Idaho Storytellers

Rosa Yearout

Storyteller Rosa Spencer Yearout, 65, is an enrolled member of the Nez Perce Tribe (Nimiipuu) and lives on the Nez Perce Reservation in Idaho. She and her husband, Jon, own the M-Y (McFarland-Yearout) Sweetwater Appaloosa Ranch located near Lapwai. She is the mother of nine children and 22 grandchildren. Her Nez Perce name is We-ste-sa, which is translated as “born and reborn,” a name handed down to her from her mother and great-grandmother. Rosa is a descendant from the White Bird Band of Nez Perce (Salmon River-Seven Devils country), which includes Chief Pah Wyanan. His son was Chief Red Grizzly Bear (xaxaac ‘ilp’ilp), who Lewis & Clark met in 1806. Chief Red Grizzly Bear’s son was Black Eagle (tipyehlehne cimuux-cimuux), who was one of four Nez Perce warriors who traveled to St. Louis, Missouri in 1831 in search of “the good book.”

Rose Ann Abrahamson

Rose Ann Abrahamson is an educator/cultural historian and teaches at the tribal school. She is Lemhi Shoshone. She is the Great-great-great-niece of Sacajawea (the famous Lemhi Shoshone woman who traveled with the Lewis & Clark Expedition), through Chief Cameahwait (brother of Sacajawea), and the great-great-granddaughter of Chief Tendoy (son of Chief Cameahwait and the last Lemhi Shoshone Chief).

The tribe’s located on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in northeastern Idaho.

Allen Pinkham

Tribal historian and storyteller, Allen Pinkham, is Nez Perce (Nimiipuu) and great great grandnephew of Chief Joseph. His Mother, Annett Black Eagle, is a descendent of the Red Bear Band. His Father, Alex Pinkham, is a descendent of Alpowa (Chief Timothy) Band. Originally the tribe was geographically located on 13 million acres of land in N. Central Idaho, NE Oregon and SE Washington. Today, the tribe is on 750,000 acres of land in N. Central Idaho, just east of the heart of the Rockies and Bitterroot Mountains.

Nakia Williamson-Cloud

Nakia Williamson-Cloud lives in Lapwai, Idaho and is a member of the Nez Perce Nation. He was born and raised on his family’s original Nez Perce allotment. His grandparents had a profound impact on his life. They never spoke English. They dressed traditionally in moccasins, braids and plateau wind dress. Nakia’s parents were Lillian and Ben Cloud. His grandfather, Cloud Gatherer, was a prominent leader in the 1855 treaty. His Nez Perce family are descendants of the Dickson family from the lower Snake River area.

Diane Mallickan

Diane Mallickan is Nez Perce or “Nimiipu, meaning “real people” or “we the people.” Her dad, Glen Wasson, is Piaute and Shoshone and her mother is Nez Perce. Her grandparents on her fathers’s side were Tom and Sadie Wasson. Tom was a descendant of the Piaute Chief Winnemucca. Her mother’s parents were Bill and Nancy Corbett. The Corbett family is buried on the old buffalo trail that’s now a part of the highway between Idaho and Montana. The grandparents were very traditional. The women became good gardeners and raised fruit along the Salmon and Snake Rivers. They were the horticulturalists. The tribe is located in north central Idaho, southeast Washington and northeast Oregon, which is the aboriginal area.

Josiah Pinkham

Josiah Blackeagle Pinkham is Nez Perce or Nimiipuu. He resides on the Nez Perce Reservation in Lapwai, Idaho. His Nez Perce name is Tipyelehne Cimuuxcimux and it is commonly translated as Blackeagle. Josiah’s father, Allen Pinkham Sr., is a Nez Perce and Josiah’s mother, Shirley Mosqueda, is a Yakama. There are many figures in his family that would be known by historians. Some of them are Red Grizzly Bear, elder Chief Joseph, and John Pinkham who fought in the Nez Perce War of 1877 as a young man.

James Spencer

James Spencer is Nez Perce with blood ties to the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Ojibwa. He lives in Lapwai, Idaho. His grandparents are Sam and Lucie Hays. His father is Russell Spencer of the Ojibwa and his mother is Juanita Spencer of the Nez Perce. The Nez Perce occupied the central portion of Idaho, the lower eastern corner of Washington and the upper eastern corner of Oregon. They shared access to lands with all the people along the Columbia River. There are canyons, high mountains and scorching high dessert.

Andre’ Picard

Andre` Picard is Nez Perce and lives in Lapwai, Idaho. The Picard name is from his dad’s side of the family that comes from the White Bird Band. White Bird is a well-known chief and medicine man of this band. Andre`s great great great great grandfather, Three Feathers, was a medicine man. His mother’s side of the family here father is John Allen and her mother was Iva Wilson. The Wilson side of family is related to Chief Joseph.

Angel Sobotta

Angel Sobotta, Ta-lalt-lilpt Sunset is a member of the Nez Perce Nation, the Nimiipuu people. She comes from a line of historians and storytellers. Ancestors from her mother’s side come from the White Bird, Salmon River, and Seven Devil’s country in Idaho and Oregon. From White Bird of the Wallowa area they’re also related to Chief Lawyer and Twisted Hair. They included Chief Pah Wyanan who was a prophet and medicine man. His son, Chief Red Grizzly Bear, was a renowned warrior and prophet. Red Grizzly Bear’s son, Black Eagle, was one of four Nimiipuu warriors who went to St. Louis in search of the Good Book.