Chief Joseph On The Nez Perce

The Nez Perce was one of the most powerful tribes in the Pacific Northwest and was the friendly to the whites. ("Chief Joseph"1). Most of their tribe was baptized as Christians. Joseph the Elder was the first Nez Perce to convert to Christianity. In 1855, he even helped George Washington's territorial governor set up a Nez Perce reservation that stretched from Oregon into Idaho. ("Chief Joseph" 1 PBS.org) Then in 1863, they found gold in the mines where the Nez Perce reservation was located. The U.S. government found out and took almost all the land they gave them. Then Joseph the Elder burned his American flag and bible. Joseph the Elder refused to move his tribe and sign the treaty about the new reservation. In 1871 Joseph died, and his son Chief Joseph stepped up to be the new chief. "In 1877, General Oliver Otis Howard threatened a cavalry attack to force Joseph's band and other hold-outs onto the reservation"("Chief Joseph"1 PSB.org). …show more content…
government took the Nez Perce homeland away because there were gold mines in their reservation. Another conflict was that white settlers arrived on the reservation and the Nez Perce got very angry. The U.S. government offered the Nez Perce a smaller reservation, but they refused to take it. Instead, Chief Joseph led families towards Canada. "For more than three months, Chief Joseph led his followers on a retreat of about 1,600–1,700 miles across Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana, outmaneuvering the pursuing troops" ("Chief Joseph 1 Britannica.com). During the trip, many people ran out of food and were extremely tired of walking. The Nez Perce were finally surrounded in the Bear Paw mountains of Montana, within 40 miles of the Canadian border. ("Chief Joseph"