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Trevor Bond at the Whitman County Historical Society Pullman Depot’s Freight Room
February 23, 2023 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
The Story of the Wetxuuwíitin’ (formerly Spalding-Allen) Collection
The Pullman Depot Heritage Center’s next BookTalk will feature Trevor Bond, Pullman, speaking about his new book, Coming Home to Nez Perce Country. His talk will take place in the Freight Room at the Depot on Thursday, February 23, at 7:00 PM. Masks are encouraged but not required. Find the post on the WCHS FaceBook page to reserve your spot.
In 1847, Presbyterian missionary Henry Spalding acquired handmade Nez Perce artifacts and sent them from north-central Idaho to his friend and supporter, Dudley Allen, in Ohio in exchange for commodities. This was the fate of many early Native American materials, to be appropriated by non-Natives and removed from the hands and lands that created them. The shirts, dresses, baskets, horse regalia, and more—called the Wetxuuwíitin’ (formerly Spalding-Allen) Collection—would not return to their rightful home until they were purchased by the tribe from the Ohio Historical Society in 1996 for $608,100. On November 23rd, 2021, the Ohio History Connection (formerly the Ohio Historical Society) returned $608,100 to the Nez Perce Tribe. The reclamation of these Nez Perce artifacts is the subject of Bond’s book, selected as a 2022 Washington State Book Award finalist.
Bond’s talk will consider the story of the Wetxuuwíitin’ Collection and the fate of other Nez Perce items held in museums and private collections.
Trevor James Bond graduated from San Diego State University with a B.A. degree in Classics (emphasis in Latin and Greek) and a minor in Art History. He received his Master’s in Library and Information Science with a specialization in Archives and Preservation Management and a Masters in Ancient History at UCLA. In 2017, he completed a Ph.D. in Public History at Washington State University. He is currently an Associate Dean in the Libraries and the Director of WSU’s Center for Arts and Humanities. He also serves as the co-Director of the Center for Digital Scholarship and Curation. In addition to his library work and research, Trevor plays tennis, skateboards, and cooks with a special fondness for French sauces and fermented bread.