Chief Joseph
Nez Pierce (1840-1904)
Chief Joseph, known by his people as In-mut-too-yah-lat-lat
(Thunder coming up over the land from the water), was best known for
his resistance to the U.S. Government's attempts to force his tribe
onto reservations. The Nez Perce were a peaceful nation spread from
Idaho to Northern Washington. The tribe had maintained good relations
with the whites after the Lewis and Clark expedition. Joseph spent
much of his early childhood at a mission maintained by Christian
missionaries.
In 1855 Chief Joseph's father, Old Joseph, signed a treaty with the
U.S. that allowed his people to retain much of their traditional
lands. In 1863 another treaty was created that severely reduced the
amount of land, but Old Joseph maintained that this second treaty was
never agreed to by his people.
A showdown over the second "non-treaty" came after Chief Joseph
assumed his role as Chief in 1877. After months of fighting and forced
marches, many of the Nez Perce were sent to a reservation in what is
now Oklahoma, where many died from malaria and starvation.
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.
Quotes from Chief Joseph:
I have carried a
heavy load on my back ever since I was a boy. I realized then that we
could not hold our own with the white men. We were like deer. They
were like grizzly bears. We had small country. Their country was
large. We were contented to let things remain as the Great Spirit
Chief made them. They were not, and would change the rivers and
mountains if they did not suit them.
I am tired of
fighting.... from where the sun now stands, I will fight no more.
Our fathers gave us
many laws, which they had learned from their fathers. These laws were
good. They told us to treat all people as they treated us; that we
should never be the first to break a bargain; that is was a disgrace
to tell a lie; that we should speak only the truth; that it was a
shame for one man to take another his wife or his property without
paying for it.
We were contented to
let things remain as the Great Spirit made them.
Suppose a white man
should come to me and say, “Joseph, I like your horses. I want to buy
them.”
I say to him, “No, my horses suit me; I will not sell them.”
Then he goes to my neighbor and says, “Pay me money, and I will
sell you Joseph’s horses.”
The white man returns to me and says, “Joseph, I have bought your
horses and you must let me have them.”
If we sold our lands to the government, this is the way they bought
them.
I am not a child, I
think for myself. No man can think for me.
If the white man
wants to live in peace with the Indian, he can live in peace. Treat
all men alike. Give them a chance to live and grow.
All men were made
brothers. The earth is the mother of all people, and all people should
have equal rights upon it. You might as well expect the rivers to run
backward as that any man who was born free should be contented when
penned up and denied liberty to go where he pleases.
If you tie a horse
to a stake, do you expect him to grow fat? If you pen an Indian up on
a small spot of earth, and compel him to stay there, he will not be
contented, nor will he grow and prosper.
The earth and myself
are of one mind.
We were taught to
believe that the Great Spirit sees and hears everything, and that he
never forgets, that hereafter he will give every man a spirit home
according to his deserts; If he has been a good man, he will have a
good home; if he has been a bad man, he will have a bad home.
This I believe, and all my people believe the same.
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.
It does not require
many words to speak the truth.
We do not want
churches because they will teach us to quarrel about God, as the
Catholics and Protestants do. We do not want that.
We may quarrel with
men about things on earth, but we never quarrel about the Great
Spirit.
I believe much
trouble and blood would be saved if we opened our harts more. I will
tell you in my way how the Indian sees things. The white man has more
words to tell you how they look to him, but is does not require many
words to seek the truth.
Too many
misinterpretations have been made... too many misunderstandings...
The Great Spirit
Chief who rules above all will smile upon this land... and this time
the Indian race is waiting and praying.
I am tired of talk
that comes to nothing.