Wetxuuwíitin’ formerly the Spalding-Allen Collection (Nez Perce)

Wetxuuwíitin’ formerly the Spalding-Allen Collection (Nez Perce)

Created by the hands of our Nimiipuu ancestors. Collected and given away by a missionary. Rediscovered decades later, the fight began to reclaim these treasured items back. And now, we welcome them home.

Between 1841 and 1846, Henry Spalding acquired Nez Perce [Nimiipuu] clothing, artifacts, and horse gear which he shipped to his friend and supporter, Dr. Dudley Allen, in Ohio. In exchange for these Native American goods, Dr. Allen, a benefactor to the Presbyterian mission sent needed commodities to Spalding. After Allen’s death, his son, Dudley, donated the Spalding-Allen Collection to Oberlin College in 1893. Oberlin College, in turn, loaned most, but not all, of the collection to the Ohio Historical Society (OHS) for safe keeping, where it languished for decades. In 1976, curators at Nez Perce National Historic Park (NEPE) rediscovered the collection. After negotiations, OHS loaned most of the Spalding-Allen artifacts to the National Park Service in 1980 on renewable one-year loans. However, in 1993 OHS abruptly demanded the return of the collection. In negotiations with OHS, the National Park Service learned that OHS would sell the collection, but only at its full appraised value of $608,100, with a six-month deadline to provide the money. The Nez Perce Tribe raised the money within six months with help from thousands of donors and purchased the collection where it is now on loan to NPS.

In June 2021, the Nez Perce Tribe renamed the collection Wetxuuwíitin’ meaning “returned after period of captivity.” According to Nakia Williamson-Cloud, "The re-naming of this collection is a significant step to reclaiming ownership of one of the most significant ethnographic collections in existence."

In November 2021, The Ohio History Connection returned the $608,100 the Tribe raised in 1996 to purchase the Collection. At the time, Burt Logan, Ohio History Connection Executive Director and CEO said "[...]we diligently sought to learn as much as possible, and to process what this means to our organization. If the Wetxuuwíitin Collection was in the possession of the Ohio History Connection today, we would freely return these items to their rightful home."

Josiah Pinkham on the journey of the Wetxuuwíitin’ Collection and Nez Perce collections away from home:

 

"Because I think about the journey of the Spalding-Allen Collection and how, you know, Spalding collected them and then he packed them in these barrels or crates. And they were taken by horseback down to I think Walla Walla. And then they were taken by horse and buggy on farther down. And then they were put on boats that went all the way down into Ohio. And they’re almost kind of like dormant for you know, many years, for decades. And then all of a sudden they’re back on the scene. And then they’re returned home on temporary loan, or permanent loan, and then the Nez Perce acquired them. And that really, like I said, in a backhanded way, adds to the value of them. Because you know that they survived that tremendous journey. 

And that provides a note of reassurance for the present Nez Perce that you’re very resilient in what you can overcome. Look at the journey of your material culture and how it went to this far off place and then it came home. Things are always coming home, always coming home. And you count on that as a coping mechanism in some way. And it’s my hope that these things that are in, like there are some Martingales over in Stuttgart, in Germany. There are objects in the British Museum. You know, those things are lying dormant. And they’re probably sitting in, you know, the stacks. And they’re not being seen. They’re not being shown. People aren’t learning about them to the extent that they could. It’s my hope that one day that those things will come back home and you know, again be reunited with their kinfolk that really appreciate the spirit of that expedition. And you know, it’s just a pretty powerful thought to know that those things are out there, that there’s potential for us to see them."

 

