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Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce
Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt , Nez Perce for " Thunder Rolling Down the Mountain , or alternatively " Thunder traveling to higher areas ," became known to the world as Chief Joseph . He was born March 3 , 1840 and died in September 1904 . He succeeded his father Tuekakas ( Chief Joseph the Elder ) as the leader of the Wal-lam-wat-kain ( Wallowa ) band of Nez Perce , a tribe indigenous to the Wallowa Valley in northeastern Oregon .
He was the chief of the band during their forced removal from their ancestral lands . Joseph ' s band resisted removal allying themselves with the Palouse tribe before taking flight to political asylum with Sioux chief Sitting Bull in Canada .
The Nez Perce were pursued by the U . S . Army in an epic 1,170-mile retreat in 1877 which became known as the Nez Perce War . Coverage of the war in United States newspapers led to widespread recognition of Joseph and the Nez Perce , as humanitarians and peacemakers .
The Nez Perce were initially hospitable to the region ' s newcomers but Joseph ' s father grew wary when settlers wanted more Indian lands . Tensions built as more and more of the traditional land of the Indian was made into farming and grazing for white settlers . Isaac Stevens , governor of the Washington Territory , organized a council to designate separate areas for natives and settlers in 1855 . Joseph the Elder and the other Nez Perce chiefs signed a treaty with the United States establishing a Nez Perce reservation encompassing 7.7 million acres in present-day Idaho , Washington , and Oregon . The 1855 reservation maintained much of the traditional Nez Perce lands , including Joseph ' s Wallowa Valley .
The original gold rush that had begun in 1849 in California made its way west and north causing an influx of settlers in 1863 . For this reason government commissioners asked the Nez Perce to accept a much smaller reservation of 780,000 acres situated around the village of Lapwai in Idaho , and which also excluded the Wallowa Valley . In exchange , they were promised financial rewards and schools and a hospital for the reservation . Chief Lawyer and one of his allied chiefs signed the treaty on behalf of the Nez Perce Nation , but Joseph the Elder and several other chiefs were opposed to selling their lands , and did not sign .
Their refusal to sign caused a rift between the " non-treaty " and " treaty " bands of Nez Perce . The " treaty " Nez Perce moved within the new reservation ' s boundaries , while the " non-treaty " Nez Perce remained on their lands . Joseph the Elder demarcated Wallowa land with a series of poles , proclaiming , " Inside this boundary all our people were born . It circles the graves of our fathers , and we will never give up these graves to any man ."
Joseph the Younger succeeded his father as leader of the Wallowa band in 1871 . Before his death , the latter counseled his son saying , " My son , my body is returning to my mother earth , and my spirit is going very soon to see the Great Spirit Chief . When I am gone , think of your country . You are the chief of these people . They look to you to guide them . Always remember that your father never sold his country . You must stop your ears whenever you are asked to sign a treaty selling your home . A few years more and white men will be all around you . They have their eyes on this land . My son , never forget my dying words . This country holds your father ' s body . Never sell the bones of your father and your mother ." The younger Chief commented , " I clasped my father ' s hand and promised to do as he asked . A man who would not defend his father ' s grave is worse than a wild beast ."
In 1873 , Joseph negotiated with the federal government to ensure his people could stay on their land in the Wallowa Valley . But in 1877 , the government reversed its policy , and Army General Oliver Howard threatened to attack if the Wallowa band did not relocate to the Idaho Reservation with the other Nez Perce . Joseph reluctantly agreed . Before the outbreak of hostilities , General Howard held a council at Fort Lapwai to try to convince Joseph and his people to relocate . Joseph finished his address to the general , which focused on human equality , by expressing his "[ disbelief that ] the Great Spirit Chief gave one kind of men the right to tell another kind of men what they must do ." Howard reacted angrily , interpreting the statement as a challenge to his authority . When Toohoolhoolzote protested , he was jailed for five days .
The day following the council , Joseph , White Bird , and Looking Glass all accompanied Howard to look at different areas . Howard offered them a plot of land that was inhabited by Whites and Native Americans , promising to clear them out . Joseph and his chieftains refused , adhering to their tribal tradition of not taking what did not belong to them .
Unable to find any suitable uninhabited land on the reservation , Howard informed Joseph that his people had thirty days to collect their livestock and move to the reservation . Joseph pleaded for more time , but Howard told him that he would consider their presence in the Wallowa Valley beyond the thirty-day mark an act of war .
Returning home , Joseph called a council speaking of peace , and saying he would prefer to abandon his father ' s grave over war . Toohoolhoolzote , insulted by his incarceration , advocated war . The Wallowa band began making The West Old & New Page 8