Ghost Mountain

5:30 am his morning Jørgen and I walked up to Ghost Mountain. It was a nice two hours morning walk from the camp, in the beautiful landscape we also saw four foxes. Along the road you can see stones carrying the story of this place:

Pí´amkinwaas kaa tukéywnwees

Place of gathering and place to dance.

A place to be together in the homeland once again, celebrating survival and remembering those who made sacrifices so we could be here today.

Kiné hitéw´yeniksine núunim titlúume waqipaynix

Ounr ancestors lived here a long time ago.

The Wallowa Country is the ancestral home for descendants now living on the matilla, Nez Perce and Colville Indian Reservations. When the ancestors lived here, people from many tribes came to this area to gather food, trade and camp.

Koná ´elwínikinwees

Over yonder, the winter camps.

For the winter season, the people moved to the Imnaha River and Joseph Creek canyons, as they are known. The steep walls of the canyons provided shelter from cold winds and deep snows for people, birds, fish and animals. The water was cold, clear and ample.

Kíi wéetes hitqéwts´eye hete´ewníx ke ´imée kiné hiwsíine

People who care about this land.

Many who live here now share an affinity for this country. The boud that our ancestors felt toward this land still lives in the hearts of their descendants. Residents and returning descendants work to fulfill an old dream, homecoming.