Joseph, Chief

Joseph, Chief

(born c. 1840, Wallowa Valley, Ore.Terr.—died Sept. 21, 1904, Colville Reservation, Wash., U.S.) Nez Percé chief. In 1877 the U.S. attempted to force the Nez Percé to move to a reservation in Idaho. Chief Joseph at first agreed but later decided instead to lead his followers on a trek to Canada. During the three-month, 1,000-mile journey, he outmaneuvered and outfought federal troops, and his humane conduct won the admiration of many whites. His group was finally surrounded near the Canadian border and subsequently removed to Indian Territory (Oklahoma). In 1885 they were relocated to a reservation in Washington.

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Joseph, Chief (b. Hinmaton Yalatkit) (?1835–1904) Nez Percé chief; born in the Wallowa Valley of present-day Oregon. A peaceful leader of a peaceful tribe, he was forced into a state of war in 1877 and helped lead 750 of his people on a 1,500-mile flight to Canada. Within 40 miles of the border, his people starving and freezing, he surrendered in October 1877, delivering an oft-quoted speech at the event. After being held in Oklahoma, he returned to the northwest (1885), where he encouraged his people to get an education and to abstain from drinking and gambling.