Chief Joseph: Guardian of the People

By Candy Moulton

Chief Joseph (1840-1904) became a legend due to his heroic efforts to keep his people in their homeland in Oregon's Wallowa Valley despite a treaty that ordered them onto a reservation in Idaho. In 1877, when the US army forced the Nez Percé away from their lands, Joseph led his tribespeople on a 1,500-mile, four-month flight from western Idaho across Montana, through Yellowstone National Park and Wyoming, toward safety in Canada.

During this journey, the Army attacked the Indians several times; in one battle alone, at the Big Hole in western Montana, ninety Indian men, women, and children were killed. The Nez Percés' flight ended at the Bear's Paw mountains in northern Montana, just forty miles from the safety of the Canadian border. There the Army surrounded the Nez Percé, captured their horses, killed all but two of their primary chiefs, and forced their capitulation.
When Chief Joseph surrendered to military leaders he told them, "From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever."

Promised by military commanders that they would be returned to Idaho, the Nez Percés were instead relocated to Indian Territory in Oklahoma where many died of fever and disease. Chief Joseph began a new fight-for better conditions for his people and the right to return to their home country. His diplomacy and eloquence won public support and ultimately resulted in the Nez Percé's return to Idaho and Washington.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Publishers
• Release date: May 14, 2013
• ISBN: 9781466845947

Candy Moulton

Candy Moulton is the author of Western history books including Everyday Life Among American Indians from 1800 to 1900, Writer's Guide to Everyday Life in the Wild West from 1840 to 1900, Roadside History of Wyoming, and Roadside History of Nebraska. Moulton makes her home near Encampment, Wyoming, where she edits the Western Writers of America Roundup Magazine, writes regularly for several magazines including True West, Wild West, Persimmon Hill, and American Cowboy. She is a member of the Nez Percé Trail Foundation, Lewis and Clark Heritage Trail Foundation, Oregon-California Trails Association, and Western Writers of America.

Reviews for Chief Joseph

[buffalogr · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Reading about the flight of the Nez Perce and the disregard of treaty by the US government, one begins to understand the plight of the Nez Perce Wallowa band and by extension, the extant Indian culture before Manifest Destiny. The book is short and well researched--the story is extremely compelling. Moulton describes in some excruciating detail about place names, battles fought...maybe one might want to visit those places? I got the book, looking for more developed characters; Joseph was a developed character, but others were not. However, the emotional and intellectual views of the people were well made. A quick, non-intellectual read that doesn't compare well with other popular biographies.

[hamburgerclan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of the problems I have homeschooling here in China is when the curriculum says something like, "Go to the library with your child and find a good book on..." If we were studying literature, I might be able to find some of the classics. But find a book on Washington State history? Not in these parts. Anyway, when we were home this summer I tried to pick up a few kids' books that might enrich the curriculum. I took my wife's advice and rather than physically browse the bookstore shelves myself, I asked one of the salespeople for book advice. In the past, she's had great luck with knowledgable salespeople who were eager to help. Me, I didn't fare so well. They only found a few useful books, and this one, upon further perusal, turned out to be for grown-ups. Or at least high-schoolers. Anyway, I didn't discover this until after I purchased it and shlepped it to China. But that's a good thing because instead of returning it, I put it on my shelf and took the time to read it. Ms. Moulton has written an extremely engaging biography of Chief Joseph. All I knew about him last week was that, back in the 19th Century, he led the Nez Perce tribe in their attempt to evade the U.S. Army and flee to Canada rather than be shipped off to the reservation assigned to them. This book gave me an education, not only about that famous trek in 1877, but also about the changes in native life during Joseph's lifetime, from 1840 to 1904. It's an important look at our American heritage--both the injustices of our ancestors and the nobility and determination of those who took a stand for what's right. --J.