Lawyer's Canyon

The office the sign gives him was an American invention. The Nimiipuu were independent bands, but the United States wanted one man to deal with, and in 1842 the agent Elijah White appointed the first head chief, Ellis; Hallalhotsoot, Lawyer, a son of Twisted Hair, held the title from 1848. In June 1863 he and other treaty-band leaders signed the agreement that took about 90 percent of the reservation, much of it the homelands of bands that never signed. Many Nimiipuu call it the Thief Treaty; Lawyer argued that resisting white settlement was useless.

What the plaque says

Lawyer's Canyon Named for the Nez Perce Indian leader who served as head chief, 1848-1871, and who lived near the lower end of the canyon. Called "The Lawyer" by early fur traders for his exceptional talents in languages and oratory, he was a friend of the whites. He had learned English before the missionaries came in 1836, and he helped them prepare dictionaries and translate the Bible into Nez Perce. He played an important part in all the treaties negotiated with his people before his death in 1876, a year before the Nez Perce War. 163 Text prepared by the Idaho Historical Society Marker made & installed by Idaho Transportation Department

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Heart of the Monster — 20 mi
  Where the Nimiipuu say their story begins: Coyote, a monster, and the heart he tore loose, still on the Clearwater's bank.
• Spalding — 26 mi
  The Nimiipuu went to St. Louis asking about a book. What came back was a mission, a printing press and a museum.

More markers nearby

• Lewis and Clark — steps away
• Railroad Trestles — steps away
• Craigmont — 3.1 mi
• Lewis and Clark — 8.6 mi