Indigenous Peoples' Day: Chief Joseph's Words to Washington D.C. (1879)

Chief Joseph, also known as In-mut-too-yah-lat-lat (which means "Thunder-Traveling-to-Loftier-Mountain-Heights"), surrendered on October 5, 1877 in Idaho. Realizing his Nez Perce tribe could not keep their lands against the US army, he said, "Hear me, my chiefs; my heart is sick and sad. From where the Sun now stands, I will fight no more forever." These heartbroken words are not in the formal speech he later delivered in Washington D.C. In the published version in the North American Review, Chief Joseph accuses the Government of cheating and mistreating the tribe, but he ends with a hope for peace, freedom, and equality.
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Indigenous Peoples' Day: Chief Joseph's Words to Washington D.C. (1879)﻿

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Indigenous Peoples' Day: Chief Joseph's Words to Washington D.C. (1879)