Chief Joseph
Born Spring 1840
Wallowa Valley, present-day Oregon
Died September 21, 1904
Nespelem, Oregon
Leader of the Nimitu (Nez Perce) tribe and famous orator
"It is cold and we have no blankets. The little children are freezing to death. I want 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 for ever."
Chief Joseph endures as a symbol of dignity—as a tribal leader who exhausted all efforts to find a peaceful means to secure the homeland of his tribe, and as an eloquent spokesman who won a good measure of public sympathy for the plight of the Nez Perce tribe. His attempts to avoid war, his skillful military strategy when confronted by larger and better-equipped U.S. forces, his care for the defenseless people in his tribe, and his noble surrender when victory proved impossible became legendary during his lifetime.
Two Traditions
Chief Joseph was born in a cave during the spring of 1840 in the Wallowa Valley of present-day Oregon.
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