Native+American+Rights+Chief+Joseph

=Chief Joseph: (1840-1904)= Chief Joseph was the chief of the Nez Percé tribe starting on 1871 and had to fight his way through a hard time as even more expansion was occurring than ever before and their sacred tribal land was being diminished. As a child, Joseph's father was the Chief and he was a boy in the Nex Percé tribe in Wallowa Valley in Oregon. Their tribe was for the most part untouched by the government, though years before, the Indian Removal Act moved many other tribes but they weren't in the general area of affected tribes. Born in 1840, Joseph Junior (his father was senior, obviously), spent much of his time playing and learning about other tribes. He soon gained quite a respect for his land and felt sorry that other tribes had to endure moving off their own land and soon became quite a voice in the issue of relocation. During this time, his father signed multiple treaties that were made to protect the Nez Percé tribe for years and their land they were native to. When his father passed away, he was elected the new chief and at around the same time, the treaties made to protect their tribe from relocation were being broken and soon they were told to move out of their land to a small reservation in Idaho. Of course, Chief Joseph was outrage by this and told all of his tribe to not move no matter what they were told to do. Soon, General Oliver Otis Howard threatened to send cavalry to attack the tribe and wipe them out. So Joseph, who was a man who only wants what's best for his people, moved out of his land. Upon moving out of their land to ready for a long walk to Idaho, a group of 20 outraged Nez Percé tribe members raided many towns and killed citizens. Soon an army of 2,000 was sent to completely dispatch of the tribe so as not to have another incident like this. During this walk was where Chief Joseph really shines. His plans were considered one of the most brilliant retreats ever devised. The Nez Percé fought off and ran many times from the army, winning four battles and multiple skirmishes. Soon though, the tribe numbers were dwindling and Chief Joseph knew that he couldn't keep the tribe alive forever like this. He surrendered on October 5th of 1877 as he was finally cornered and he and his people were allowed to safely walk to their new reservation in Idaho. Chief Joseph and his people were moved off to the reservation but before they got there, half were to be sent to another reservation in Washington, Joseph included. After his long troubles, he became a strong supporter of laws reinforcing larger reservations and more rights for the Native American people. He garnered world wide attention with his words and with his hard work, he became one of the most important people about the harshness Native Americans have endured over time and the land that they cherish being taken away from them. He is now revered as an icon of Native American civil rights though he thought he'd never accomplish his goal of fairness amongst Native Americans. When he died in 1904 the doctor said it was because of a broken heart.