N
The Daily Insight

Who did Chief Joseph surrender to

Author

Andrew Walker

Updated on April 23, 2026

Chief Joseph’s surrender to General Nelson A. Miles, October 5, 1877. In 1873, Chief Joseph negotiated with the federal government to ensure that his people could stay on their land in the Wallowa Valley as stipulated in 1855 and 1863 land treaties with the U.S. government.

What was the last thing Chief Joseph said in his famous surrender speech?

On October 5, 1877, his speech, as he surrendered to General Howard, immortalized him in American history forever: “I am tired of fighting. Our chiefs are killed. … ‘ He who led the young men [Olikut] is dead.

Why does Chief Joseph surrender?

Having seen his warriors reduced to just 87 fighting men, having weathered the loss of his own brother, Olikut, and having seen many of the women and children near starvation, Chief Joseph surrendered to his enemy, delivering one of the great speeches in American history. “I am tired of fighting,” he said.

When did Chief Joseph give his surrender speech?

“Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever.” On October 5, 1877, Chief Joseph spoke these words during his surrender in the Bear Paw Mountains of Montana.

What does Chief Joseph mean when he famously says I will fight no more forever?

“I Will Fight No More Forever” documents this long and violent struggle between Euro-Americans and Native Americans for the lands and resources of North America. It emphasizes the oppression of the Nez Perce by the U.S. government and its military, eventually resulting in the displacement and death of the Indians.

Where was Chief Joseph surrender speech?

Here is the text of Chief Joseph’s surrender speech at the Bear Paw Mountains battleground in Montana on Oct. 5, 1877: “Tell General Howard I know his heart.

What did Chief Joseph promise his father before he died?

Chief Joseph (1840-1904) was a leader of the Wallowa band of the Nez Perce Tribe, who became famous in 1877 for leading his people on an epic flight across the Rocky Mountains. … Joseph refused, saying that he had promised his father he would never leave.

How did Chief Joseph became chief?

In 1863, they told the Nez Perce to move out of the Wallowa Valley and into Idaho. Chief Joseph the Elder refused. He felt the governor had lied to him when he made the first agreement. In 1871, Joseph the Elder died and Young Joseph became chief.

What happened before Chief Joseph surrendered to the US Army?

Chief Joseph’s surrender to General Nelson A. Miles, October 5, 1877. … As they began their journey to Idaho, Chief Joseph learned that a group of Nez Percé men, enraged at the loss of their homeland, had killed some white settlers in the Salmon River area. Fearing U.S. Army retaliation, the chief began a retreat.

What is Chief Joseph famous for?

Chief Joseph was a Nez Perce leader who led his tribe called the Wallowa band of Nez Perce through a treacherous time in United States history. These indigenous people were natives to the Wallowa Valley in Oregon. Chief Joseph was a powerful advocate for his people’s rights to remain on their homeland.

Article first time published on

What did Chief Joseph pledge?

I Will Fight No More Forever”: Chief Joseph and the Nez Percé War.

What did Chief Joseph wear?

Chief Joseph was documented wearing his deerskin war shirt not once, but twice: first, in an 1877 photograph taken by John Fouch just after the Nez Perce had surrendered to U.S. soldiers in Montana. … The shirt is of the classic sleeved poncho type, made of two soft thin skins, probably deerskin.

Why did US government officials insist that Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce leave their land?

Chief Joseph got rid of his bible and and American flag because he wanted to get rid of the white way of life. The Nez Perce were moving east and started having skirmishes with the whites, so they heard that Sitting Bull and his followers were given sanctuary there.

What was the last Indian tribe to surrender?

This Date in Native History: On September 4, 1886, the great Apache warrior Geronimo surrendered in Skeleton Canyon, Arizona, after fighting for his homeland for almost 30 years. He was the last American Indian warrior to formally surrender to the United States.

What happened to the Nez Perce?

On October 5, 1877, Nez Perce leader Chief Joseph formally surrendered his forces to General Nelson A. Miles and General Oliver Otis Howard at Bear Paw Mountain, Montana Territory. This effectively ended the Nez Perce War of 1877. … For the Nez Perce it was a major victory.

How many separate military units did Chief Joseph defeat?

Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce nation surrendered 87 men, 184 women, and 147 children to units of the U.S. cavalry. For 11 weeks, he led his people on a 1,600 mile retreat toward Canada.

What happened to Chief Joseph and his tribe?

Chief Joseph and his band were sent at first to a barren reservation in Indian Territory (later Oklahoma); there many sickened and died. Not until 1885 were he and the remnants of his tribe allowed to go to a reservation in Washington—though still in exile from their valley.

What language did Chief Joseph speak?

Haruo Aoki (1989: 16) notes that Chief Joseph “spoke in the Nez Perce language. His words had to be translated into English by an interpreter, who in all likelihood was Arthur Chapman [a white man who knew Nez Perce].

What two claims are made in Chief Joseph's speech?

Treat all men alike. Give them the same laws. Give them all an even chance to live and grow. All men were made by the same Great Spirit Chief They are all brothers.

Where was Chief Joseph's traditional home?

Although celebrated for his skill in battle, Joseph worked tirelessly for peace with U.S. government authorities. In 1877, under the threat of forced removal from his traditional homelands in Oregon’s Wallowa Valley, Joseph reluctantly began leading his followers toward a reservation in Idaho.

Who photographed Chief Joseph?

One day in November 1903, the Indian known as “the Red Napoleon” stepped into the studio of Seattle photographer Edward S. Curtis. Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce had come to Seattle to lobby for the return of his tribe’s Oregon homeland, lost years ago through a suspect treaty with the U.S. government.

Where did the Nez Perce live?

The Nez Perce tribe was historically nomadic, traveling with the seasons from buffalo hunting in the Great Plains to salmon fishing at Celilo Falls. 17 million acres in what is now Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Montana made up the tribe’s homeland.

What state is Nez Perce National Park in?

The 38 sites of Nez Perce National Historical Park are scattered across the states of Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Montana and have been designated to commemorate the stories and history of the Nimiipuu and their interaction with explorers, fur traders, missionaries, soldiers, settlers, gold miners, and farmers who …