Chief Joseph
Chief Joseph
Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt, Hinmatóowyalahtq̓it in Americanist orthography, popularly known as Chief Joseph or Young Joseph, succeeded his father Tuekakasas the leader of the Wal-lam-wat-kainband of Nez Perce, a Native American tribe indigenous to the Wallowa Valley in northeastern Oregon, in the interior Pacific Northwest region of the United States...
ProfessionWar Hero
Date of Birth3 March 1840
CityWallowa River, OR
mother giving hoe
The earth is our mother. She should not be disturbed by hoe or plough. We want only to subsist on what she freely gives us.
religion church want
We do not want churches. They will teach us to quarrel about God.
tired broken-promises american-indian
I am tired of talk that comes to nothing.
men brave coward
An Indian respects a brave man, but he despises a coward.
trouble bloodshed hard
I labored hard to avoid trouble and bloodshed.
morning fall hunting
When the last deer disappears into the morning mist, When the last elk vanishes from the hills, When the last buffalo falls on the plains, I will hunt mice for I am a hunter and I must have my freedom.
tired native-american heart
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.
brother native-american reality
All men were made by the Great Spirit Chief. They are all brothers.
running men rivers
You might as well expect rivers to run backwards as any man born free to be contented penned up.
land mind body
The earth and myself are of one mind. The measure of the land and the neasure of our bodies are the same
broken-heart sick broken-promises
It makes my heart sick when I remember all the good words and the broken promises.
men white people
Our people could not talk with these white-faced men, but they used signs which all people understand.
country native-american men
The earth was created by the assistance of the sun, and it should be left as it was. The country was made without lines of demarcation, and it is no man's business to divide it.
country men white-man
The first white men of your people who came to our country were named Lewis and Clark. They brought many things that our people had never seen. They talked straight. These men were very kind.