Nez Perce Indians In Idaho Celebrate Their Christian Traditions

TALMAKS, Idaho - The peal of voices rose above the tepees.

"Jesus is all the world to me," a group of Nez Perce Indians trilled in unison, their eyes fixed on the words printed on burgundy "Praise and Worship" books.

For decades, hundreds of Nez Perce from all over the country have gathered on this hilltop near Craigmont, Idaho.

They set up tepees and portable toilets. They build campfires and host barbecues. They sing hymns, study the Bible and worship God - the same one introduced to them in the 1800s by Christian missionaries.

"We are celebrating the Gospel being brought to us," said Annette Penney, a Nez Perce Indian and church elder in nearby Kamiah. "After the Lewis and Clark expedition (missionaries) shared the book of heaven with our people."

Established by a missionary

Unlike some of the traditional Nez Perce in Nespelem, in Washington's Okanogan County, who believe in the Great Spirit, many in Idaho are Presbyterian and read the Bible.

Their Christian legacy started in the mid-1800s when Henry Spaulding started a mission in nearby Lapwai. This summer's gathering at Talmaks celebrated that history and the 100th anniversary of the Nez Perce Indians Presbyterian camp meeting.

For the past century, Indian families have spent two weeks of the year atop the 4,000-foot high butte. They come not just to visit with other families but also to pray and "be closer to God."

"When you know God, you realize how much more you want to know Him," said Rachel Aripa, leading a group of about 40 during a hymn service in the camp's church. "He is so precious to me."

An all-American celebration

The Talmaks recent celebration was nothing like a powwow or traditional Indian encampment.

No one wore feathers or moccasins. There were no stick games, drumming or traditional dancing. Fry bread wasn't even a staple at the dinner table.

Except for the tepees, the atmosphere was more like a summer camp. An American flag hung above the doorstop of nearly every cabin. Red, white and blue streamers decorated the poles, the buildings, even the antennas on cars.

"You don't have to wear buckskin and headdresses to be Indian," said camp elder Cecil Corbett of Scottsdale, Ariz.

Being Indian, many say, is something you feel inside.

They've learned that at Talmaks, said Edith Strombeck, of Lapwai.

The area is sacred, many Nez Perce say. Some families come from West Virginia and Arizona just to be here. Each has a specific cabin or campsite they return to every year. Most have missed only three or four gatherings in their lifetime.

Strombeck, 65, can hardly see or walk. Her hair is gray and her face wrinkled and she moves slowly with a cane.

Still she doesn't skip a camp meeting. The only time she couldn't come when she was a missionary, preaching among the Hopis and Navajos in Arizona.

"When I come up here, I feel closer to the Lord," said Strombeck, a Nez Perce elder with a rich, bass voice.

Talmaks, which means "thunder over the buttes" in Nez Perce, has become a place of renewal for the Presbyterian Nez Perce, Corbett said. "It is a sanctuary for the worship of God."

Being Indian has little to do with what a person looks like, said Corbett, former president of what's now Cook College and Theological School in Arizona.

And becoming Christian, he added, doesn't mean becoming less Indian.

As Nez Perce and as Presbyterians, they honor the family and their surroundings, he said. They combine the oral teachings of their ancestors with the Gospel of the church.

The two make up an "Indian Bible," he told the congregation one evening.

Their messages, he said, are one and the same: "Respect for the Creator and creation. Respect for others and respect for one's self."