Camas Prairie

The Nimiipuu name for the camp is Tepahlewam, Split Rocks, for the canyon beside the lake; "Tolo" was worn down from the name of a Nimiipuu woman, Tulekats Chikchamit. At least 600 people of the non-treaty bands gathered here by June 2, 1877. The sign's past wrongs had names. Wáalaytic, Shore Crossing, was the son of Eagle Robe, shot by a settler named Larry Ott in 1874; Ott was acquitted. On June 13 Shore Crossing rode out with Sáapsis 'ilp'ílp, Red Moccasin Tops, and his young nephew Wetyétmes wehéyqt, Swan Necklace, to find him.

What the plaque says

Camas Prairie Named for the blue-flowering camas--an important root food for all interior northwestern Indians--Camas Prairie is a traditional Nez Perce cultural center. Tolo Lake--visible below--provided a campground for Joseph's Wallowa band and White Bird's Salmon River band when war broke out on Salmon River directly south of here, June 14, 1877. Both of these bands were under military pressure to settle on Camas Prairie when three young men from White Bird's band avenged a long series of past wrongs and army authorities retaliated. 100 Text prepared by the Idaho Historical Society Marker made & installed by Idaho Transportation Department

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• White Bird Battlefield — 6.8 mi
  Six Nimiipuu men rode out under a white flag. A shot came from the soldiers' side, and the Nez Perce War began.
• Heart of the Monster — 26 mi
  Where the Nimiipuu say their story begins: Coyote, a monster, and the heart he tore loose, still on the Clearwater's bank.

More markers nearby

• Salmon River — 2.5 mi
• White Bird Grade — 5.8 mi
• Nez Perce War — 5.8 mi
• Mount Idaho — 7.3 mi