Stern Theodore. Chiefs and Chief Traders: Indian Relations at Fort Nez Percés, 1818-1855, Volume 1

Corvallis, OR : Oregon State University Press, 1993. — xii, 272 p. : ill., maps.A ground-breaking study of the relations between the fur traders of Fort Nez Perces and the Indians of the region, primarily Cayuse, Wallawalla, Umatilla, and Nez Perce. Existing literature on this region has focused on the white explorers, the fur traders, and the settlers. Chiefs and Chief Traders offers a new perspective, exploring both white and Indian cultures and their interactions.Chiefs and Chief Traders represents the culmination of 25 years of research, utilizing an extensive variety of primary sources--some used here for the first time--as well as oral interviews conducted in the course of ethnographic research on the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Stern weaves together anthropology and history in a way that few are qualified to do. He brings new information to the story of the relations between Indians and whites in the Pacific Northwest.Chiefs and Chief Traders was a finalist for the 1995 Oregon Book Awards.Theodore Stern is professor emeritus of anthropology, University of Oregon.