Big Hole National Battlefield

In the face of tremendous loss and suffering, Nez Perce women demonstrated resilience during the Nez Perce War of 1877. After the Battle of Big Hole, as the Nez Perce fled their homes and embarked on the Lolo Trail to reach the reservation in Montana, it was the women of the tribe who kept their peo

At dawn on August 9, 1877, U.S. troops attacked the Nez Perce camped at Big Hole. When the warrior Wahlitits was killed, his wife took up his rifle and shot the soldier who killed him before she too was shot.

How archeology at Big Hole National Battlefield in Montana, from cartridge cases to buttons, reconstructs the 1877 fight between the 7th U.S. Infantry and the nimíipuu (Nez Perce) and tests eyewitness accounts.

Big Hole National Battlefield in southwestern Montana marks the August 1877 battle between the Nez Perce and U.S. forces. Its history, and the geology of one of western Montana's highest, widest mountain valleys.