SITTING BULL
Sitting Bull whose Indian name was Tatanka Iyotake
Was born in the Grand River region of present-day South Dakota in approximately 1831
His nickname was Hunkesi
Meaning "Slow" because he never hurried and did everything with care
Sitting Bull was a member of the Sioux tribe
Hhe joined his first war party against the Crow at age 14
The Sioux fought against hostile tribes and white intruders
Soon Sitting Bull became known for his fearlessness in battle
He was also generous and wise, virtues admired by his tribe
Sitting Bull became a leader of the Strong Heart warrior society
He successfully increased The Sioux hunting grounds
However the U.S. army continually invaded this territory
They created problems within the native economy
From 1863 to 1868 the Sioux fought the army's encroachment
In approximately 1867
Sitting Bull became the first principal chief of the entire Sioux nation
Shortly thereafter peace was made with the U.S. government
Although Sitting Bull refused to attend the peace conference or sign the treaty
The Fort Laramie treaty
Promised the Black Hills would remain in Sioux possession forever
However
In the mid-1870s gold was discovered
Press reports brought a rush of prospectors
By 1875
More than a thousand prospectors were camping in the Black Hills
The government ordered the Sioux to their reservations
They were given a deadline of January 31, 1876
Anyone who did not comply was considered hostile
The demand was ignored by the Sioux
In March General George Crook set up a camp in order to attack the natives
Sitting Bull and the Sioux realized they could not defeat the army alone
They must stand with other tribes
They were joined by the Cheyenne and Arapaho
On June 17, they forced a retreat of U.S. troops at the Battle of the Rosebud
They then set up camp at Little Bighorn
After the battle
Sitting Bull performed an important religious ritual called a Sun Dance
The Sun Dance was a type of self-torture which included a loss of consciousness
When Sitting Bull emerged from his trance
He told of his vision of soldiers falling from the sky
Sitting Bull's prediction came true on June 25
Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer
Led his soldiers into the village along the Little Big Horn River
By the end of the day, Custer and his army of more than 200 soldiers were dead
Sitting Bull thought by winning this battle the U.S. government would leave him alone
The fighting had just begun
As the battles continued many of Sitting Bull's followers surrendered
However Sitting Bull would not give up
Soldiers chasing him found a note that read
"You scare all the buffalo away
I want to hunt in this place
I want you to turn back from here
If you don't
I will fight you again"
In 1877 Sitting Bull and his followers escaped into Canada
However within four years famine forced them to surrender
Sitting Bull was held as a prisoner of war for two years
He was thensent to join other Sioux at Standing Rock Agency in North Dakota
In 1885
Sitting Bull joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show
He traveled throughout the United States and Canada
Some believe he was allowed to join the show to keep him away from the reservation
Sitting Bull returned to the reservation in 1889
Many natives had joined a new religion called the Ghost Dance
They believed an Indian messiah would return their lands
They belived that the messiah would remove the whites
Because of this new religion
Indian police arrested Sitting Bull on December 15--1890 as a precaution
They planned to send him to prison
But when his warriors attempted to rescue him
Sitting Bull was killed
He was buried at Fort Yates
In 1953
His remains were moved to Mobridge--South Dakota
MANGAS COLORADAS
For generations
The Apaches resisted white colonization of their homeland in the Southwest
Presently New Mexico and Arizona by both Spaniards and North Americans
In 1848 when gold was discovered in California
The Apaches were further threatened by incursions of white fortune seekers
They were on their way to the gold fields
In an incident at a mining camp
Mangas Coloradas chief of the Mimbreño Chiricahua, was whipped
An act that resulted in his life-long enmity against white men
Though his nephew Cochise had long resisted fighting Americans
In 1861 he too was betrayed by white men and turned against them
Together
Mangas Coloradas
And Cochise ravaged much of southern New Mexico and Arizona
Until Mangas was wounded in 1862
Captured and killed in January 1863
This allegedly while trying to escape from Fort McLane--New Mexico
Upon the death of his uncle Cochise became principal chief of the Apaches
COCHISE
Cochise had long worked as a woodcutter
At the Apache Pass stagecoach station of the Butterfield Overland line until 1861
When a raiding party drove off cattle belonging to a white rancher
They also abducted the child of a ranch hand
An inexperienced Army officer Lt. George Bascom arrived
He ordered Cochise and 5 other Apaches to appear for questioning
They denied guilt or complicity in the incident
Bascom then ordered his men to seize and arrest the Apaches
Their claims of innocence were later substantiated
In the ensuing struggle
Soldiers killed one Apache and subdued 4 others
Cochise, suffering 3 bullets wounds, escaped by cutting through the side of a tent
He soon abducted a number of whites to exchange for the Apache captives
Bascom retaliated by hanging 6 Apaches, including relatives of Cochise
This sequence of events is usually referred to as "The Bascom Affair"
Avenging these deaths, Cochise took to the warpath with his uncle, Mangas Coloradas
During the following year
Warfare by Apache bands was so fierce
That Troops
Settlers
And Traders all withdrew from the region
And upon the recall of army forces to fight in the U.S. Civil War in 1861
Arizona was practically abandoned to the Apaches
In 1862
An army of 3,000 California volunteers under Gen. James Carleton
Marched to Apache Pass to prevent Confederate attacks
And put the Apaches to flight with their howitzers
Although Mangas Coloradas was captured and killed the following year
Cochise and 200 followers eluded capture for more than 10 years
They hid out in the Dragoon Mountains of Arizona
From there they continued their raids
They always faded back into their mountain strongholds
In 1871
Command of the Department of Arizona was assumed by Gen. George Crook
He succeeded in winning the allegiance of a number of Apaches as scouts
He brought many others onto the reservations
Cochise surrendered in September
He resisted the transfer of his people to the Tularosa Reservation in New Mexico
He escaped in the spring of 1872
He surrendered again when the Chiricahua Reservation was established that summer
He died there died June 8--1874
Today
The southeastern most county of Arizona bears his name
GERONIMO
Geronimo
A Bedonkohe Apache leader of the Chiricahua Apache
Led his people's defense of their homeland against the U.S. military
After the death of Cochise
In the early 1870s
Lieutenant Colonel George F. Crook
Commander of the Department of Arizona
Had succeeded in establishing relative peace in the territory
The management of his successors however was disastrous
In 1874 some 4,000 Apaches
Were forcibly moved by U.S. authorities to a reservation at San Carlos
A barren wasteland in east-central Arizona
Deprived of traditional tribal rights
Short on rations and homesick they revolted
Spurred by Geronimo
Hundreds of Apaches left the reservation to resume their war against the whites
In 1882
Crook was recalled to Arizona to conduct a campaign against the Apaches
Geronimo surrendered in January 1884
But took flight from the San Carlos reservation in May 1885
He was accompanied by 35 men
8 boys
And 101 women
Crook
Along with scouts Al Sieber
Tom Horn
And Mickey Free
The white child Cochise was falsely accused of abducting set out in pursuit
10 months later
On March 27--1886
Geronimo surrendered at Cañon de Los Embudos in Sonora--Mexico
Near the border
Fearing that they would be murdered once they crossed into U.S. territory
Geronimo and his small band bolted
As a result
Brigadier General Nelson A. Miles replaced Crook as commander on April 2
During this final campaign
At least 5,000 white soldiers and 500 Indian auxiliaries
Were employed at various times in the capture of Geronimo's small band
Five months and 1,645 miles later
Geronimo was tracked to his camp in Mexico's Sonora mountains
At a conference on Sept. 3--1886 at Skeleton Canyon in Arizona
Miles induced Geronimo to surrender once again
He promised him that after an indefinite exile in Florida
He and his followers would be permitted to return to Arizona
