Chief Joseph Overview

     Chief Joseph was born around 1840 in the Walloway Valley of Oregon. Joseph was the son of the Nez Perce tribe's own chief. His father had signed a treaty with the United States, giving them a portion of his tribes land for white settlement, which the younger Joseph did not agree with. When he became chief, he vowed to never give up anything from his tribe or move to a reservation so whites could move in on his land.
    For many years, the United States and the Nez Perce tribe agreed to be civil, until gold was found in the region that Chief Joesph's tribe was occupying. The US government wanted to move the Nez Perce tribe in an attempt to get ahold of the gold in Joesph's land, but Joseph would not give in.
    One night, white troops came close to the land of the Nez Perce and were killed by the tribe's natives, causing a conflict between them and whites. In hopes of being spared by white soldiers, the Nez Perce fled from their land, and ended up in Montana after thousands of miles of fighting off attacks. Unfortunately, from the long journey they rested only to wake up to attacks from American soldiers. Chief Joseph couldn't handle it anymore and surrendered, giving up all his land and being forced to move to the reservations in Oklahoma.