Items in Collection: 
Community
Nimíipuu [Nez Perce]
Category
Artistry and Artifacts, Natural Resources
Man's Legging, Right Leg, Nez Perce
Community
Nimíipuu [Nez Perce]
Category
Artistry and Artifacts
Summary
Part of the Spalding-Allen Collection purchased by the Nez Perce Tribe in 1996 from the Ohio Historical Society. The leggings were made by Nez Perce between 1830 and 1845. Re-named the Wetxuuwíitin’ Collection by the Nez Perce Tribe in 2021.
Community
Nimíipuu [Nez Perce]
Category
Artistry and Artifacts
Community
Nimíipuu [Nez Perce]
Category
Artistry and Artifacts
8751_1.jpg Right Legging
Community
Nimíipuu [Nez Perce]
Category
Artistry and Artifacts
Summary
A technical drawing by Nakia Williamson-Cloud of the Leggings in the Spalding-Allen Collection, NEPE 8751-2
Horse Crupper
Community
Nimíipuu [Nez Perce]
Category
Artistry and Artifacts
Summary
Part of the Spalding-Allen Collection purchased by the Nez Perce Tribe in 1996 from the Ohio Historical Society. Re-named the Wetxuuwíitin' (meaning captive returned home) Collection by the Nez Perce Tribe in 2021.
Community
Nimíipuu [Nez Perce]
Category
Artistry and Artifacts
Dentalia shell bracelet (or hair-tie).
Community
Nimíipuu [Nez Perce]
Category
Artistry and Artifacts
Summary
Made by the Nez Perce prior to1845 Purchased by the Nez Perce Tribe from the Ohio Historical Society in 1996. Re-named the Wetxuuwíitin' (captive returned home) Collection by the Nez Perce Tribe in 2021.
Bison hair rope
Community
Nimíipuu [Nez Perce]
Category
Artistry and Artifacts
Summary
Made by a male member of the Nez Perce Tribe 1820s-1845. Acquired by Henry Spalding and sent to Dudley Allen. Purchased by the Nez Perce Tribe from the Ohio Historical Society in 1996.
Hemp flat storage bag
Community
Nimíipuu [Nez Perce]
Category
Artistry and Artifacts
Summary
Made by a female member of the Nez Perce Tribe circa 1835. Acquired by Henry Spalding and sent to Dudley Allen. Purchased by the Nez Perce Tribe from the Ohio Historical Society in 1996.
Hemp and cornhusk flat storage bag
Community
Nimíipuu [Nez Perce]
Category
Artistry and Artifacts
Summary
Made by a female member of the Nez Perce Tribe circa 1835. Acquired by Henry Spalding and sent to Dudley Allen. Purchased by the Nez Perce Tribe from the Ohio Historical Society in 1996.
Woman’s Basket Hat, Nez Perce
Community
Nimíipuu [Nez Perce]
Category
Artistry and Artifacts
Summary
Made by a female member of the Nez Perce Tribe circa 1830-1845. Acquired by Henry Spalding and sent to Dudley Allen. Purchased by the Nez Perce Tribe from the Ohio Historical Society in 1996.
Woman’s Basket Hat
Community
Nimíipuu [Nez Perce]
Category
Artistry and Artifacts
Summary
Made by a female member of the Nez Perce Tribe circa 1820-1845. Acquired by Henry Spalding and sent to Dudley Allen. Purchased by the Nez Perce Tribe from the Ohio Historical Society in 1996.
Woman’s Basket Hat, Nez Perce
Community
Nimíipuu [Nez Perce]
Category
Artistry and Artifacts
Summary
Made by a female member of the Nez Perce Tribe circa 1820. Acquired by Henry Spalding and sent to Dudley Allen. Purchased by the Nez Perce Tribe from the Ohio Historical Society in 1996.
8744.jpg
Community
Nimíipuu [Nez Perce]
Category
Artistry and Artifacts
Summary
A technical drawing of a woman’s woven basket hat from the Spalding-Allen Collections (NEPE 8744) made by Tisa (Pinkham) Matheson
8746_2.jpg
Community
Nimíipuu [Nez Perce]
Category
Artistry and Artifacts
Summary
A technical drawing of a woman’s woven basket hat from the Spalding-Allen Collections (NEPE 8746) made by Tisa (Pinkham) Matheson
Community
Nimíipuu [Nez Perce]
Category
Artistry and Artifacts
Summary
In 1995, the Nez Perce National Historic Park and the Nez Perce Tribe prepared to ship the Spalding-Allen (Wetxuuwíitin’) Collection back to the Ohio Historical Society. Before doing so, curator Bob Chenoweth sought to document the collection.
Community
Nimíipuu [Nez Perce]
Category
Artistry and Artifacts
Summary
In 1995, the Nez Perce National Historic Park and the Nez Perce Tribe prepared to ship the Spalding-Allen (Wetxuuwíitin’) Collection back to the Ohio Historical Society. Before doing so, curator Bob Chenoweth sought to document the collection.
Crupper_1.jpg
Community
Nimíipuu [Nez Perce]
Category
Artistry and Artifacts
Summary
A technical drawing by Nakia Williamson-Cloud of the construction the Crupper in the Wetxuuwíitin’ Collection, NEPE 8756
Community
Nimíipuu [Nez Perce]
Category
Artistry and Artifacts
Summary
Audio recording of Williamson-Cloud discussing the Spalding-Allen Collection
Community
Nimíipuu [Nez Perce]
Category
Artistry and Artifacts
Summary
Pinkham interprets the Wetxuuwíitin’ Collection formerly the Spalding-Allen Collection
Community
Nimíipuu [Nez Perce]
Category
Artistry and Artifacts
Summary
Audio recording of Williamson-Cloud discussing the Spalding-Allen Collection
Dentalia Necklace_A.jpg
Community
Nimíipuu [Nez Perce]
Category
Artistry and Artifacts
Summary
A technical drawing of a woman’s dentalia bracelet (or hair tie) from the Wetxuuwíitin' Collection (NEPE 8762) made by Tisa (Pinkham) Matheson