Fort Nez Percés

Fort Nez Percés (or Fort Nez Percé, with or without the accent), later known as (Old) Fort Walla Walla, was a fortified fur trading post on the Columbia River on the territory of modern-day Wallula, Washington. Despite being named after the Nez Perce people, the fort was in the traditional lands of the Walla Walla people. Founded in 1818 by the North-West Company, it was after 1821 ran by the Hudson's Bay Company until its closure in 1857.

North West Company

During David Thompson's 1811 voyage down the Columbia River he camped at the junction with the Snake River on July 9, 1811, and erected a pole and a notice claiming the country for Great Britain and stating the intention of the North West Company to build a trading post at the site. North West Company managers during an annual meeting in Fort William, gave instructions for a fort to be created near the mouth of the Walla Walla River.

Began in July 1818 under the direction of traders Donald MacKenzie and Alexander Ross, 95 employees began building the fort. Daily provisions for the laborers was acquired by trading with visiting Nez Perces. The surrounding area lacking a forest, timber was cut and sent down river 100 miles to the site. Relations with the Nez Peces quickly deteriorated as construction continued, as Ross recalled.

Nez Perce people

The Nez Perce /ˌnɛzˈpɜːrs/ (autonym: Niimíipu) are a Native American tribe who live in the Pacific Northwest region (Columbia River Plateau) of the United States. An anthropological interpretation says they descended from the Old Cordilleran Culture, which moved south from the Rocky Mountains and west into lands where the tribe coalesced. The federally recognized Nez Perce Nation currently governs and lives within its reservation in Idaho. Their name for themselves is Nimíipuu (pronounced [nimiːpuː]), meaning, "The People," in their language, part of the Sahaptin family.

They speak the Nez Perce language or Niimiipuutímt, a Sahaptian language related to the several dialects of Sahaptin. The Sahaptian sub-family is one of the branches of the Plateau Penutian family (which in turn may be related to a larger Penutian grouping).

Name

Nez Percé is an exonym given by French Canadian fur traders who visited the area regularly in the late 18th century, meaning literally "pierced nose". Today the Nez Perce identify most often as Niimíipu in Sahaptin. The tribe also uses the term "Nez Perce," as do the United States Government in its official dealings with them, and contemporary historians. Older historical ethnological works use the French spelling of Nez Percé, with the diacritic. The original French pronunciation is [ne pɛʁse], with three syllables.