to Wallowa. The Homeland also uses the land to host multiple events to bring Native youth and adults back to their ancestral land.
In addition to the annual summer Tamkaliks Celebration, the Homeland hosts a Native youth language camp and several other cultural and educational gatherings. Every year, thousands of people come to the Homeland for events. These gatherings involve exploring the land and rivers around Wallowa.“In Nez Perce culture, a person’s identity is inseparable from their relationship with and responsibilities to the land,” said executive director Kellee Sheehy. Learning about culture is learning about place.
The Homeland makes an effort to invite everyone in the community to respectfully participate in events, Native and non-Native alike. The goal is to keep Native descendants from feeling like tourists when they come back and to be able to weigh in on issues that matter to the area like land and water use. “We want to restore relationships and make them feel like they have a voice in the community and in the future of this place,” Sheehy said.
But getting to rural Wallowa is already logistically challenging for families. From the beginning, the Homeland offered space on their property for camping. However, not everyone is able to camp outside. “As prices go up in Wallowa, those barriers to returning go up,” Sheehy said. People reported lodging—availability and price—was particularly difficult.
Homeland is now building a tipi encampment which will offer additional lodging options for visitors. Nez Perce tipi maker James Walker is constructing the tipis which will be erected and dismantled seasonally, as tipis traditionally were. A grant from the Roundhouse Foundation is helping to support this construction. They will have water and electrical hookups and Homeland plans to keep the price accessible to Native visitors.
“It’s another symbol of welcoming people home,” Sheehy said. “Tipis belong in Wallowa because they were always here.”
