In the spring of 1855 Young Joseph traveled with his father to the Walla Walla Valley Council to learn from the other elders. Not long after retuning home from the council Old Joseph (Tu-eka-kas) learned that whites had discovered gold in Yakima territory. Miners rushed to the

The Nez Perce War of 1877 officially began on June 17 when Captain David Perry stumbled into an Indian ambush. This was the first battle and victory for the Nez Perce of the five-month war. In response Howard sent reinforcements to a village where Looking Glass and a band of non-rebel Indians were camped. When they arrived Looking Glass was distraught and enraged at Howard because they had done nothing. Looking Glass and his tribe joined Joseph in the war against the U.S. During the war Joseph was unofficially appointed Chief of all Nez Perce, in charge of negotiations and making important decisions. In early July, Howard mounted an attack on the Nez Perce encamped on the bank of the Clearwater River. This battle was a decisive victory for the U.S., but Howard failed to capture the heart of the Nez Perce, Chief Joseph.

Joseph is remembered for keeping the Nez Perce together and piloting them through three territories across 1,800 miles of mountains, rivers, and rocky plains. Having been vastly outnumbered by the U.S. army, Joseph outfought and outmaneuvered his opponents until the very end. Joseph fought for people’s inalienable rights and freedom for not just the Nez Perce, but for everyone. For these things Chief Joseph is considered not just one of the greatest Indian leaders, but also greatest men to every live.

territory and reports of them stealing Indians’ horses, raping their women, and killing the men began to spread to other tribes. Thus began the Plateau Indian War, which split the Indian nations into several different factions. The Nez Perce agreed to help the whites by scouting the lad of the other tribes. After the war the senate agreed to sign the “Walla Walla Treaty” of 1859, which allowed the Nez Perce to keep their land, and prohibited whites from going on their reservation. With the signing of the treaty Young Joseph believed that everything was all right and that they would not be bothered by white settlers any more.

By July of 1878 Chief Joseph and his tribe were still far from their homeland and wondered if they would ever return. This is when Chief Joseph starting fighting for the rights of his people to return home. Joseph constantly asked the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to allow his people to return home, but ran into a dead end every time he tried. Joseph’s constant pleas, along with those of Miles finally produced some action. In July 1878, the BIA announced that it would resettle the Nez Perce on 7,000 acres in the Quapaw Reservation in southeastern Kansas. Although the Nez Perce had land it was not their homeland, plus the soil was not fertile enough to grow crops. Joseph was still unsatisfied and complained to the BIA until the Nez Perce were allotted 90,000 acres of land in Oklahoma. Joseph made such a strong impression on the BIA that arrangem

Some topics in this essay:
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