The Nez Perce tribe is well known for their retreat from the US army in the late 1880s, but the history of the tribe, as well as the history of Chief Joseph, are both just as fascinating as their lost battle for their land and freedom.
The Nez Perce were a group of Native Americans that lived in Western Idaho, Southeast Washington, and Northwest Oregon. They called themselves the Nimi'ipuu, which is much more fitting than Nez Perce. Nez Perce actually means "pierced nose" in French, which is a little comedic considering the tribe did not practice nose piercing. The name probably came from a little identification error. There are other tribes near the area that practiced nose piercing, but unfortunately, the name Nez Perce will forever be associated with the Nimi'ipuu. They were not agricultural. They hunted and gathered for food. In the winter, they would travel North onto mountains and into river valleys to hunt Elk, Deer, and other animals of the sort. During the rest of the year, they would come back South and hunt and gather there. There were many varieties of edible berries and a few types of tuber vegetables that they gathered, and they was plentiful wildlife that was easily hunted.
Chief Joseph, made famous by leading the retreat to Canada and his incredible surrender speech, was a very major Chief of the Nez Perce. His real name is Hinmatóowyalaht'qit (pronounced Hin-mah-TOO-yah-lat-ket), which means "Thunder rolling down the mountain", or "Thunder rolling over the land from the water". He was one of 7 children and had 2 brothers and 4 sisters. His parents names were Tuekakas and Khapkhaponimi. His father was baptized with the same christian name as him, so he is often referred to as Joseph the Elder. The young Chief Joseph was married and fathered 9 children, but possibly only 1 lived passed 2. He was one of a few Chiefs in his tribe, and he wasn't a War Chief at first. He probably started out as the Camp Chief, who was in charge of many things around the camp (eg. firewood). He later became a War Chief around the time Whites appeared, and he was just in time.
White settlers had always been violent to the Native Americans, and that was no different for the Nez Perce. There was a ridiculous amount of violence towards the Indians. The violence started earlier than the 1860s , and as many as 30 Nez Perces were murdered. The responsible whites were not unknown, but they were either acquitted or not tried, so they were never found guilty.
As more and more Whites were settling in their home, the Wallowa Valley, the American Government tried and tried to move them off of their land. In fact, Chief Joseph was taken around and offered replacement land, but he turned it down because he found it wrong to take land that belongs to someone else. He had also made a promise to his father to never give up the land that his ancestors were buried on, and he was keen on keeping that promise. Unfortunately, as time kept moving, Chief Joseph had more and more trouble keeping Nez Perce land.
The demand for their land grew and grew, and on June 11, 1855, the Treaty of 1855 was signed. This turned the land over to the USA, but the Nez Perce got some money and access to the land to hunt and gather. This was not a positive change, but 13 years later, the treaty of 1863 was signed, which relinquished the rights to hunt and gather, and forced them to a reservation. This is where the real trouble started.
Chief Joseph wanted anything but to leave to the reservation, but he eventually had to if he wanted to keep peace. He reluctantly started the trek to the reservation they were assigned, but much of the tribe wanted revenge, so they killed 5 whites and wounded 1, which started the war.
Chief Joseph decided to take almost 800 of his people to Canada to evade the army following them, which was led by Captains Edward S. Godfrey and Myles Moylan. The journey was long and tiring, and many were worn down, some had died of cold, starvation, or exhaustion, and when they were 40 miles from the border with Canada, the Battle of Bear Paw Mountain was fought. The battle started on September 30th and Chief Joseph surrendered on October 5, 1877. His surrender speech is arguably one of the most famous Native American speeches of all time. "Hear me, my chiefs, I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever."
Chief Joseph and his people were promised a safe return to the Wallowa Valley by General Moylan, but he was overruled and many were sent to Kansas and Oklahoma. The members who survived on the reservation were able to return to the general area in the mid 1880s. Chief Joseph spent the rest of his life on the Colville Reservation and died in 1904. Captains Edward S. Godfrey and Myles Moylan were awarded Medals of Honor for their actions against the Nez Perce.
In the 1970s, questions came up about Chief Joseph's speech. It was written down by C.E.S. Wood, and was possibly paraphrased or fabricated. No one verified the speech or copied it down other than him. I personally believe that C.E.S. Wood copied down the speech word for word, but it is definitely open to debate.
The story of Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce impressed me greatly, and it is a shame that their struggles couldn't have ended better.
http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/
http://www.ccrh.org/
http://www.historynet.com/nez-perce-war.htm
http://www.army.mil/
http://www.bigorrin.org/
http://www.nezperce.com/
http://www.ochcom.org/pdf/Wood-Venn.pdf
http://www.historyplace.com/
