Editing Chief Joseph (section)

==Leadership of the Nez Perce==
Joseph the Younger succeeded his father as leader of the Wallowa band in 1871. Before his death, the latter counseled his son:

{{quote|"My son, my body is returning to my mother earth, and my spirit is going very soon to see the Great Spirit Chief. When I am gone, think of your country. You are the chief of these people. They look to you to guide them. Always remember that your father never sold his country. You must stop your ears whenever you are asked to sign a treaty selling your home. A few years more and white men will be all around you. They have their eyes on this land. My son, never forget my dying words. This country holds your father's body. Never sell the bones of your father and your mother."<ref>{{cite book |author=Wilson, James |title=The Earth Shall Weep: A History of Native America |date=2000 |page=242 }}</ref>}}

The non-treaty Nez Perce suffered many injustices at the hands of settlers and [[Prospecting|prospectors]], but out of fear of reprisal from the militarily superior Americans, Joseph never allowed any violence against them, instead making many concessions to them in the hope of securing peace. A handwritten document mentioned in the Oral History of the Grande Ronde recounts an 1872 experience by Oregon pioneer Henry Young and two friends in search of acreage at Prairie Creek, east of Wallowa Lake. Young's party was surrounded by 40–50 Nez Perce led by Chief Joseph. The Chief told Young that white men were not welcome near Prairie Creek, and Young's party was forced to leave without violence.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://pierce.eou.edu/ohgr/exhibit1/documents/young_transcript.pdf |title=Lola Young, Oral History of the Grande Ronde, Eastern Oregon University p. 32 |access-date=May 4, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100604105711/http://pierce.eou.edu/ohgr/exhibit1/documents/young_transcript.pdf |archive-date=June 4, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
[[File:Alice Fletcher2.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.10|An 1889 photograph of Joseph speaking to [[ethnology|ethnologist]] [[Alice Cunningham Fletcher]] and her [[Interpreting|interpreter]] James Stuart]]

In 1873, Joseph negotiated with the federal government to ensure his people could stay on their land in the Wallowa Valley. But in 1877, the government reversed its policy, and Army General [[Oliver O. Howard]] threatened to attack if the Wallowa band did not relocate to the Idaho reservation with the other Nez Perce. Joseph reluctantly agreed. Before the outbreak of hostilities, General Howard held a council at [[Fort Lapwai]] to try to convince Joseph and his people to relocate. Joseph finished his address to the general, which focused on human equality, by expressing his "[disbelief that] the Great Spirit Chief gave one kind of men the right to tell another kind of men what they must do." Howard reacted angrily, interpreting the statement as a challenge to his authority. When [[Toohoolhoolzote]] protested, he was jailed for five days.

The day following the council, Joseph, [[Chief White Bird|White Bird]], and [[Looking Glass (Native American leader)|Looking Glass]] all accompanied Howard to examine different areas within the reservation. Howard offered them a plot of land that was inhabited by whites and Native Americans, promising to clear out the current residents. Joseph and his chieftains refused, adhering to their tribal tradition of not taking what did not belong to them. Unable to find any suitable uninhabited land on the reservation, Howard informed Joseph that his people had 30 days to collect their livestock and move to the reservation. Joseph pleaded for more time, but Howard told him he would consider their presence in the Wallowa Valley beyond the 30-day mark an act of war.

Returning home, Joseph called a council among his people. At the council, he spoke on behalf of peace, preferring to abandon his father's grave over war. Toohoolhoolzote, insulted by his incarceration, advocated war. In June 1877, the Wallowa band began making preparations for the long journey to the reservation, meeting first with other bands at Rocky Canyon. At this council, too, many leaders urged war, while Joseph continued to argue in favor of peace. While the council was underway, a young man whose father had been killed rode up and announced that he and several other young men had retaliated by killing four white settlers. Still hoping to avoid further bloodshed, Joseph and other non-treaty Nez Perce leaders began moving people away from Idaho.