The promise was never kept
Geronimo and his fellow prisoners were put to hard labor
It was May 1887 before he saw his family
He was moved to Fort Sill in the Oklahoma Territory in 1894
He at first attempted to "Take The White Man's Road"
He farmed and joined the Dutch Reformed Church
They expelled him because of his inability to resist gambling
He never saw Arizona again
By special permission of the War Department
He was allowed to sell photographs of himself and his handiwork at expositions
Before he died at Fort Sill--Oklahoma Feb. 17--1909
He dictated to S.S. Barrett his autobiography
"Geronimo
His Own Story"
CRAZYHORSE TASHUNCA-UITCO
1849-1877
Celebrated for his ferocity in battle
Crazy Horse was recognized among his own people as a visionary leader
Committed to preserving the traditions and values of the Lakota way of life
Even as a young man Crazy Horse was a legendary warrior
He stole horses from the Crow Indians before he was thirteen
He led his first war party before turning twenty
Crazy Horse fought in the 1865-68 war led by the Oglala chief Red Cloud
He fought against American settlers in Wyoming
He played a key role in destroying William J. Fetterman's brigade
At Fort Phil Kearny in 1867
Crazy Horse earned his reputation among the Lakota by his skill and daring in battle
But also by his fierce determination to preserve his people's traditional way of life
He refused
For example to allow any photographs to be taken of him
He fought to prevent American encroachment on Lakota lands
This following the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868
He helped to attack a surveying party
Sent into the Black Hills by General George Armstrong Custer in 1873
When the War Department ordered all Lakota bands onto their reservations in 1876
Crazy Horse became a leader of the resistance
Closely allied to the Cheyenne through his first marriage to a Cheyenne woman
He gathered a force of 1,200 Oglala and Cheyenne at his village
He turned back General George Crook on June 17--1876
This as Crook tried to advance up Rosebud Creek
Toward Sitting Bull's encampment on the Little Bighorn
After this victory Crazy Horse joined forces with Sitting Bull
On June 25 led his band in the counterattack that destroyed Custer's Seventh Cavalry
He flaned the Americans from the north and west
As Hunkpapa warriors led by chief Gall charged from the south and east
Following the Lakota victory at the Little Bighorn
Sitting Bull and Gall retreated to Canada
But Crazy Horse remained to battle General Nelson Miles
Miles pursued the Lakota and their allies relentlessly throughout the winter of 1876-77
This constant military harassment and the decline of the buffalo population
Eventually forced Crazy Horse to surrender on May 6--1877
Except for Gall and Sitting Bull
He was the last important chief to yield
Even in defeat
Crazy Horse remained an independent spirit
On September 1877 he left the reservation without authorization
He was taking his sick wife to her parents
General George Crook ordered him arrested
He feared that he was plotting a return to battle
Crazy Horse did not resist arrest at first
But when he realized that he was being led to a guardhouse
He began to struggle
While his arms were held by one of the arresting officers
A soldier ran him through with a bayonet
CHIEF JOSEPH HIN-MAH-TOO-YAH-LAT-KEKT
1840-1904
The man who became a national celebrity with the name "Chief Joseph"
Was born in the Wallowa Valley in what is now northeastern Oregon in 1840
He was given the name Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt
Or Thunder Rolling Down the Mountain
He was widely known as Joseph or Joseph the Younger
Because his father had taken the Christian name Joseph
When he was baptized at the Lapwai mission by Henry Spalding in 1838
Joseph the Elder was one of the first Nez Percé converts to Christianity
He was an active supporter of the tribe's longstanding peace with whites
In 1855
He even helped Washington's territorial governor set up a Nez Percé reservation
That stretched from Oregon into Idaho
But in 1863 following a gold rush into Nez Percé territory
The federal government took back almost six million acres of this land
Restricting the Nez Percé to a reservation in Idaho
That was only one tenth its prior size
Feeling himself betrayed
Joseph the Elder denounced the United States
Destroyed his American flag
His Bible
And refused to move his band from the Wallowa Valley
He refused to sign the treaty that would make the new reservation boundaries official
When his father died in 1871
Joseph was elected to succeed him
He inherited not only a name
But a situation made increasingly volatile
As white settlers continued to arrive in the Wallowa Valley
Joseph staunchly resisted all efforts to force his band onto the small Idaho reservation
In 1873 a federal order to remove white settlers
And let his people remain in the Wallowa Valley
Made it appear that he might be successful
But the federal government soon reversed itself
And in 1877 General Oliver Otis Howard threatened a cavalry attack
An attack to force Joseph's band and other hold outs onto the reservation
Believing military resistance futile
Joseph reluctantly led his people toward Idaho
Unfortunately
They never got there
About twenty young Nez Percé warriors
Enraged at the loss of their homeland
Staged a raid on nearby settlements and killed several whites
Immediately
The army began to pursue Joseph's band
And the others who had not moved onto the reservation
Although he had opposed war Joseph cast his lot with the war leaders
What followed was one of the most brilliant military retreats in American history
Even the unsympathetic General William Tecumseh Sherman
Could not help but be impressed with the 1,400 mile march
He stated that
"The Indians throughout displayed a courage
And skill that elicited universal praise
They fought with almost scientific skill
Using advance and rear guards
Skirmish lines
And field fortifications"
In over three months
The band of about 700, fewer than 200 of whom were warriors
Fought 2,000 U.S. soldiers
And Indian auxiliaries in four major battles and numerous skirmishes
By the time he formally surrendered on October 5--1877
Joseph was widely referred to in the American press as "the Red Napoleon"
It is unlikely however
That he played as critical a role in the Nez Percé's military feat as his legend suggests
He was never considered a war chief by his people
Even within the Wallowa band
It was Joseph's younger brother, Olikut, who led the warriors
While Joseph was responsible for guarding the camp
It appears in fact
That Joseph opposed the decision to flee into Montana
And seek aid from the Crows
Other chiefs
Looking Glass
And some who had been killed before the surrender
Were the true strategists of the campaign
Nevertheless
Joseph's widely reprinted surrender speech
Has immortalized him as a military leader in American popular culture
I Am Tired Of Fighting
Our Chiefs Are Killed
Looking Glass Is Dead
Toohoolhoolzote Is Dead
The Old Men Are All Dead
It Is The Young Men Who Say
"Yes" Or "No"
He Who Led The Young Men-Olikut-Is Dead
It Is Cold And We Have No Blankets
The Little Children Are Freezing To Death
My People
Some Of Them Have Run Away Into The hills
They Have No Blankets
No Food
No One Knows Where They Are
Perhaps Freezing To Death
I Want To Have Time To Look For My Children
And See How Many Of Them I Can Find
Maybe I Shall Find Them Among The Dead
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
Joseph's fame did him little good
Although he had surrendered
With the understanding that he would be allowed to return home
Joseph and his people were instead taken first to eastern Kansas
Then to a reservation in Indian Territory, present-day Oklahoma
Where many of them died of epidemic diseases
Although he was allowed to visit Washington, D.C. in 1879
To plead his case to U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes
It was not until 1885
That Joseph and the other refugees were returned to the Pacific Northwest
Even then half
Including Joseph, were taken to a non-Nez Percé reservation in northern Washington
They were separated from the rest of their people in Idaho
They were separated from their homeland in the Wallowa Valley
In his last years
Joseph spoke eloquently against the injustice of United States policy toward his people
He held out the hope that America's promise of freedom
And equality might one day be fulfilled for Native Americans as well
An Indomitable Voice Of Conscience For The West He Died In 1904
He Was Still Exiled From His Homeland
He Died According To His Doctor "Of A Broken Heart"
Recommend Rasky's Site To A Friend!
