City of Lapwai Nez Perce County, Idaho
Mapped Location
City of Lapwai: The mapped location is an approximation and should not be used for navigation or wayfinding.
Information
General information on City of Lapwai
- Feature Type: Incorporated
Official, historical, colloquial and alternative toponyms for City of Lapwai
A brief list of names that this geographic feature has been named
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| City of Lapwai | Official |
| Lapwai | Official |
Origin Notes and History of City of Lapwai
References to City of Lapwai that document the origin of its place name
NON-TREATY NEZ PERCES.—There were two main divisions of the Nez Perce tribe: First, the Upper Nez Perces occupying the Clearwater country with Lapwai (q.v.) as the center. They were the "Treaty Indians," composing the main part of the tribe, numbering about 2,500, and never went upon the warpath: second, the Lower Nez Perces who lived along the Snake River in the neighborhood of the mouth of the Grande Ronde River and including Wallowa and Imnaha valleys, known as the "Non-Treaty Indians" numbering about 1,000. When Spalding (q.v.) established a mission at Lapwai in 1836 he induced the chief of the Lower Nez Perces to settle near the mission and baptized him under the name of Joseph. Spalding abandoned Lapwai suddenly in 1847, after which the Treaty Indians ordered Joseph back to his own country of Wallowa, making of him an enemy to both Indians and whites. Joseph signed the treaty of 1855 which created the Nez Perce Indian Reservation (q.v.), because it included lands which he claimed. The discovery of gold on the Clearwater and the influx of miners necessitated a new treaty, which was made in 1863, in which Wallowa Valley was left out of the reserve. This treaty Joseph refused to sign or be bound by its limits, hence the name of "Non-Treaty Indians." President Grant was prevailed upon in 1873 to set aside, by executive order, a reservation for these Indians, which was as follows: Commencing at the right bank of the mouth of Grande Ronde River; thence up Snake River to a point due east of the southeast comer of T. 1 S., R. 46 E. of the Willamette meridian; thence due west to the west fork of Wallowa River; thence down said west fork to its junction with the Wallowa River; thence down said river to its confluence with the Grande Ronde River; thence down the last named river to the place of beginning. After getting this concession Joseph died in 1873, leaving not only the chieftainship but his hatred to his son, Chief Joseph (q.v.). In 1875 President Grant revoked his order and restored this reservation to the public domain. In speaking of this affair and especially the nation's treatment of Indians in general Gen. O. O. Howard wrote: "It is difficult to explain the almost uniform injustice which the American people have practiced towards the Indians. We can match the massacre of St. Bartholomew, the cruelties of the Inquisition, or the ferocity of London rioters, in our dealings with the red man." The Non-Treaty Indians were ordered upon the Lapwai Reservation and after several councils they agreed to go, but outrageous acts toward them on the part of the settlers caused them to break loose and declare war in 1877.—HOWARD, Nez Perce Joseph.
LAPWAI, Nez Perce County.—This is a Nez Perce Indian name meaning "the place of the butterflies" and was so called on account of the vast number of butterflies that gathered about the mill and pond which was built by the Rev. Henry H. Spalding (q.v.) when he established his mission there in 1836.
Related Online Resources
US National Parks Service
Henry and Eliza Spalding and their Missions, The Lapwai Mission Site and The Mission on the Clearwater River
WEB LINK
Nez Perce County
- Agatha
- Arrow
- Beeman
- Big George
- Bundy
- Cameron
- Cherrylane
- Chesley
- City of Culdesac
- Eugene
- Fairburn (historical)
- Forebay
- German Settlement
- Gifford
- Gurney
- Hatwai
- Jacques
- Joseph
- City of Lapwai
- Leland
- Lenore
- Leon
- City of Lewiston
- Melrose
- Myrtle
- North Lapwai
- City of Peck
- Slaterville (historical)
- Snow (historical)
- Southwick
- Spalding
- Sweetwater
- Taney (historical)
- Taplin
- Waha
- Webb
- Willola
- Woodside
- Zaza
Political Boundaries
Last updated: 2017-01-10