On October 5, 1877, the Nez Perce War in the northwestern United States officially ended. The conflict had begun after pressure on Nez Perce lands and attempts to force the tribe onto a reservation. For months, Nez Perce leaders, including Chief Joseph, led a fighting retreat of hundreds of people over a long route toward Canada. U.S. forces pursued them through present-day Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana. Near the Bear Paw Mountains, the Nez Perce were surrounded and forced to surrender. The end of the war marked another major loss of land and autonomy for Native peoples in the American West.
