Summary Of Chief Joseph's View Of Indian Affairs

Chief Joseph’s “An Indian’s Views of Indian Affairs” and James Welch's “The Man From Washington,” suggest that promises are often broken and things aren’t set right with time. In “An Indian’s Views of Indian Affairs,” readers are introduced to the misery and pain that the Native Americans had to go through after the Europeans arrived. The speaker Chief Joseph talks about how the Europeans took away the Native Americans’ land, the lives of their loved ones, and their freedom. Chief Joseph also expresses his anger and disappointment about the broken promises people have made about a better life. In the poem “The Man From Washington,” readers can understand the difficulties the Native Americans faced and the despondency within them. The writer James Welch talks about the broken promises made by the Europeans as well. …show more content…
Good words do not last long unless they amount to something. Words do not pay for my dead people. They do not pay for my country, now overrun by white men. They do not protect my father's grave. They do not pay for all my horses and cattle. Good words will not give me back my children.” This piece of the text shows how the speaker is tired of hearing “good words” about life getting better. He knows that those words won’t bring back his loved ones, the land he once called home, and the life he had before. In the text, Chief Joseph also says, "It makes my heart sick when I remember all the good words and all the broken promises.” This piece of the text demonstrates how the speaker is vexed by the broken promises. He thinks that words don’t have any meaning since nobody put an effort into fulfilling their promises. Hence, he has lost faith in words and promises because of how meaningless they have become. This suggests that no matter what people say, words and time will not set things