Cheif Joseph

Chief Joseph was born in Wallowa Valley in Northeaster Oregon (Meet). He was originally named, Hinmaton Yalaktit which means "Thunder Rolling Down the Mountain" (Meet). He was renamed chief after his father died in 1871 (Meet). He was the chief of the Nez Perce people (Meet). They were the largest group of Sahapatin speaking people from Idaho to Washington to Oregon (Meet). Chief Joseph and his tribe went through many rough times. In the early eighteenth century, they were introduced to the horse by the Plains Indians (Meet). This helped the tribe turn into a very warlike tribe (Meet). The first white the Nez Perce people encountered were Lewis and Clark (Meet). Problem started with the Nex Perce and the whites when the gold rush started (Meet). Oregon was a hot spot for the search of gold and the government kicked the Nex Perce people out of three quarters their land (Meet). Joseph did not want his people to leave their homeland (Meet). He and his army resisted the United States government, but in 1877, the government told him they would use force to get them out of their land (Meet). Chief Joseph decided it would be a good idea to save the lives of his people and leave (Meet). One of his three top warriors did not want to leave and went up to a group of white settlers and he killed them (Meet). The Chief left quickly after that for the whites were not happy and they wanted retaliation (Meet). He led his people over a thousand miles of land to Canada (Meet). Forty miles away from their destination, they were ambushed and half of the tribe was killed (Meet). The people who lived were not able to return back to their homeland (Meet). They were forced to go to an Indian Territory in Oklahoma (Meet). The hardships that Chief Joseph had to go through to led his people and keep them alive was no easy task.
Chief Joseph's speech "I Will Fight No More Forever" is a very saddening speech. He is talking about the horrible things his tribe has gone through (Joseph). He mentions they have no leader ship, warmth, or food (Joseph). It would be hard to be a leader in a situation like this because his people are running away and he is worried about them, but he still has the people who are with him, and he has to care for them (Joseph). In the speech, Chief Joseph uses realism in his speech. I say this because he is telling his true feelings and fears that he has for his people. Realism is talking about items in that are happening in real life and the outcome on a person from those events (Werlock). He expresses his willingness to quit by saying "I Will Fight No More Forever" (Joseph). That must have been hard for him to say because he comes from a tribe that has always been a fighting tribe and now they are tired and do not want to fight anymore. America had no right to kick the Indians out of their land or to hurt them because they would not leave their homeland that they have been on for as long as they know.

"Meet Cheif Joseph." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 531. Print.

Cheif Joseph. "I Will Fight No More Forever." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 514. Print.

Werlock, Abby H. P. "realism." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/