COPYRIGHT © 2000-
RASKY'S VIETNAM MEMORIAL
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Was born in the Grand River region of present-day South Dakota in approximately 1831
His nickname was Hunkesi
Meaning "Slow" because he never hurried and did everything with care
Sitting Bull was a member of the Sioux tribe
Hhe joined his first war party against the Crow at age 14
The Sioux fought against hostile tribes and white intruders
Soon Sitting Bull became known for his fearlessness in battle
He was also generous and wise, virtues admired by his tribe
Sitting Bull became a leader of the Strong Heart warrior society
He successfully increased The Sioux hunting grounds
However the U.S. army continually invaded this territory
They created problems within the native economy
From 1863 to 1868 the Sioux fought the army's encroachment
Shortly thereafter peace was made with the U.S. government
Although Sitting Bull refused to attend the peace conference or sign the treaty
Promised the Black Hills would remain in Sioux possession forever
However
In the mid-1870s gold was discovered
Press reports brought a rush of prospectors
By 1875
More than a thousand prospectors were camping in the Black Hills
The government ordered the Sioux to their reservations
They were given a deadline of January 31, 1876
Anyone who did not comply was considered hostile
The demand was ignored by the Sioux
In March General George Crook set up a camp in order to attack the natives
Sitting Bull and the Sioux realized they could not defeat the army alone
They must stand with other tribes
They were joined by the Cheyenne and Arapaho
On June 17, they forced a retreat of U.S. troops at the Battle of the Rosebud
They then set up camp at Little Bighorn
Sitting Bull performed an important religious ritual called a Sun Dance
The Sun Dance was a type of self-torture which included a loss of consciousness
When Sitting Bull emerged from his trance
He told of his vision of soldiers falling from the sky
Sitting Bull's prediction came true on June 25
Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer
Led his soldiers into the village along the Little Big Horn River
By the end of the day, Custer and his army of more than 200 soldiers were dead
Sitting Bull thought by winning this battle the U.S. government would leave him alone
The fighting had just begun
As the battles continued many of Sitting Bull's followers surrendered
However Sitting Bull would not give up
"You scare all the buffalo away
I want to hunt in this place
I want you to turn back from here
If you don't
I will fight you again"
In 1877 Sitting Bull and his followers escaped into Canada
However within four years famine forced them to surrender
Sitting Bull was held as a prisoner of war for two years
He was thensent to join other Sioux at Standing Rock Agency in North Dakota
Sitting Bull joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show
He traveled throughout the United States and Canada
Some believe he was allowed to join the show to keep him away from the reservation
Sitting Bull returned to the reservation in 1889
Many natives had joined a new religion called the Ghost Dance
They believed an Indian messiah would return their lands
They belived that the messiah would remove the whites
Because of this new religion
Indian police arrested Sitting Bull on December 15--1890 as a precaution
They planned to send him to prison
But when his warriors attempted to rescue him
Sitting Bull was killed
He was buried at Fort Yates
In 1953
His remains were moved to Mobridge--South Dakota
MANGAS COLORADAS
For generations
The Apaches resisted white colonization of their homeland in the Southwest
Presently New Mexico and Arizona by both Spaniards and North Americans
In 1848 when gold was discovered in California
The Apaches were further threatened by incursions of white fortune seekers
They were on their way to the gold fields
In an incident at a mining camp
Mangas Coloradas chief of the Mimbreño Chiricahua, was whipped
An act that resulted in his life-long enmity against white men
Though his nephew Cochise had long resisted fighting Americans
In 1861 he too was betrayed by white men and turned against them
Together
Mangas Coloradas
And Cochise ravaged much of southern New Mexico and Arizona
Until Mangas was wounded in 1862
Captured and killed in January 1863
This allegedly while trying to escape from Fort McLane--New Mexico
Upon the death of his uncle Cochise became principal chief of the Apaches
COCHISE
Cochise had long worked as a woodcutter
At the Apache Pass stagecoach station of the Butterfield Overland line until 1861
When a raiding party drove off cattle belonging to a white rancher
They also abducted the child of a ranch hand
An inexperienced Army officer Lt. George Bascom arrived
He ordered Cochise and 5 other Apaches to appear for questioning
They denied guilt or complicity in the incident
Bascom then ordered his men to seize and arrest the Apaches
Their claims of innocence were later substantiated
In the ensuing struggle
Soldiers killed one Apache and subdued 4 others
Cochise, suffering 3 bullets wounds, escaped by cutting through the side of a tent
He soon abducted a number of whites to exchange for the Apache captives
Bascom retaliated by hanging 6 Apaches, including relatives of Cochise
This sequence of events is usually referred to as "The Bascom Affair"
Avenging these deaths, Cochise took to the warpath with his uncle, Mangas Coloradas
During the following year
Warfare by Apache bands was so fierce
That Troops
Settlers
And Traders all withdrew from the region
And upon the recall of army forces to fight in the U.S. Civil War in 1861
Arizona was practically abandoned to the Apaches
In 1862
An army of 3,000 California volunteers under Gen. James Carleton
Marched to Apache Pass to prevent Confederate attacks
And put the Apaches to flight with their howitzers
Although Mangas Coloradas was captured and killed the following year
Cochise and 200 followers eluded capture for more than 10 years
They hid out in the Dragoon Mountains of Arizona
From there they continued their raids
They always faded back into their mountain strongholds
In 1871
Command of the Department of Arizona was assumed by Gen. George Crook
He succeeded in winning the allegiance of a number of Apaches as scouts
He brought many others onto the reservations
Cochise surrendered in September
He resisted the transfer of his people to the Tularosa Reservation in New Mexico
He escaped in the spring of 1872
He surrendered again when the Chiricahua Reservation was established that summer
He died there died June 8--1874
Today
The southeastern most county of Arizona bears his name
GERONIMO
Geronimo
A Bedonkohe Apache leader of the Chiricahua Apache
Led his people's defense of their homeland against the U.S. military
After the death of Cochise
In the early 1870s
Lieutenant Colonel George F. Crook
Commander of the Department of Arizona
Had succeeded in establishing relative peace in the territory
The management of his successors however was disastrous
In 1874 some 4,000 Apaches
Were forcibly moved by U.S. authorities to a reservation at San Carlos
A barren wasteland in east-central Arizona
Deprived of traditional tribal rights
Short on rations and homesick they revolted
Spurred by Geronimo
Hundreds of Apaches left the reservation to resume their war against the whites
In 1882
Crook was recalled to Arizona to conduct a campaign against the Apaches
Geronimo surrendered in January 1884
But took flight from the San Carlos reservation in May 1885
He was accompanied by 35 men
8 boys
And 101 women
Crook
Along with scouts Al Sieber
Tom Horn
And Mickey Free
The white child Cochise was falsely accused of abducting set out in pursuit
10 months later
On March 27--1886
Geronimo surrendered at Cañon de Los Embudos in Sonora--Mexico
Near the border
Fearing that they would be murdered once they crossed into U.S. territory
Geronimo and his small band bolted
As a result
Brigadier General Nelson A. Miles replaced Crook as commander on April 2
During this final campaign
At least 5,000 white soldiers and 500 Indian auxiliaries
Were employed at various times in the capture of Geronimo's small band
Five months and 1,645 miles later
Geronimo was tracked to his camp in Mexico's Sonora mountains
At a conference on Sept. 3--1886 at Skeleton Canyon in Arizona
Miles induced Geronimo to surrender once again
He promised him that after an indefinite exile in Florida
He and his followers would be permitted to return to Arizona
The promise was never kept
Geronimo and his fellow prisoners were put to hard labor
