The documents from which the transcriptions in this collection were prepared are located at the Baxter Springs Historical Society in Baxter Springs, Kansas.
Following the conclusion of the Nez Perce War in 1877, the United States government forcibly relocated Nimiipuu (Nez Perce) people to Ft. Leavenworth, KS and then to Indian Territory near modern-day Tonkawa, OK. The Nimiipuu remained in Indian Territory until 1885 when they were permitted to return to the Nez Perce reservation.
Larry O’Neal became interested in the 1877-1885 period of Nez Perce history while working on his master’s degree at Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas. O’Neal taught in public schools and worked for Prudential Insurance while continuing his project to research, collect, and transcribe primary source documents related to the Nez Perce’s relocation to Kansas and modern-day Oklahoma.
The collection consists of research files compiled by Larry O’Neal in the course of researching Nez Perce history of the period 1877-1885. O’Neal visited local and national repositories including the Modoc Tribal Archives, the Kansas State Historical Society, and the Oklahoma Historical Society to compile hundreds of primary source documents which he then transcribed. These transcriptions make up the bulk of this collection. Copies of original source material occasionally accompany the transcriptions. The bulk of these copies, however, reside at the Baxter Springs Historical Society. In addition to the transcripts, the collection includes several of O’Neal’s notes further explaining the sources, correspondence with the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, and a published volume written by O’Neal, 'Nez Perce Exile: The Struggle for Freedom.'
The collection originally came to MASC as two binders labeled volumes 1 and 2. While the documents have been removed from the binders for optimal storage, they retain their original order and a clear division between volumes. The pages within these volumes are loosely chronological. An array of documents tucked into the binders’ outer covers, including the correspondence with the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, is now at the back of the collection.
This collection is open and available for research use.
Copyright restrictions do not apply to the bulk of the materials due to their age. Mr. O’Neal has waived any personal copyright that might have applied. Some documents were reproduced by Mr. O’Neal with permission from repositories other than MASC. Researchers will need to consult said repositories if seeking to make copies.
[Item description]
"The Nez Perce: An Anthology of a Tribe in Exile" Research Files, circa 1990-2020 (Cage 964)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.
Larry O’Neal donated this collection to the Washington State University Libraries in 2023 (MS-2023-18).
Will Gregg, manuscripts librarian, processed this collection in 2023.
Lucullus Virgil McWhorter papers, 1848-1945
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.