I Will Fight No More Forever

Most everyone has heard of those famous words spoken by young Chief Joseph, ending the Indian uprising of 1877 in the Wallowa and surrounding area.  This blog cannot do justice to the history of that era and so I would refer you to two publications should you desire to educate yourself about this period in history.  Small references to history in this blog are only a tiny piece of the whole picture and cannot adequately acquaint you with the entire story.

One is a small booklet published by The Yellowstone Association, ‘Chief Joseph’s People and Their War,’ and written by Alvin M. Josephy, Jr.  This booklet gives a quick overview of the treaties of 1855 and 1863 and the uprising of 1877.

The other book is ‘Saga of Chief Joseph’ by Helen Addison Howard.  This is a biography of Young Chief Joseph and goes into much more detail regarding the Nez Perce, their dealings with the US Government, the treaties and the reasons for the uprising of 1877.  I have barely scratched the surface of this book so far but , while rather dry in places, it provides good insight and historical facts regarding the Nez Perce and both Old Chief Joseph and his son, Young Chief Joseph.

It has been more than 30 years since I have been in this part of the state and I am overwhelmed by the beauty and majesty that surrounds me.  The lake is calm and cold.



The river delta that feeds the lake has slowed to a mere trickle compared to what it was when it was filled with the spring runoff of melting snow.



The peaks of the Wallowa Mountains tower above the valley and provide shade in the heat of the day and promise an early twilight.



The deer graze and rest peacefully in the meadow, unconcerned with the human activity nearby.



I am filled with a feeling of peace and contentment.  I feel a small measure of the emotional tug of oneness with the land.


I can see why the Nez Perce loved this land so well.  I can see why they were willing to fight when it was encroached upon.  I can understand why they called this area “Home.”  When their homeland was threatened, I can understand why they did not want to leave.  I have been here for only a few days and already I do not want to leave.

That there was wrong on both sides is not in dispute.  Young hot-headed Indian warriors committed atrocities against settlers and miners.  There were reasons,  but the reasons probably did not justify the killings.  That the government dealt unfairly with the Nez Perce is irrefutable. 

One thing needs to be understood.  In the treaty of 1855 the Indians were paid for their land, much like we paid the French for the Louisiana purchase.  In addition they were promised schools and trading posts and medical help.  The government also promised that the treaties would prevent white settlers from encroaching onto the the land reserved to the Indians.  All of these things the Indians (most of them anyway) were eager to receive.  The chiefs willingly signed the treaty that made these changes.
Not being a student of history and only hearing the somewhat romanticized tales of Indians and reservations, I had it in the back of my mind that the Indians were simply forced off their land and marched to a reservation far, far away.  That is not the way it began. 

The reservations were set aside for the protection of the Indians and land outside of the reservation was sold by the Indians to the government.


As idyllic as this may sound, it didn’t work.  Gold was discovered in lands inside the Nez Perce reservation and the miners and the settlers would not be stopped.  Driven by greed and a dream of a better life for themselves and their families, the whites simply ignored the treaties and took what they wanted.  The Nez Perce appealed peacefully to the government for help.  Chief Joseph was eloquent in his speeches but his pleas for help were met with empty promises and outright lies. 

Finally the government had a solution.  They decided to simply revise the treaty of 1855 and in 1863 made a new treaty, reducing the land set aside for the Nez Perce by 90%.  Some of the chiefs signed this agreement and moved to the smaller area.  Five bands of Indians however refused to sign and became known as Non-treaty Indians.  Chief Joseph’s band was among those who refused to agree to the new treaty.  And that is when the trouble really began.

The map below shows three boundaries.  The largest of these boundaries is the area the Nez Perce called home for as long as they could remember.  The next smallest boundary is that which was agreed to by most of the Indians and the government in the treaty of 1855.  The small portion within these two boundaries is what the revised treaty of 1863 gave to the Nez Perce.  Can you understand why they were royally pissed off?  (pardon my language!) 



Yes, I feel a sense of injustice for the taking of the tribal lands and the way the Nez Perce were treated.  Yes, I can understand why they felt betrayed.  The quote below illustrates one of the reasons Chief Joseph could not agree with the taking of his ancestral lands.



As I have said, this blog cannot do justice to the history of the area…this is only a tiny piece of information.
 
Where Joseph and his people camped and lived and loved and fished and hunted we now have….



This area was part of the Nez Perce encampment in the summer.  They camped here because it was an important area for gathering food and meat for the winter months.  The area provided a rich grazing land for their herds of horses and cattle.  They erected their teepees and they made their home here.  They camped here to live.  Today, we come in our tin teepees and we camp for recreation.  I wonder if we can love and respect the land as much as they did.

The sad fact is that there will always be the conquered and the conqueror.  If you look at history at all you will understand this to be truth.  It is not any one people who visit atrocities upon another culture.  As unfair as it is, it is human nature and it has continued and will continue.  The Indians themselves took slaves and waged war on tribes other than their own.  Most had to do with territorial rights, even though they did not believe in land ownership as we know it today. 

Who can say if the Indians would have been better off left alone?  They certainly had an ancient way of life that had worked for them for unknown years.  And as romantic as it sounds to follow the seasons and move to winter or summer camps, there were also intense hardships associated with this life.  Though they were a happy and peaceful people, they had a harsh existence.  The Nez Perce were at first glad to see the white man come and willingly traded with Lewis and Clark.  They asked for missionaries to be sent to teach them from the “Spirit Book” and they asked for schools and training in agriculture.  Not all Indians hated the white settlers and were wiling to live in peace with them.  But it seems the whites were not so inclined and simply wanted it all.

I can feel bad for the treatment the Indians received at the hand of the US Government but I cannot change it.  I do not feel guilt, for it was not me who perpetrated these indignities upon these ancient peoples.  It is not reasonable to me to assume guilt for the actions of another.  Regret, yes…guilt, no.  No matter what, we cannot change history.  Who knows…in another two hundred years we may be the conquered and history may be recording the atrocities committed against us.

My point is, I can feel sad (which I cannot help), and I can get all morose because the Indians were maltreated, or I can learn from history and try to make my actions better because of it.  I can learn that all people deserve to be treated fairly, that all cultures have value, that my moral code may not be any better than those of an aboriginal people.  I can treat my brother as I would want to be treated.

The best thing I can do is enjoy this land.  I can treat it with the respect that it deserves.  I can do my best to not destroy or harm the beauty of the area.  In that way, I can pay my respects to Chief Joseph and all who came before him.  I can honor the freedom they once had by loving and respecting the land as they did.  I cannot change the past but I can use its lessons to affect my future.

Next up, a more lighthearted approach to the many scenic wonders of the region.