It was May 1887 before he saw his family
He was moved to Fort Sill in the Oklahoma Territory in 1894
He at first attempted to "Take The White Man's Road"
He farmed and joined the Dutch Reformed Church
They expelled him because of his inability to resist gambling
He never saw Arizona again
By special permission of the War Department
He was allowed to sell photographs of himself and his handiwork at expositions
Before he died at Fort Sill--Oklahoma Feb. 17--1909
He dictated to S.S. Barrett his autobiography
"Geronimo
His Own Story"
CRAZYHORSE TASHUNCA-UITCO
1849-1877
Celebrated for his ferocity in battle
Crazy Horse was recognized among his own people as a visionary leader
Committed to preserving the traditions and values of the Lakota way of life
Even as a young man Crazy Horse was a legendary warrior
He stole horses from the Crow Indians before he was thirteen
He led his first war party before turning twenty
Crazy Horse fought in the 1865-68 war led by the Oglala chief Red Cloud
He fought against American settlers in Wyoming
He played a key role in destroying William J. Fetterman's brigade
At Fort Phil Kearny in 1867
Crazy Horse earned his reputation among the Lakota by his skill and daring in battle
But also by his fierce determination to preserve his people's traditional way of life
He refused
For example to allow any photographs to be taken of him
He fought to prevent American encroachment on Lakota lands
This following the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868
He helped to attack a surveying party
Sent into the Black Hills by General George Armstrong Custer in 1873
When the War Department ordered all Lakota bands onto their reservations in 1876
Crazy Horse became a leader of the resistance
Closely allied to the Cheyenne through his first marriage to a Cheyenne woman
He gathered a force of 1,200 Oglala and Cheyenne at his village
He turned back General George Crook on June 17--1876
This as Crook tried to advance up Rosebud Creek
Toward Sitting Bull's encampment on the Little Bighorn
After this victory Crazy Horse joined forces with Sitting Bull
On June 25 led his band in the counterattack that destroyed Custer's Seventh Cavalry
He flaned the Americans from the north and west
As Hunkpapa warriors led by chief Gall charged from the south and east
Following the Lakota victory at the Little Bighorn
Sitting Bull and Gall retreated to Canada
But Crazy Horse remained to battle General Nelson Miles
Miles pursued the Lakota and their allies relentlessly throughout the winter of 1876-77
This constant military harassment and the decline of the buffalo population
Eventually forced Crazy Horse to surrender on May 6--1877
Except for Gall and Sitting Bull
He was the last important chief to yield
Even in defeat
Crazy Horse remained an independent spirit
On September 1877 he left the reservation without authorization
He was taking his sick wife to her parents
General George Crook ordered him arrested
He feared that he was plotting a return to battle
Crazy Horse did not resist arrest at first
But when he realized that he was being led to a guardhouse
He began to struggle
While his arms were held by one of the arresting officers
A soldier ran him through with a bayonet
CHIEF JOSEPH HIN-MAH-TOO-YAH-LAT-KEKT
1840-1904
The man who became a national celebrity with the name "Chief Joseph"
Was born in the Wallowa Valley in what is now northeastern Oregon in 1840
He was given the name Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt
Or Thunder Rolling Down the Mountain
He was widely known as Joseph or Joseph the Younger
Because his father had taken the Christian name Joseph
When he was baptized at the Lapwai mission by Henry Spalding in 1838
Joseph the Elder was one of the first Nez Percé converts to Christianity
He was an active supporter of the tribe's longstanding peace with whites
In 1855
He even helped Washington's territorial governor set up a Nez Percé reservation
That stretched from Oregon into Idaho
But in 1863 following a gold rush into Nez Percé territory
The federal government took back almost six million acres of this land
Restricting the Nez Percé to a reservation in Idaho
That was only one tenth its prior size
Feeling himself betrayed
Joseph the Elder denounced the United States
Destroyed his American flag
His Bible
And refused to move his band from the Wallowa Valley
He refused to sign the treaty that would make the new reservation boundaries official
When his father died in 1871
Joseph was elected to succeed him
He inherited not only a name
But a situation made increasingly volatile
As white settlers continued to arrive in the Wallowa Valley
Joseph staunchly resisted all efforts to force his band onto the small Idaho reservation
In 1873 a federal order to remove white settlers
And let his people remain in the Wallowa Valley
Made it appear that he might be successful
But the federal government soon reversed itself
And in 1877 General Oliver Otis Howard threatened a cavalry attack
An attack to force Joseph's band and other hold outs onto the reservation
Believing military resistance futile
Joseph reluctantly led his people toward Idaho
Unfortunately
They never got there
About twenty young Nez Percé warriors
Enraged at the loss of their homeland
Staged a raid on nearby settlements and killed several whites
Immediately
The army began to pursue Joseph's band
And the others who had not moved onto the reservation
Although he had opposed war Joseph cast his lot with the war leaders
What followed was one of the most brilliant military retreats in American history
Even the unsympathetic General William Tecumseh Sherman
Could not help but be impressed with the 1,400 mile march
He stated that
"The Indians throughout displayed a courage
And skill that elicited universal praise
They fought with almost scientific skill
Using advance and rear guards
Skirmish lines
And field fortifications"
In over three months
The band of about 700, fewer than 200 of whom were warriors
Fought 2,000 U.S. soldiers
And Indian auxiliaries in four major battles and numerous skirmishes
By the time he formally surrendered on October 5--1877
Joseph was widely referred to in the American press as "the Red Napoleon"
It is unlikely however
That he played as critical a role in the Nez Percé's military feat as his legend suggests
He was never considered a war chief by his people
Even within the Wallowa band
It was Joseph's younger brother, Olikut, who led the warriors
While Joseph was responsible for guarding the camp
It appears in fact
That Joseph opposed the decision to flee into Montana
And seek aid from the Crows
Other chiefs
Looking Glass
And some who had been killed before the surrender
Were the true strategists of the campaign
Nevertheless
Joseph's widely reprinted surrender speech
Has immortalized him as a military leader in American popular culture
I Am Tired Of Fighting
Our Chiefs Are Killed
Looking Glass Is Dead
Toohoolhoolzote Is Dead
The Old Men Are All Dead
It Is The Young Men Who Say
"Yes" Or "No"
He Who Led The Young Men-Olikut-Is Dead
It Is Cold And We Have No Blankets
The Little Children Are Freezing To Death
My People
Some Of Them Have Run Away Into The hills
They Have No Blankets
No Food
No One Knows Where They Are
Perhaps Freezing To Death
I Want To Have Time To Look For My Children
And See How Many Of Them I Can Find
Maybe I Shall Find Them Among The Dead
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
Joseph's fame did him little good
Although he had surrendered
With the understanding that he would be allowed to return home
Joseph and his people were instead taken first to eastern Kansas
Then to a reservation in Indian Territory, present-day Oklahoma
Where many of them died of epidemic diseases
Although he was allowed to visit Washington, D.C. in 1879
To plead his case to U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes
It was not until 1885
That Joseph and the other refugees were returned to the Pacific Northwest
Even then half
Including Joseph, were taken to a non-Nez Percé reservation in northern Washington
They were separated from the rest of their people in Idaho
They were separated from their homeland in the Wallowa Valley
In his last years
Joseph spoke eloquently against the injustice of United States policy toward his people
He held out the hope that America's promise of freedom
And equality might one day be fulfilled for Native Americans as well
An Indomitable Voice Of Conscience For The West He Died In 1904
He Was Still Exiled From His Homeland
He Died According To His Doctor "Of A Broken Heart"
Recommend Rasky's Site To A Friend!
