In the late 19th century, the Wallowa band was one of more than a dozen groups who lived across the inland Northwest as members of the Nez Perce tribe.

The U.S. government sent the army to force them out after they refused to sign a treaty that would have removed them from their land.

Chief Joseph led tribal members more than 1,000 miles to western Montana.

[6] Wallowa is a Nez Perce word describing a triangular structure of stakes that in turn supported a network of sticks called lacallas to form a fish trap.

[7] The author of Oregon Geographic Names, Lewis A. McArthur, said that although the origin of this name is disputed, he puts great weight in Levi Ankeny who supplied this information as he was "thoroughly familiar with the early history and tradition of the Wallowa Valley" and "on intimate terms with many Indians who knew the facts of the matter".

[7] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.61 square miles (1.58 km2), all of it land.

[8] This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above 71.6 °F (22.0 °C).

[4] The Tamkaliks Celebration is a powwow named after the Nez Perce word for where you can see the mountains.

It began in 1991 to welcome the Nez Perce back home to the Wallowa Valley.

[14] The school also has a student-run newspaper called the Cougar Club Chronicle; it is run by the fifth-grade class.

There is a FFA (Future Farmers of America) program that many students take part in.