have you heard of Cheif Joseph of Nez Perce tribe?

Question

He spoke before congress to explain his philosophies and list his complaints of the mistreatment of his people.

Answer 1

The man who became a national celebrity with the name "Chief Joseph" was born in the Wallowa Valley in what is now northeastern Oregon in 1840. He was given the name Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt, or Thunder Rolling Down the Mountain, but was widely known as Joseph, or Joseph the Younger, because his father had taken the Christian name Joseph when he was baptized at the Lapwai mission by Henry Spalding in 1838.

Joseph the Elder was one of the first Nez Percé converts to Christianity and an active supporter of the tribe's longstanding peace with whites. In 1855 he even helped Washington's territorial governor set up a Nez Percé reservation that stretched from Oregon into Idaho. But in 1863, following a gold rush into Nez Percé territory, the federal government took back almost six million acres of this land, restricting the Nez Percé to a reservation in Idaho that was only one tenth its prior size. Feeling himself betrayed, Joseph the Elder denounced the United States, destroyed his American flag and his Bible, and refused to move his band from the Wallowa Valley or sign the treaty that would make the new reservation boundaries official.

When his father died in 1871, Joseph was elected to succeed him. He inherited not only a name but a situation made increasingly volatile as white settlers continued to arrive in the Wallowa Valley. Joseph staunchly resisted all efforts to force his band onto the small Idaho reservation, and in 1873 a federal order to remove white settlers and let his people remain in the Wallowa Valley made it appear that he might be successful. But the federal government soon reversed itself, and in 1877 General Oliver Otis Howard threatened a cavalry attack to force Joseph's band and other hold-outs onto the reservation. Believing military resistance futile, Joseph reluctantly led his people toward Idaho.

Answer 2

Yes. There was a good movie about him and his people that was out during the 70s. I think it was called "I will fight no more, forever". By the way, the name Nez Perce means pierced nose. Apparently the Nez Perce were into body piercings.

Answer 3

Chief Joseph did appeal to Congress and received very little actual support for his complaints and concerns. However, all his life he fought for the rights and betterment of his Nez Perce People. he was noted for saying, " I am tired. Hear me, my Chiefs from where the sun now stands, I will fight no more, forever. "

Answer 4

Yes, I have. He spoke eloquently...and his words ring down through the ages with poignant sadness. Chief Joseph tried every possible appeal to the federal authorities to return the Nez Perce to the land of their ancestors. In 1885, he was sent along with many of his band to a reservation in Washington where, according to the reservation doctor, he later died of a broken heart.


"Good words do not last long unless they amount to something. Words do not pay for my dead people. They do not pay for my country, now overrun by white men. They do not protect my father’s grave. They do not pay for all my horses and cattle. Good words cannot give me back my children. Good words will not give my people good health and stop them from dying. Good words will not get my people a home where they can live in peace and take care of themselves. I am tired of talk that comes to nothing It makes my heart sick when I remember all the good words and all the broken promises. There has been too much talking by men who had no right to talk."

Answer 5

Yep, I grew up near his Tribal reservation, been to his tomb.

Answer 6

His real name was Hin-mut-too-yah-lat-kekht, which means "thunder rolling in the mountains."

Answer 7

Yes, I've heard of him....why?...

Answer 8

"I will fight no more, forever". Chief Joseph

Answer 9

Yes, I've heard of him...<><....

Answer 10

No, sorry