Friday night and Saturday morning, May 19 and 20, two Native American tribes welcomed a new historical display at the Ravalli County Museum in Hamilton.

The display, which includes artifacts and interpretive panels, tells the story of the 1877 flight from the Nez Perce reservation through Montana and the Bitterroot Valley, ending near the Canadian border.

"Nez Perce Trail: The Journey of the Resilient Nez Perce" was five years in the making, according to museum director Tamar Stanley. Friday evening, members of the Nez Perce and Salish tribes, along with U.S. Forest Service and Bitter Root Cultural Heritage Trust representatives, shared the stage with a drum circle. Appaloosa horses were penned up on the museum lawn.

Saturday, the horses were in full regalia and more drumming and dancing happened during the Farmers Market.

The display will be in the Hamilton museum until the end of October. It will then be displayed at locations along the Niimiipuu Trail.

museum gathering
Friday evening at the Ravalli County Museum. (Steve Fullerton, Townsquare Media)
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