Chief Joseph: The Native American Leader Who Fought For Peace
Wikimedia CommonsWhen land treaties were changed in favor of white settlers, Chief Joseph’s father destroyed his American flag.
Born Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt (or “Thunder Rolling Down a Mountain”) in 1840 in modern-day Oregon, Chief Joseph was brought up by his father Tuekakas. Better known as Joseph the Elder, Tuekakas was the leader of the Wal-lam-wat-kain (or Wallowa) tribe of the Nez Perce people. He dutifully prepared his son for his role as a Native American leader.
Joseph the Elder preferred nonviolent resolution regarding the white settlers expanding westward. He initially coexisted peacefully with them and even converted to Christianity in 1838 (leading to his name of Joseph). Even though the settlers had begun to take more and more land by force, Joseph the Elder agreed to sign the 1855 Treaty of Walla Walla.
The treaty guaranteed the Wallowa and other nearby tribes in the area more than 7 million acres of land. But then in 1863, settlers violated the boundaries of the treaty while searching for gold on land that didn’t belong to them. In a ruling favoring the settlers, a second treaty was proposed — which downgraded the Indigenous territory to a mere 700,000 acres.
Joseph the Elder refused to sign that document and destroyed both his Bible and his American flag in protest. He died in 1871, but not before ordering his son to never relinquish their lands. Chief Joseph was facing a monumental challenge, but grabbed his duties by the reins — and did everything he could to protect his people until his final breath.
Chief Joseph verbally assaulted those pillaging his land for resources, but wisely avoided physical attacks. He was aware they would only embolden the U.S. government to retaliate. Thus, he simply stood his ground in a nonviolent fashion. And during the early 1870s, this technique seemed to work. But by 1877, General Oliver O. Howard was determined to evict the Nez Perce from their land at any cost, even if it meant turning to violence.
Attempting to reason with the general, Chief Joseph tried to compromise by offering a portion of the land. But by June of 1877, General Howard gave the Nez Perce 30 days to vacate the valley. Otherwise, their presence would be considered an act of war. Though he struggled to leave, Chief Joseph decided to guide his tribe to safety, rather than see his people killed.
Still, he lost over 100 men during a harsh 1,170-mile trek to Idaho. Distressed by their deaths, Chief Joseph conceded to the U.S. government on October 5, 1877. After his surrender, he and many of his people were shuttled to Oklahoma. There, several men died of diseases to which they had no immunity. Chief Joseph tried tirelessly to improve his people’s living conditions, even meeting with President Rutherford Hayes to do so.
While Chief Joseph and his surviving men were returned to the Pacific Northwest in 1885, about half of them were forced onto a reservation that was not part of their original land. Mourning all that was lost, Chief Joseph died in 1904 — with his doctor claiming that the cause was a broken heart.