COPYRIGHT © 2000-
RASKY'S VIETNAM MEMORIAL
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
For generations
The Apaches resisted white colonization of their homeland in the Southwest
Presently New Mexico and Arizona by both Spaniards and North Americans
In 1848 when gold was discovered in California
The Apaches were further threatened by incursions of white fortune seekers
They were on their way to the gold fields
In an incident at a mining camp
Mangas Coloradas chief of the Mimbreño Chiricahua, was whipped
An act that resulted in his life-long enmity against white men
Though his nephew Cochise had long resisted fighting Americans
In 1861 he too was betrayed by white men and turned against them
Together
Mangas Coloradas
And Cochise ravaged much of southern New Mexico and Arizona
Until Mangas was wounded in 1862
Captured and killed in January 1863
This allegedly while trying to escape from Fort McLane--New Mexico
Upon the death of his uncle Cochise became principal chief of the Apaches
Cochise had long worked as a woodcutter
At the Apache Pass stagecoach station of the Butterfield Overland line until 1861
When a raiding party drove off cattle belonging to a white rancher
They also abducted the child of a ranch hand
An inexperienced Army officer Lt. George Bascom arrived
He ordered Cochise and 5 other Apaches to appear for questioning
They denied guilt or complicity in the incident
Bascom then ordered his men to seize and arrest the Apaches
Their claims of innocence were later substantiated
In the ensuing struggle
Soldiers killed one Apache and subdued 4 others
Cochise, suffering 3 bullets wounds, escaped by cutting through the side of a tent
He soon abducted a number of whites to exchange for the Apache captives
Bascom retaliated by hanging 6 Apaches, including relatives of Cochise
This sequence of events is usually referred to as "The Bascom Affair"
Avenging these deaths, Cochise took to the warpath with his uncle, Mangas Coloradas
During the following year
Warfare by Apache bands was so fierce
That Troops
Settlers
And Traders all withdrew from the region
And upon the recall of army forces to fight in the U.S. Civil War in 1861
Arizona was practically abandoned to the Apaches
In 1862
An army of 3,000 California volunteers under Gen. James Carleton
Marched to Apache Pass to prevent Confederate attacks
And put the Apaches to flight with their howitzers
Although Mangas Coloradas was captured and killed the following year
Cochise and 200 followers eluded capture for more than 10 years
They hid out in the Dragoon Mountains of Arizona
From there they continued their raids
They always faded back into their mountain strongholds
In 1871
Command of the Department of Arizona was assumed by Gen. George Crook
He succeeded in winning the allegiance of a number of Apaches as scouts
He brought many others onto the reservations
Cochise surrendered in September
He resisted the transfer of his people to the Tularosa Reservation in New Mexico
He escaped in the spring of 1872
He surrendered again when the Chiricahua Reservation was established that summer
He died there died June 8--1874
Today
The southeastern most county of Arizona bears his name
GERONIMO
Geronimo
A Bedonkohe Apache leader of the Chiricahua Apache
Led his people's defense of their homeland against the U.S. military
After the death of Cochise
In the early 1870s
Lieutenant Colonel George F. Crook
Commander of the Department of Arizona
Had succeeded in establishing relative peace in the territory
The management of his successors however was disastrous
In 1874 some 4,000 Apaches
Were forcibly moved by U.S. authorities to a reservation at San Carlos
A barren wasteland in east-central Arizona
Deprived of traditional tribal rights
Short on rations and homesick they revolted
Spurred by Geronimo
Hundreds of Apaches left the reservation to resume their war against the whites
In 1882
Crook was recalled to Arizona to conduct a campaign against the Apaches
Geronimo surrendered in January 1884
But took flight from the San Carlos reservation in May 1885
He was accompanied by 35 men
8 boys
And 101 women
Crook
Along with scouts Al Sieber
Tom Horn
And Mickey Free
The white child Cochise was falsely accused of abducting set out in pursuit
10 months later
On March 27--1886
Geronimo surrendered at Cañon de Los Embudos in Sonora--Mexico
Near the border
Fearing that they would be murdered once they crossed into U.S. territory
Geronimo and his small band bolted
As a result
Brigadier General Nelson A. Miles replaced Crook as commander on April 2
During this final campaign
At least 5,000 white soldiers and 500 Indian auxiliaries
Were employed at various times in the capture of Geronimo's small band
Five months and 1,645 miles later
Geronimo was tracked to his camp in Mexico's Sonora mountains
At a conference on Sept. 3--1886 at Skeleton Canyon in Arizona
Miles induced Geronimo to surrender once again
He promised him that after an indefinite exile in Florida
He and his followers would be permitted to return to Arizona
The promise was never kept
Geronimo and his fellow prisoners were put to hard labor
It was May 1887 before he saw his family
He was moved to Fort Sill in the Oklahoma Territory in 1894
He at first attempted to "Take The White Man's Road"
He farmed and joined the Dutch Reformed Church
They expelled him because of his inability to resist gambling
He never saw Arizona again
By special permission of the War Department
He was allowed to sell photographs of himself and his handiwork at expositions
Before he died at Fort Sill--Oklahoma Feb. 17--1909
He dictated to S.S. Barrett his autobiography
"Geronimo
His Own Story"
CRAZYHORSE TASHUNCA-UITCO
1849-1877
Celebrated for his ferocity in battle
Crazy Horse was recognized among his own people as a visionary leader
Committed to preserving the traditions and values of the Lakota way of life
Even as a young man Crazy Horse was a legendary warrior
He stole horses from the Crow Indians before he was thirteen
He led his first war party before turning twenty
Crazy Horse fought in the 1865-68 war led by the Oglala chief Red Cloud
He fought against American settlers in Wyoming
He played a key role in destroying William J. Fetterman's brigade
At Fort Phil Kearny in 1867
Crazy Horse earned his reputation among the Lakota by his skill and daring in battle
But also by his fierce determination to preserve his people's traditional way of life
He refused
For example to allow any photographs to be taken of him
He fought to prevent American encroachment on Lakota lands
This following the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868
He helped to attack a surveying party
Sent into the Black Hills by General George Armstrong Custer in 1873
When the War Department ordered all Lakota bands onto their reservations in 1876
Crazy Horse became a leader of the resistance
