Personal Narrative: The Nez Perce Tribe

The Nez Perces had always had good relations with white men, and in 1863 they sign a treaty for their tribe to be moved to a reservation. As more white men move to their tribal land, the Nez Perces are forced to leave and move to the reservation. The Nez Perces decide that they do not want to leave their land, and they win a battle against the white men in the summer of 1877. The Nez Perces then make the decision to flee to Canada. After being surrounded by soldiers for several months, the tribe surrenders.

From where the sun now, stands, I will fight no more forever”. The US Government broke a treaty with the Nez Perce forcing them off their lands of the Wallowa Valley to be put on a reservation in Northwest Idaho. When Chief Joseph heard about a few young Nez Perce killing a few white settlers he started one of the greatest retreats in American military history. Over the next three months Chief Joseph led his people 1,000 miles to try and get to the Canadian border with 2,000 strong army after them. They were not successful, only 40 miles short Chief Joseph was surrounded by the US

The long walk of the Navajo’s was the forced relocation of the Navajo nation in 1863 to 64. The reason for the forced relocation was to the deterioration of U.S. Native relations in the west as well as the continuing expansion into the west. More than 200 Navajos died in the march from exposure, starvation, and disease. The march was led by U.S. Army Cpt. Kit Carson, the local commander in New Mexico and hero of The Battle of Glorieda Pass.

The two cultures of the natives and the settlers collided. Many fight occurred between the two one major fight was the Massacre at Sand Creek. “I want no peace until the Indians suffer more.” (General Curtis) The US army fought against the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes which consisted 200 warriors and 500 women and children on November 29,1864.

From 1863-1868, the Navajo, or Diné, found themselves the target of a major campaign of war by the Union Army and surrounding enemies in the American Southwest, resulting in a program of removal and internment. This series of events is known to the Navajo as the “Long Walk” , where as a people the Navajo were devastated by acts of violence from multiple factions of enemies. The perspectives of the Navajo regarding the “Long Walk” can grant context to the changes occurring in the American Southwest during the American Civil War, where the focus of the Union’s military might fell upon Native Americans instead of Confederate forces. Rather than as a program of Indian removal resulting from the Civil War militarization of the Southwest, the Navajo

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.

Also, primarily, 4,000 men, woman, and children died from disease, exposure to extreme conditions, and hunger. It is now remembered as The Trail of Tears”. (“How-the-Native-Americans-Were-Treated-In-The-1800 -

Violence ensued and eventually the government took the land. The Nez Perce were banished from the area. There are many monuments and the lake and surrounding towns in honor of the tribe. The nearest town was named Joseph in honor of Chief Joseph, the leader of the tribe.

When we reached Kentucky we found beautiful land, and lots of game, and we decided to build a cabin and stay there a while. My three companions left, that left Me to survive by myself in Kentucky for months. In 1773 I went back to North Carolina to bring my family with me to live in Kentucky. Other family's heard and we set off with 40 other settlers, on the way we were attacked by Indians, and 6 men, including my oldest son were killed. After making a treaty with the Cherokee, I forged a route called "Wilderness Road", at the end of it was

The Black Hills War, also known as the Great Sioux War of 1876, was a series of battles fought from 1876 through 1877, between the forces of the United States and their allies (Shoshone, Pawnee, and Crow) and the Sioux (Lakota, Dakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho). Taking place under two presidencies and resulting in hundreds of casualties on both sides, The Black Hills War made great impacts that would continue to affect Natives for generations. The United State’s extensive relationship with the Native Americans has its intricacies to say the least. With the arrival of English settlers at Jamestown in 1607, there were undoubtedly uncertainties amongst the Native people as to whether or not these settlers would resemble the Spanish settlers who

Other tribes throughout America were also moved. An example was Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce Indians. Some other tribes such as Cherokees, Chickasaws, Choctaws, Creeks and Seminoles (Stories), were affected at the onset of the Act. The Nez Perce tribe was affected at the end of the Act. The tribe was pushed to the border between America and Canada, only miles from freedom.

Yet they strove past their limits of painful memories and death to honor and protect their past and future for their people by celebrating what little they had left. The Ponca tribe was one of the few tribes removed not because of white settlers, but because their land was going to be given to another tribe. Not only that, but the journey to the Indian Territory was a poorly thought out plan from the United States government. The Poncas had no good facilities to stay in when they arrived and they had to wait a full year before going to their new territory causing many to die from disease or hunger. They were treated unfairly by the United States; they had a treaty concerning their territory in Nebraska but the United States gave it to the Sioux tribe.

Could you imagine being moved from your home and march hundreds of miles at gunpoint! It sounds like a nightmare but it was a reality for many innocent people they were forced to move to a whole different place and try to survive. In 1820 the treaty of doak 's stand was one of the very first removal of native and land. Andrew jackson gave a talk /speech to the choctaw proposed land exchange for land in the mississippi for land in arkansas but the choctaw nation did not want to sign the treaty but jackson forced the natives to sign jackson was not yet president.

Life as a Native American sucks. I realized this when I was a little kid. I’ve come to accept that what other people label or describes us as are true. I’m not happy to admit this they are right. My people don’t do anything to prove these people’s claims, or better known as stereotypes, about Native Americans wrong. Instead they do the complete opposite and just give these people all the reasons why they are right about how Native Americans are. I realized how my people being called as alcoholic, poor, and uneducated are all sadly true. For example, on New Year’s eve, my family had a big party which was suppose to be fun. It was suppose to be a good get-together family party, but as expected it wasn’t like that at all. My two uncles, named Adolph and Arnold, got into a very bloody fistfight with each other due to all of the drinking that they had. As a

When it was time for us to leave, I felt like I was leaving the world behind me. I was very heartbroken because, this is a place where I lived almost my whole life. I never imagined us picking up everything and leaving to relocate to another town. My emotions were getting the best of me, a lot was going through my young mind. As we were pulling off I remembered all the fun times I had with my friends and family in that house.