Who is Chief Joseph

Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce tribe in the Wallowa Valley  had the Native American name of Thunder Rolling Down the Mountain but was called Joseph after his father. He was born in 1840 and lived at a difficult time for his tribe--his father Joseph the Elder had told him to defend his grave and not to sell their 7.7 million acres of land in three Pacific Northwest states that had been negotiated with the US Government. Chief Joseph would not sell the land, but it was taken from them as they were told they must move to a smaller reservation in Idaho. 

Chief Joseph had agreed to relocate to the smaller reservation because he did not want to go to war over land, but a few Nez Perce men killed white settlers over it. Joseph ended up leading his people in a great retreat toward Canada that impressed General Howard. In the end, Chief Joseph had to give up on the retreat. His words from the surrender are still remembered today:

"Tell General Howard I know his heart. What he told me before, I have it in my heart. I am tired of fighting. Our chiefs are killed; Looking Glass is dead, Too-hul-hul-sote is dead. The old men are all dead. It is the young men who say yes or no. He who led on the young men is dead. It is cold, and we have no blankets; the little children are freezing to death. My people, some of them, have run away to the hills, and have no blankets, no food. No one knows where they are—perhaps freezing to death. I want to have time to look for my children, and see how many of them I can find. Maybe I shall find them among the dead. 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."