The Problem
The Nez Perce Tribe (Tribe) is a federally recognized Native American Tribe with an aboriginal territory more than 13 million acres, which extends from northeastern Oregon and southeastern Washington, through north-central Idaho, to southwestern Montana. The Nez Perce Treaty Reservation of 1863 is now approximately 770,500 acres in size. The Nimiipuu people have always resided and subsisted on lands that included the present-day Nez Perce Reservation in north-central Idaho. Today, the Nez Perce Tribe consists of more than 3,5000 citizens/tribal members. Lapwai, Idaho is historically connected to the Nez Perce Tribe, who have lived in the region for centuries. The name Lapwai comes from the Nez Perce word “Thlap-Thlap,” which refers to the sound a butterfly’s wing makes. In the past, Lapwai once had an abundance of butterflies, so much so that the area is now referred to as “Land of the Butterflies.” Fields, meadows, and hillsides of native flowers were once common in this area, making it attractive to several butterflies. Lapwai is now mostly an agricultural area, and butterflies are less abundant than they have been in the past. The problem we are hoping to fix is to help encourage the return of Monarch butterflies to a town historically known as \\\"Land of the Butterflies\\\".
