Big Hole National Battlefield • Montana

Multiple tepee poles and a river are silhouetted against a dawn sky.

Blue camas flowers dot a green field with tepee poles in the background.

a cannon overlooks a valley and distant mountains

A large squared-off granite monument standing in a forest clearing

Stone carving of a Nez Perce Warrior's head in full regalia.

Three large stone monuments and four interpretive signs overlook a series of low hills.

On August 9, 1877, gunshots shattered a chilly dawn on a sleeping camp of nımí·pu· (Nez Perce). By the time the smoke cleared on August 10, almost 90 nımí·pu· were dead, along with 31 soldiers and volunteers. Big Hole National Battlefield was created to honor all who were there.

Today tepee poles stand sentinel at the site of August 9th, 1877 dawn attack at the Big Hole.
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The Nez Perce chose their camp site in the Big Hole in part due to the Camas, whose roots they gathered prior to the August 9th attack.
NPS Photo

Nez Perce warriors captured and dismantled the Mountain Howitzer cannon before the US army could use it effectively at the Battle of the Big Hole.
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In 1883 the United States Government erected this monument in honor of the soldiers and volunteers that served and died at the 1877 Battle of the Big Hole.
NPS Photo

This monument, erected on the Big Hole Battlefield in 1928, reads; "To the everlasting memory of the brave warriors Chief Joseph's Band who fought on these grounds in the Nez Perce War of 1877."
NPS Photo