Chief Joseph
Chief Joseph
Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt, Hinmatóowyalahtq̓it in Americanist orthography, popularly known as Chief Joseph or Young Joseph, succeeded his father Tuekakasas the leader of the Wal-lam-wat-kainband of Nez Perce, a Native American tribe indigenous to the Wallowa Valley in northeastern Oregon, in the interior Pacific Northwest region of the United States...
ProfessionWar Hero
Date of Birth3 March 1840
CityWallowa River, OR
heart people my-heart
I cannot tell how much my heart suffered for my people while at Leavenworth.
eye silence tongue
The eye tells what the tongue would hide.
country heart men
When I think of our condition, my heart is heavy. I see men of my own race treated as outlaws and driven from country to country, or shot down like animals.
country winter men
We did not know there were other people besides the Indian until about one hundred winters ago, when some men with white faces came to our country.
men white authority
I have asked some of the great white chiefs where they get their authority to say to the Indian that he shall stay in one place, while he sees white men going where they please. They cannot tell me.
mistake thinking animal
Some of you think an Indian is like a wild animal. This is a great mistake.
horse moving rivers
We gathered all the stock we could find, and made an attempt to move. We left many of our horses and cattle in Wallowa. We lost several hundred in crossing the river.
moving home people
General Howard informed me, in a haughty spirit, that he would give my people 30 days to go back home, collect all their stock, and move onto the reservation.
country lawyer chiefs
A chief called Lawyer, because he was a great talker, took the lead in the council, and sold nearly all the Nez Perce country.
native-american grizzly-bears deer
We were like deer. They were like grizzly bear.
men white-man land
For a short time we lived quietly. But this could not last. White men had found gold in the mountains around the land of winding water.
mother giving hoe
The earth is our mother. She should not be disturbed by hoe or plough. We want only to subsist on what she freely gives us.
men brave coward
An Indian respects a brave man, but he despises a coward.
morning fall hunting
When the last deer disappears into the morning mist, When the last elk vanishes from the hills, When the last buffalo falls on the plains, I will hunt mice for I am a hunter and I must have my freedom.