Chief Joseph

This is another of the We the People series for younger readers, this one dealing with the Nez Perce Chief Joseph. As with most other Native American chiefs, it's a story of a person who is very dedicated to their tribe, who is a very good person, and who doesn't really want to get into a war with the white people but has no choice due to the incursions on Native American land by white settlers, and due to the numerous lies by government representatives to the Native American tribes, and the breaking of treaty after treaty by the whites.

Chief Joseph was a very capable tribal leader and he managed to hold off the white soldiers for as long as he could, but, as in other cases, he and his people were outnumbered and out-gunned and, in the end, had no choice but to surrender.


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