In 1847, Presbyterian missionary Henry Spalding acquired handmade Nez Perce artifacts and sent them from north-central Idaho to his friend and supporter, Dudley Allen, in Ohio in exchange for commodities. This was the fate of many early Native American materials, to be appropriated by non-Natives and removed from the hands and lands that created them. The shirts, dresses, baskets, horse regalia, and more—called the Wetxuuwíitin’ (formerly Spalding-Allen) Collection—would not return to their rightful home until they were purchased by the tribe from the Ohio Historical Society in 1996 for $608,100. On November 23rd, 2021, the Ohio History Connection (formerly the Ohio Historical Society) returned $608,100 to the Nez Perce Tribe. Burt Logan of the OHC stated that if the collection was “in the possession of the Ohio History Connection today, we would freely return these items to their rightful home.” The reclamation of these Nez Perce artifacts is the subject of a new WSU Press book, “Coming Home to Nez Perce Country,” published in June 2021.

Bios: Nakia Williamson-Cloud, Director Nez Perce Tribe Culture Resource Program

Trevor Bond, Associate Dean WSU Libraries and Director of the WSU Center for Arts and Humanities

Watch the video here.