Chief Joseph's Beliefs And Beliefs

Chief Joseph

Chief Joseph was a great leader, he liked peace. He was tired of always running away. He was born on March 3,1840. He died on September 21,1904. Chief Joseph lived for 64 years. Most of his life was running away from the U.S army. He surrendered on October 5,1877 he told the U.S army “Hear me, my chiefs! I’m tired, my heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever.” This took place in the Bear Paw Mountains of Montana.

After he surrendered, he was trying to secure his homeland for his tribe the Nez Perce with no fighting just peace. The tribe was scared, but the government allowed them to stay in their homes, but then years later they forced them out. So they moved from Oregon to Idaho.

Chief Joseph feared retaliation by the government and tried to take his people to safety. They got captured and the Nez Perce moved to Kansas, but the fearless leader never gave up. In 1877 the Nez Pierce were ordered to special land reserved for Native Americans. The Nez Pierce ddnt want to go. Instead, Chief Joseph tried to lead 800 of his people to Canada. Fighting the U.S. Army all along their 1100 mile journey, they crossed Idaho and Montana.They were trapped a couple miles from Canada. After a five day fight, the remaining 431 remaining Nez Perce was hurt.

For more than three months, chief Joseph led less than 300 Nez Pierce Indians towards the Canada border. They cover about a distance of more than 1000 miles as the Nez Perce outmaneuvered and battled more than 2,000 pursuing U.S soldiers. A lot of the Nez Pierc people became sick and died. Joseph 's warriors defeated the troops in several battles during the flight. He was admired by many whites for his humane treatment of prisoners, his concern for women, children, and the aged, and because he purchased supplies from ranchers and storekeepers rather than stealing