Closely allied to the Cheyenne through his first marriage to a Cheyenne woman
He gathered a force of 1,200 Oglala and Cheyenne at his village
He turned back General George Crook on June 17--1876
This as Crook tried to advance up Rosebud Creek
Toward Sitting Bull's encampment on the Little Bighorn
After this victory Crazy Horse joined forces with Sitting Bull
On June 25 led his band in the counterattack that destroyed Custer's Seventh Cavalry
He flaned the Americans from the north and west
As Hunkpapa warriors led by chief Gall charged from the south and east
Following the Lakota victory at the Little Bighorn
Sitting Bull and Gall retreated to Canada
But Crazy Horse remained to battle General Nelson Miles
Miles pursued the Lakota and their allies relentlessly throughout the winter of 1876-77
This constant military harassment and the decline of the buffalo population
Eventually forced Crazy Horse to surrender on May 6--1877
Except for Gall and Sitting Bull
He was the last important chief to yield
Even in defeat
Crazy Horse remained an independent spirit
On September 1877 he left the reservation without authorization
He was taking his sick wife to her parents
General George Crook ordered him arrested
He feared that he was plotting a return to battle
Crazy Horse did not resist arrest at first
But when he realized that he was being led to a guardhouse
He began to struggle
While his arms were held by one of the arresting officers
A soldier ran him through with a bayonet
CHIEF JOSEPH HIN-MAH-TOO-YAH-LAT-KEKT
1840-1904
The man who became a national celebrity with the name "Chief Joseph"
Was born in the Wallowa Valley in what is now northeastern Oregon in 1840
He was given the name Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt
Or Thunder Rolling Down the Mountain
He was widely known as Joseph or Joseph the Younger
Because his father had taken the Christian name Joseph
When he was baptized at the Lapwai mission by Henry Spalding in 1838
Joseph the Elder was one of the first Nez Percé converts to Christianity
He was an active supporter of the tribe's longstanding peace with whites
In 1855
He even helped Washington's territorial governor set up a Nez Percé reservation
That stretched from Oregon into Idaho
But in 1863 following a gold rush into Nez Percé territory
The federal government took back almost six million acres of this land
Restricting the Nez Percé to a reservation in Idaho
That was only one tenth its prior size
Feeling himself betrayed
Joseph the Elder denounced the United States
Destroyed his American flag
His Bible
And refused to move his band from the Wallowa Valley
He refused to sign the treaty that would make the new reservation boundaries official
When his father died in 1871
Joseph was elected to succeed him
He inherited not only a name
But a situation made increasingly volatile
As white settlers continued to arrive in the Wallowa Valley
Joseph staunchly resisted all efforts to force his band onto the small Idaho reservation
In 1873 a federal order to remove white settlers
And let his people remain in the Wallowa Valley
Made it appear that he might be successful
But the federal government soon reversed itself
And in 1877 General Oliver Otis Howard threatened a cavalry attack
An attack to force Joseph's band and other hold outs onto the reservation
Believing military resistance futile
Joseph reluctantly led his people toward Idaho
Unfortunately
They never got there
About twenty young Nez Percé warriors
Enraged at the loss of their homeland
Staged a raid on nearby settlements and killed several whites
Immediately
The army began to pursue Joseph's band
And the others who had not moved onto the reservation
Although he had opposed war Joseph cast his lot with the war leaders
What followed was one of the most brilliant military retreats in American history
Even the unsympathetic General William Tecumseh Sherman
Could not help but be impressed with the 1,400 mile march
He stated that
"The Indians throughout displayed a courage
And skill that elicited universal praise
They fought with almost scientific skill
Using advance and rear guards
Skirmish lines
And field fortifications"
In over three months
The band of about 700, fewer than 200 of whom were warriors
Fought 2,000 U.S. soldiers
And Indian auxiliaries in four major battles and numerous skirmishes
By the time he formally surrendered on October 5--1877
Joseph was widely referred to in the American press as "the Red Napoleon"
It is unlikely however
That he played as critical a role in the Nez Percé's military feat as his legend suggests
He was never considered a war chief by his people
Even within the Wallowa band
It was Joseph's younger brother, Olikut, who led the warriors
While Joseph was responsible for guarding the camp
It appears in fact
That Joseph opposed the decision to flee into Montana
And seek aid from the Crows
Other chiefs
Looking Glass
And some who had been killed before the surrender
Were the true strategists of the campaign
Nevertheless
Joseph's widely reprinted surrender speech
Has immortalized him as a military leader in American popular culture
I Am Tired Of Fighting
Our Chiefs Are Killed
Looking Glass Is Dead
Toohoolhoolzote Is Dead
The Old Men Are All Dead
It Is The Young Men Who Say
"Yes" Or "No"
He Who Led The Young Men-Olikut-Is Dead
It Is Cold And We Have No Blankets
The Little Children Are Freezing To Death
My People
Some Of Them Have Run Away Into The hills
They Have No Blankets
No Food
No One Knows Where They Are
Perhaps Freezing To Death
I Want To Have Time To Look For My Children
And See How Many Of Them I Can Find
Maybe I Shall Find Them Among The Dead
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
Joseph's fame did him little good
Although he had surrendered
With the understanding that he would be allowed to return home
Joseph and his people were instead taken first to eastern Kansas
Then to a reservation in Indian Territory, present-day Oklahoma
Where many of them died of epidemic diseases
Although he was allowed to visit Washington, D.C. in 1879
To plead his case to U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes
It was not until 1885
That Joseph and the other refugees were returned to the Pacific Northwest
Even then half
Including Joseph, were taken to a non-Nez Percé reservation in northern Washington
They were separated from the rest of their people in Idaho
They were separated from their homeland in the Wallowa Valley
In his last years
Joseph spoke eloquently against the injustice of United States policy toward his people
He held out the hope that America's promise of freedom
And equality might one day be fulfilled for Native Americans as well
An Indomitable Voice Of Conscience For The West He Died In 1904
He Was Still Exiled From His Homeland
He Died According To His Doctor "Of A Broken Heart"
Recommend Rasky's Site To A Friend!
