Chief Joseph
Chief Joseph was born Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt, or Thunder Rolling Down the Mountain in 1840 in Northeastern Oregon, then known as Wallowa Valley. He was known as Joseph after his father, Joseph the Elder, was took the name when he was baptized in 1838. His father was one of the first Nez Perce to convert to Christianity, and was a supporter of the tribe’s longstanding peace with whites. This all changed in 1863 when the federal government took back almost six million acres of this land. Joseph the Elder felt betrayed and blamed the United States. He refused to move his band from the Wallowa Valley to a reservation in Idaho. After his father passed away, Joseph the Younger was elected Chief. The tribe was in the middle of an unstable situation as white settlers continued to inhabit the Wallowa Valley. In 1873, the federal government ordered the white settlers to be removed from the area, and to allow Chief Joseph’s people to remain. In 1877 the federal government rescind...
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