Chief Joseph
by Taddie Cook
Summary
Chief Joseph was born in Wallowa Valley in northeastern Oregon in 1840 with the name Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt, or Thunder Rolling Down the Mountain. Chief Joseph’s father, named Joseph the Elder after his conversion to Christianity, worked for peace with white men, even helping to set up the Nez Perce reservation, named after the tribe. This reservation was restricted down to 1/10th of its previous size by the federal government after a gold rush into the territory, leading to Joseph the Elder denouncing the United States and Christianity, refusing to move or sign any treaties. After his death, his son, or Chief Joseph, was elected to succeed him, and continued his father’s policy of refusing to move into the smaller reservation. After being threatened with military action by General Oliver Otis Howard, Joseph led his people towards the new reservation in Idaho. While traveling, about 20 young men from the tribe staged a raid and killed several whites leading to the federal army pursuing Joseph’s tribe, as they made an amazing military retreat over 1400 miles long using skill and precision, as well as advance army tactics. 2000 US soldiers tracked the 700 members of the tribe, which only included about 200 warriors for 3 months, fighting four major battles. He finally surrendered on October 5, 1877, with the understanding that he would be allowed to return home. However, he was instead taken to Oklahoma, where 40% of his people died of disease, before finally returning home to the Pacific Northwest, with the tribe split in between two different reservations. He died in 1904, still apart from the Wallowa Valley, of what his doctor called a broken heart.
Significance
I Will Fight No More Forever
Works Cited
"Chief Joseph." PBS. PBS, 2001. Web. 24 Jan. 2015.
Chief Joseph's March. Digital image. The Robinson Library. N.p., 22 Dec. 2014. Web. 25 Jan. 2015.
Kennedy, David M., Lizabeth Cohen, and Thomas Andrew Bailey. The American Pageant: A History of the American People. Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2010. Print.