COPYRIGHT © 2000-
RASKY'S VIETNAM MEMORIAL
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Geronimo
A Bedonkohe Apache leader of the Chiricahua Apache
Led his people's defense of their homeland against the U.S. military
After the death of Cochise
In the early 1870s
Lieutenant Colonel George F. Crook
Commander of the Department of Arizona
Had succeeded in establishing relative peace in the territory
The management of his successors however was disastrous
In 1874 some 4,000 Apaches
Were forcibly moved by U.S. authorities to a reservation at San Carlos
A barren wasteland in east-central Arizona
Deprived of traditional tribal rights
Short on rations and homesick they revolted
Spurred by Geronimo
Hundreds of Apaches left the reservation to resume their war against the whites
In 1882
Crook was recalled to Arizona to conduct a campaign against the Apaches
Geronimo surrendered in January 1884
But took flight from the San Carlos reservation in May 1885
He was accompanied by 35 men
8 boys
And 101 women
Crook
Along with scouts Al Sieber
Tom Horn
And Mickey Free
The white child Cochise was falsely accused of abducting set out in pursuit
10 months later
On March 27--1886
Geronimo surrendered at Cañon de Los Embudos in Sonora--Mexico
Near the border
Fearing that they would be murdered once they crossed into U.S. territory
Geronimo and his small band bolted
As a result
Brigadier General Nelson A. Miles replaced Crook as commander on April 2
During this final campaign
At least 5,000 white soldiers and 500 Indian auxiliaries
Were employed at various times in the capture of Geronimo's small band
Five months and 1,645 miles later
Geronimo was tracked to his camp in Mexico's Sonora mountains
At a conference on Sept. 3--1886 at Skeleton Canyon in Arizona
Miles induced Geronimo to surrender once again
He promised him that after an indefinite exile in Florida
He and his followers would be permitted to return to Arizona
The promise was never kept
Geronimo and his fellow prisoners were put to hard labor
It was May 1887 before he saw his family
He was moved to Fort Sill in the Oklahoma Territory in 1894
He at first attempted to "Take The White Man's Road"
He farmed and joined the Dutch Reformed Church
They expelled him because of his inability to resist gambling
He never saw Arizona again
By special permission of the War Department
He was allowed to sell photographs of himself and his handiwork at expositions
Before he died at Fort Sill--Oklahoma Feb. 17--1909
He dictated to S.S. Barrett his autobiography
"Geronimo
His Own Story"
1849-1877
Celebrated for his ferocity in battle
Crazy Horse was recognized among his own people as a visionary leader
Committed to preserving the traditions and values of the Lakota way of life
Even as a young man Crazy Horse was a legendary warrior
He stole horses from the Crow Indians before he was thirteen
He led his first war party before turning twenty
Crazy Horse fought in the 1865-68 war led by the Oglala chief Red Cloud
He fought against American settlers in Wyoming
He played a key role in destroying William J. Fetterman's brigade
At Fort Phil Kearny in 1867
Crazy Horse earned his reputation among the Lakota by his skill and daring in battle
But also by his fierce determination to preserve his people's traditional way of life
He refused
For example to allow any photographs to be taken of him
He fought to prevent American encroachment on Lakota lands
This following the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868
He helped to attack a surveying party
Sent into the Black Hills by General George Armstrong Custer in 1873
When the War Department ordered all Lakota bands onto their reservations in 1876
Crazy Horse became a leader of the resistance
Closely allied to the Cheyenne through his first marriage to a Cheyenne woman
He gathered a force of 1,200 Oglala and Cheyenne at his village
He turned back General George Crook on June 17--1876
This as Crook tried to advance up Rosebud Creek
Toward Sitting Bull's encampment on the Little Bighorn
After this victory Crazy Horse joined forces with Sitting Bull
On June 25 led his band in the counterattack that destroyed Custer's Seventh Cavalry
He flaned the Americans from the north and west
As Hunkpapa warriors led by chief Gall charged from the south and east
Following the Lakota victory at the Little Bighorn
Sitting Bull and Gall retreated to Canada
But Crazy Horse remained to battle General Nelson Miles
Miles pursued the Lakota and their allies relentlessly throughout the winter of 1876-77
This constant military harassment and the decline of the buffalo population
Eventually forced Crazy Horse to surrender on May 6--1877
Except for Gall and Sitting Bull
He was the last important chief to yield
Even in defeat
Crazy Horse remained an independent spirit
On September 1877 he left the reservation without authorization
He was taking his sick wife to her parents
General George Crook ordered him arrested
He feared that he was plotting a return to battle
Crazy Horse did not resist arrest at first
But when he realized that he was being led to a guardhouse
He began to struggle
While his arms were held by one of the arresting officers
A soldier ran him through with a bayonet
CHIEF JOSEPH HIN-MAH-TOO-YAH-LAT-KEKT
1840-1904
The man who became a national celebrity with the name "Chief Joseph"
Was born in the Wallowa Valley in what is now northeastern Oregon in 1840
He was given the name Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt
Or Thunder Rolling Down the Mountain
He was widely known as Joseph or Joseph the Younger
Because his father had taken the Christian name Joseph
When he was baptized at the Lapwai mission by Henry Spalding in 1838
Joseph the Elder was one of the first Nez Percé converts to Christianity
He was an active supporter of the tribe's longstanding peace with whites
In 1855
He even helped Washington's territorial governor set up a Nez Percé reservation
That stretched from Oregon into Idaho
But in 1863 following a gold rush into Nez Percé territory
The federal government took back almost six million acres of this land
Restricting the Nez Percé to a reservation in Idaho
That was only one tenth its prior size
Feeling himself betrayed
Joseph the Elder denounced the United States
Destroyed his American flag
His Bible
And refused to move his band from the Wallowa Valley
He refused to sign the treaty that would make the new reservation boundaries official
When his father died in 1871
Joseph was elected to succeed him
He inherited not only a name
But a situation made increasingly volatile
As white settlers continued to arrive in the Wallowa Valley
Joseph staunchly resisted all efforts to force his band onto the small Idaho reservation
In 1873 a federal order to remove white settlers
And let his people remain in the Wallowa Valley
Made it appear that he might be successful
But the federal government soon reversed itself
And in 1877 General Oliver Otis Howard threatened a cavalry attack
An attack to force Joseph's band and other hold outs onto the reservation
Believing military resistance futile
Joseph reluctantly led his people toward Idaho
Unfortunately
They never got there
About twenty young Nez Percé warriors
Enraged at the loss of their homeland
Staged a raid on nearby settlements and killed several whites
Immediately
The army began to pursue Joseph's band
And the others who had not moved onto the reservation
Although he had opposed war Joseph cast his lot with the war leaders
What followed was one of the most brilliant military retreats in American history
Even the unsympathetic General William Tecumseh Sherman
Could not help but be impressed with the 1,400 mile march
He stated that
"The Indians throughout displayed a courage
And skill that elicited universal praise
They fought with almost scientific skill
Using advance and rear guards
Skirmish lines
And field fortifications"
In over three months
The band of about 700, fewer than 200 of whom were warriors
Fought 2,000 U.S. soldiers
And Indian auxiliaries in four major battles and numerous skirmishes
