Nez Perce Tribe, Forest Service officials announce traditional place name ceremony 

Officials from the Nez Perce Tribe and Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests are inviting the public to a traditional place name and Camas in Bloom ceremony on Saturday at the Lolo Pass Visitor Center.

Tribal leaders and U.S. Forest Service officials are partnering through the Place Name Initiative to establish signs and interpretation of traditional Nimiipuu (Nez Perce) names for significant sites located between Lewiston and Lolo Pass. The sites included in the traditional place name program include geological features, historic landmarks, winter village sites and gathering areas, according to a press release from the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests. 

The ceremony runs from 1-5 p.m. Saturday at Packer Meadow (Wispin’íitpe), which is located west of the Lolo Pass Visitor Center, on the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests off of U.S. Highway 12 at the Idaho/Montana state line. Wispin’íitpe is a traditional campsite the Nimiipuu used for digging camas root.

The ceremony is free and will feature a horse parade, the Nez Perce Appaloosa Horse Club Dancers, the Drum Color Guard and remarks from Tribal and forest service leaders, including Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee Chairman Samuel N. Penney.

“We are pleased to work in partnership with the Forest Service to complete the place name project and make this important transition a reality,” Penney said in a written statement. “Our place names have been in our stories and history since before I can remember. It is exciting to see these names reach the public and provide the same representation they always have for the Nimiipuu.”

Guests are allowed to bring their own chairs, umbrellas, water and sunscreen to Saturday’s event to prepare for hot, sunny weather.