Camp Wal’áwa

Camp Wal’áwa is connected with the Tamkaliks Celebration, which is a celebration and recognition of the continuing Nez Perce presence in the Wallowa valley. Camping and dancer registration for associated activities is free, and winners and drums are paid in cash. Big ticket raffle items include a buffalo hide and a Pendleton blanket each year, and food and craft vendors are plentiful, with all the comforts of town a quick walk across the river.

• Schedule: Camp Wal’áwa | June 17-21, 2025

For over thirty years, Nez Perce Wallowa Homeland (NPWH) has worked to provide compelling reasons for the indigenous people of this valley to come back to their ancestral homeland to remember and reconnect with the land, language, people and culture. The mission of NPWH is to deepen the connection between the wal’áwa country and all those who care about it, and to inspire a way of working together as wé·tesne qicxnewʼé·t (caretakers of the earth) to rekindle relationships and welcome people home. A standing committee of the Nez Perce Wallowa Homeland oversees and organizes the Tamkaliks Celebration, and the Tamkaliks Committee President is Fred Hill. The organization offers inclusive programs, events and cultural education initiatives for the public with the aim of paving the way for the indigenous people of this valley to one day reside, raise families, work and practice their culture there.

“Let me be a free man — free to travel, free to stop, free to work, free to trade where I choose, free to choose my own teachers, free to follow the religion of my fathers, free to think and talk and act for myself — and I will obey every law... Whenever the white man treats an Indian as they treat each other, then we will have no more wars. We shall all be alike — brothers of one father and one mother, with one sky above us and one country around us... that all people may be one people” — Hinmatóowyalahtq'it (Chief Joseph), 1879.

Last updated January 6, 2026.