Chumash, California
The Chumash lived on the west coast of California between about Santa Monica in the south up to about Pismo Beach in the north. Today, along the coast are the cities of Santa Monica, Malibu, Ventura, Santa Barbara, and inland the cities of Thousand Oaks, Oxnard, Fillmore and Solvang, among others. The Chumash also lived on the islands of the Channel Islands .
The Chumash are best known for their artfully crafted sea-worthy boats, the Tomol (see picture on the left). The 'Tomol' were mostly made from redwood trees. By hand, using sharp tools such as whale bones or deer antlers, wooden planks were made from the tree trunk, which were then assembled into a boat. The boat was waterproofed using naturally occurring tar. These boats are masterpieces of craftsmanship!
The Chumash lived in huts, whose framework consisted of willow poles and the outside was covered with local plants. Acorns (!), seeds (including chia seeds), wild onions, roots, and nuts were seasonal staples, as were game, including bear, fish, seal, otter, shellfish, deer, and rabbit.
The first European to meet was the Spanish explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo 1542 the Chumash. Five Spanish missions were later built on Chumash territory: San Buenaventura (1782), Santa Barbara (1786), La Purísima Concepción (1787), Santa Inés (1804) and San Miguel Arcángel (1797).
With the construction of these missions life began to fundamentally change the Chumash, most of the Chumash moved their villages near the missions and worked for the missionaries. A lot of Chumash died from the imported European diseases.
In 1834 the Mexicans took control of the missions, in 1849 the Americans.
Alfred L. Kroeber estimated the number of Chumash in 1770 at 10,000. In 1900 there were still around 200 Chumash, today there are around 2000 again. Today the Chumash live on four reservations: Santa Ynez Reservation, Chumash Reservation, Barbareño/Ventureño Reservation and Northern Chumash Reservation.

If you are more interested in the Chumash, we recommend visiting these sights:

- Chumash Painted Cave State Historic Park (Pictographs, 11 miles northwest of Santa Barbara)
- Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History (among other things there are replicas Tomol's exhibited)
- Santa Barbara Maritime Museum (among other things, replica Tomol's are on display there, and the locations and uses of natural tar are explained)
- Chumash Indian Museum in Thousand Oakes (among other things, replicas can be found here Dwellings ('ap) can be admired)
- Satwiva Native American Cultural Center (here, among other things, reconstructed dwellings ('ap) can be admired)

Nez Perce, Idaho/Oregon/Washington
The Nez Perce called themselves 'Nimíipuu', which means something like 'people'. The Nez Perce lived on the so-called Columbia Plateau in the states of Washington, Oregon and Idaho, in over 20 tribal groups, such as the Walla Walla (who lived in the state of Washington), Wallowa (who lived in the state of Oregon) or Lapwai (who lived in the state of Idaho). French explorers gave the Nez Perce the name, which translates as "pierced nose".
The expedition of Lewis and Clark encountered the Nez Perce in 1805. The first settlers arrived in the Nez Perce area around 1855. The Lapwai Reservation in Idaho was created in the treaty of 1863. About half of the Nez Perce moved to the reservation, the other half refused to sign the treaty and continued to live in the ancestral tribal areas.
In 1873, the Wallowa Valley in Oregon was declared a national reserve due to an executive order by US President Ulysses S. Grant divided the area into two parts, one part for the farmers and one part as a reservation for the Nez Perce. In 1875, the Executive Order was revoked and the area was opened for settlement. But the Nez Perce living there did not leave the area.

The Nez Perce were repeatedly killed by settlers, but without consequences. The relationship between the Nez Perce and the white settlers became more problematic over time. In November 1876, the US Secretary of the Interior convened a commission to decide who should own the Wallowa Valley - the whites or the Indians. This commission included General Oliver Otis Howard, Major Wood (Assistant Adjutant General, a judge) and 3 white men from the east who knew neither the Nez Perce nor the Wallowa Valley.
The court ruled that if Chief Joseph did not voluntarily leave the Wallowa Valley within a reasonable time, the Nez Perce should be forcibly removed from the valley and taken to a reservation! On April 19, 1877, General Howard decided that the reasonable time had passed and gave the Nez Perce 30 days to leave the reservation.
On June 13, 1877, three Nez Perce killed 14 settlers along Carver Creek and John Day Creek in west-central Idaho. It was now clear that General Howard would force the Nez Perce onto the reservation. The various groups of the Nez Perce gathered in White Bird Canyon and were attacked there on June 17, 1877 by 106 soldiers of the 1st Cavalry Regiment under Captain David Perry. The Nez Perce discovered the soldiers in time and were able to kill about 1/3 of the entire command.
The Nez Perce numbered about 120 warriors. From the age of 17, a boy was already considered a warrior. But the Nez Perce only counted about 50 real, experienced warriors; in total, all of the Nez Perce tribal groups together numbered about 900 people who were now on the run from the U.S. Army.
On their run from the U.S. Army, the Nez Perce marched through Idaho, Wyoming and Montana, covering about 1,100 miles and were repeatedly attacked. On September 30, 1877, the surviving Nez Perce had to surrender to Colonel Nelson A. Miles' soldiers in the Bear Paw Mountains in Montana, about 30 miles south of the safe Canadian border. 431 Nez Perce, including 79 men, 178 women and 174 children, were taken prisoner in Kansas and Oklahoma. About 300 Nez Perce were able to escape to Canada the night before the surrender.
Today, about 8,000 Nez Perce live in the Lapwai Reservation, the Kamiah Reservation and in several smaller places in Idaho as well as in the Colville Reservation in the state of Washington.

In connection with the Nez Perce, I can recommend visiting these places:

- Colville Reservation (Nez Perce Reservation, Washington)
- Lapwai Reservation (Nez Perce Reservation, Idaho)
- Nez Perce National Historical Park Visitor Center< /a> (With lots of information about the Nez Perce)
- White Bird Battlefield (The Nez Perce defeated the U.S. Army in the first battle on June 17, 1877)
- Big Hole Battlefield (Attack on the Nez Perce village in southwest Montana on August 9, 1877, 90 Nez Perce were killed)
- Bear Paw Mountains Battlefield (surrender of the Nez Perce on October 5, 1877, north of Montana)

Photo credits

http://indigenousboats.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-chumash-and-tomol.html
https://www.knowitall.org/photo/lewis-and-clark-expedition-photo-gallery-history-nutshell.html

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