By the time he formally surrendered on October 5--1877
Joseph was widely referred to in the American press as "the Red Napoleon"
It is unlikely however
That he played as critical a role in the Nez Percé's military feat as his legend suggests
He was never considered a war chief by his people
Even within the Wallowa band
It was Joseph's younger brother, Olikut, who led the warriors
While Joseph was responsible for guarding the camp
It appears in fact
That Joseph opposed the decision to flee into Montana
And seek aid from the Crows
Other chiefs
Looking Glass
And some who had been killed before the surrender
Were the true strategists of the campaign
Nevertheless
Joseph's widely reprinted surrender speech
Has immortalized him as a military leader in American popular culture
I Am Tired Of Fighting
Our Chiefs Are Killed
Looking Glass Is Dead
Toohoolhoolzote Is Dead
The Old Men Are All Dead
It Is The Young Men Who Say
"Yes" Or "No"
He Who Led The Young Men-Olikut-Is Dead
It Is Cold And We Have No Blankets
The Little Children Are Freezing To Death
My People
Some Of Them Have Run Away Into The hills
They Have No Blankets
No Food
No One Knows Where They Are
Perhaps Freezing To Death
I Want To Have Time To Look For My Children
And See How Many Of Them I Can Find
Maybe I Shall Find Them Among The Dead
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
Joseph's fame did him little good
Although he had surrendered
With the understanding that he would be allowed to return home
Joseph and his people were instead taken first to eastern Kansas
Then to a reservation in Indian Territory, present-day Oklahoma
Where many of them died of epidemic diseases
Although he was allowed to visit Washington, D.C. in 1879
To plead his case to U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes
It was not until 1885
That Joseph and the other refugees were returned to the Pacific Northwest
Even then half
Including Joseph, were taken to a non-Nez Percé reservation in northern Washington
They were separated from the rest of their people in Idaho
They were separated from their homeland in the Wallowa Valley
In his last years
Joseph spoke eloquently against the injustice of United States policy toward his people
He held out the hope that America's promise of freedom
And equality might one day be fulfilled for Native Americans as well
An Indomitable Voice Of Conscience For The West He Died In 1904
He Was Still Exiled From His Homeland
He Died According To His Doctor "Of A Broken Heart"
Recommend Rasky's Site To A Friend!
COPYRIGHT © 2000-
RASKY'S VIETNAM MEMORIAL
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
1840-1904
The man who became a national celebrity with the name "Chief Joseph"
Was born in the Wallowa Valley in what is now northeastern Oregon in 1840
He was given the name Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt
Or Thunder Rolling Down the Mountain
He was widely known as Joseph or Joseph the Younger
Because his father had taken the Christian name Joseph
When he was baptized at the Lapwai mission by Henry Spalding in 1838
Joseph the Elder was one of the first Nez Percé converts to Christianity
He was an active supporter of the tribe's longstanding peace with whites
In 1855
He even helped Washington's territorial governor set up a Nez Percé reservation
That stretched from Oregon into Idaho
But in 1863 following a gold rush into Nez Percé territory
The federal government took back almost six million acres of this land
Restricting the Nez Percé to a reservation in Idaho
That was only one tenth its prior size
Feeling himself betrayed
Joseph the Elder denounced the United States
Destroyed his American flag
His Bible
And refused to move his band from the Wallowa Valley
He refused to sign the treaty that would make the new reservation boundaries official
When his father died in 1871
Joseph was elected to succeed him
He inherited not only a name
But a situation made increasingly volatile
As white settlers continued to arrive in the Wallowa Valley
Joseph staunchly resisted all efforts to force his band onto the small Idaho reservation
In 1873 a federal order to remove white settlers
And let his people remain in the Wallowa Valley
Made it appear that he might be successful
But the federal government soon reversed itself
And in 1877 General Oliver Otis Howard threatened a cavalry attack
An attack to force Joseph's band and other hold outs onto the reservation
Believing military resistance futile
Joseph reluctantly led his people toward Idaho
Unfortunately
They never got there
About twenty young Nez Percé warriors
Enraged at the loss of their homeland
Staged a raid on nearby settlements and killed several whites
Immediately
The army began to pursue Joseph's band
And the others who had not moved onto the reservation
Although he had opposed war Joseph cast his lot with the war leaders
What followed was one of the most brilliant military retreats in American history
Even the unsympathetic General William Tecumseh Sherman
Could not help but be impressed with the 1,400 mile march
He stated that
"The Indians throughout displayed a courage
And skill that elicited universal praise
They fought with almost scientific skill
Using advance and rear guards
Skirmish lines
And field fortifications"
In over three months
The band of about 700, fewer than 200 of whom were warriors
Fought 2,000 U.S. soldiers
And Indian auxiliaries in four major battles and numerous skirmishes
By the time he formally surrendered on October 5--1877
Joseph was widely referred to in the American press as "the Red Napoleon"
It is unlikely however
That he played as critical a role in the Nez Percé's military feat as his legend suggests
He was never considered a war chief by his people
Even within the Wallowa band
It was Joseph's younger brother, Olikut, who led the warriors
While Joseph was responsible for guarding the camp
It appears in fact
That Joseph opposed the decision to flee into Montana
And seek aid from the Crows
Other chiefs
Looking Glass
And some who had been killed before the surrender
Were the true strategists of the campaign
Nevertheless
Joseph's widely reprinted surrender speech
Has immortalized him as a military leader in American popular culture
I Am Tired Of Fighting
Our Chiefs Are Killed
Looking Glass Is Dead
Toohoolhoolzote Is Dead
The Old Men Are All Dead
It Is The Young Men Who Say
"Yes" Or "No"
He Who Led The Young Men-Olikut-Is Dead
It Is Cold And We Have No Blankets
The Little Children Are Freezing To Death
My People
Some Of Them Have Run Away Into The hills
They Have No Blankets
No Food
No One Knows Where They Are
Perhaps Freezing To Death
I Want To Have Time To Look For My Children
And See How Many Of Them I Can Find
Maybe I Shall Find Them Among The Dead
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
Joseph's fame did him little good
Although he had surrendered
With the understanding that he would be allowed to return home
Joseph and his people were instead taken first to eastern Kansas
Then to a reservation in Indian Territory, present-day Oklahoma
Where many of them died of epidemic diseases
Although he was allowed to visit Washington, D.C. in 1879
To plead his case to U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes
It was not until 1885
That Joseph and the other refugees were returned to the Pacific Northwest
Even then half
Including Joseph, were taken to a non-Nez Percé reservation in northern Washington
They were separated from the rest of their people in Idaho
They were separated from their homeland in the Wallowa Valley
In his last years
Joseph spoke eloquently against the injustice of United States policy toward his people
He held out the hope that America's promise of freedom
And equality might one day be fulfilled for Native Americans as well
An Indomitable Voice Of Conscience For The West He Died In 1904
He Was Still Exiled From His Homeland
He Died According To His Doctor "Of A Broken Heart"
Recommend Rasky's Site To A Friend!
RASKY'S VIETNAM MEMORIAL
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED