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
people divided
My people were divided about surrendering.
war men buying
I saw clearly that war was upon us when I learned that my young men had been secretly buying ammunition.
country band lawyer
Lawyer acted without authority from our band. He had no right to sell the Wallowa country.
fighting indian
When an Indian fights, he only shoots to kill.
may meat fur
Finest fur may cover toughest meat.
children giving give-me
Good words will not give me back my children.
men vaccines white
We soon found that the white men were growing rich very fast, and were greedy.
truth few-words telling-the-truth
It takes few words to tell the truth.
done heard
I have heard talk and talk, but nothing is done.
fathers-day father eye
My father... had sharper eyes than the rest of our people.
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.
native-american grizzly-bears deer
We were like deer. They were like grizzly bear.
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.
native-american dust tree
We live, we die, and like the grass and trees, renew ourselves from the soft earth of the grave. Stones crumble and decay, faiths grow old and they are forgotten, but new beliefs are born. The faith of the villages is dust now... but it will grow again... like the trees.