A Simple and Traditional Wedding

Dentalium Wedding Veil made by Katie Harris Murphy 2019.

“I wanted to get married at home because it is the most important place to my family and it is so beautiful,” bride Katie — who is Nez Perce, Cayuse, Umatilla, and Karuk — says about marrying her real-life ranch and rodeo cowboy Jackson in a horse pasture on her family’s property. Everything about this celebration took help from their tight-knit community: her mother made the tipis and her father set them up, a neighbor assembled the ceremony arch, her aunts provided their famous frybread, and cousins, sisters, and friends helped with everything else. “People laughing and dancing and telling old stories is something that is printed in my mind, and I will always cherish that entire weekend,” Katie says. “It was so full of love and community.”