Chief Joseph was chief of the Wallowa band of the Nez Perce Indians during the U.S. Army's attempt to move the tribe from Oregon to Idaho. Trying to maintain the peace that had been established between the Americans and his tribe, Joseph repeatedly attempted to reach an agreement with the U.S. Government to maintain his tribe's native homeland, but was unable to do so. After his people were forcibly expelled from their homeland and forced to live in Oklahoma, Joseph plead his case before President Rutherford Hayes and the Nez Perce were allowed to reclaim at least some of their land.

Chief Joseph's father, Joseph the Elder had helped set up borders and negotiate treaties with the U.S. Government that would allow the Nez Perce to keep much of their land. However, after gold was discovered in the area, the American officials attempted to amend the treaty and take away millions of acres of land that had previously been promised to the Nez Perce. Joseph the elder denounced the government and their treaties and, upon his death in 1871, instructed his son to maintain a hold of the tribe's ancestral lands.

In 1877, the government gave the Nez Perce thirty days to vacate the land in question. Upon hearing that several white men had been murdered by members of another Nez Perce band, Joseph feared retaliation from the Americans and began leading his band north to Canada. With 2,000 soldiers in pursuit, Joseph led his group of approximately 700 Wallowas over 1,500 miles across Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana before he surrendered to the Americans.

• The Forest Service site contains visitor information on the Nez Perce National Historic Trail, running the length of the tribe's flight from Wallowa Lake, Oregon, to the Bear Paw Battlefield near Chinook, Montana.

• PBS.org: The West: Chief Joseph biography

• Wikipedia: Nez Perce and Nez Perce War

• USDA Forest Service: Nez Perce National Historic Trail

• Native American Rhymes: The Great Chiefs - Chief Joseph

• Western Treasures: Appaloosa Horses & Nez Perce Culture

• Indians.org: Chief Joseph, Nez Perce

• Junto Society: Chief Joseph profile

• The Spokesman Review's excellent video about the history and cultural heritage of the Nez Perce people is a concise, harrowing look at Chief Joseph's life and struggle.

• Spokesman Review: Video: The Nez Perce: A People in Exile (Time: 5:30)

• Google Images: Chief Joseph

• Yahoo! Image Search: Chief Joseph

• NezPerce.org: Chief Joseph Photos

• The University of Washington has an entire chapter on the Nez Perce Wars from a book by Francis Haines, which provides a thorough background on the major incidents and figures.

• University of Washington: Digital Collections: "Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce Warriors" by Francis Haines

• News Review: "Oregon buys land near Chief Joseph gravesite" (August 3, 2007)

• Spokesman Review: "Words a bridge to past, hereafter" (February 18, 2007)

• Virginia Western Community College: Chief Joseph and the Nez Percé (2004)

• University of Washington: American Indians of the Pacific Northwest Collection: Chief Joseph

• Wikipedia's Nez Perce War category contains a lot of useful background and context for many of these people and events.

• 1840: Born in Wallowa Valley

• 1871: Became chief of Nez Perce

• 1873: Ulysses S. Grant signs an executive order granting half the Wallowa Valley to the Nez Perce

• 1875: President Grant rescinds his 1873 executive order

• July, 1877: Left the valley with his band, headed for Canada

• October, 1877: After marching 1400 miles, Chief Joseph surrenders

• 1878: Was shipped to a reservation in Oklahoma

• 1879: Went to Washington D.C., to meet with Rutherford B. Hayes

• 1885: Returned to the Pacific Northwest

• 1904: Dies in September at the Colville Reservation and is buried in Nespelem, Washington

• Chief Joseph's most famous quote comes from his 1877 surrender speech: "I will fight no more forever"

• Think Exist: Chief Joseph quotes

• Power Source: Chief Joseph quotes

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