Gillard is a lecturer on English literature and writing. In this essay, Gillard asserts that cultural differences between the Nez Perce and the United States military led to the misinterpretation of Chief Joseph's "I Will Fight No More Forever" speech.

Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt (which means Thunder Rolling in the Mountains) of the Wallowa band of the Nimiipu is known to most Euro-Americans as Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce tribe. Chief Joseph delivered a now-famous surrender speech, named for its last line, at the end of a long, bloody retreat from United States Army forces. The Nez Perce had been driven from their homeland in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, and after traveling through Wyoming and Montana, they were attempting to reach a place beyond the jurisdiction of the army: Canada. It was at Bear Paw Mountain in northern Montana, forty miles short of the Canadian border, that the United...