In 1989, Taz Conner, a descendant of Old Chief Joseph, was invited by the City of Wallowa to help plan some kind of Native American festival at Wallowa. This original invitation eventually led to a yearly powwow and friendship feast, which grew year to year to become the Tamkaliks Celebration and Friendship Feast, held every year the third weekend in July.
The Wallowa Band Nez Perce Trail Interpretive Center, Inc. (WBNPTIC) was chartered in 1995, and purchased a 160 acre site adjacent to the City of Wallowa in September 1997. In Spring 2000, an adjoining 160 acre parcel was purchased, for a total of 320 acres which is now also called the Nez Perce Wallowa Homeland (NPWH). The Nez Perce Wallowa Homeland enjoys strong local and regional support. Contributors include private citizens, representatives from business and economic development, local government, the visitor industry, historians, educators, representatives from the Nez Perce Tribe of Idaho, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, the National Park Service, and the USDA Forest Service.