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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