Chief Joseph Quotes
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I am tired of talk that comes to nothing.
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If the white man wants to live in peace with the Indian, he can live in peace. There need be no trouble. Treat all men alike. give them all the same law. Give them all an even chance to live and grow.
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Good words will not give my people good health and stop them from dying. Good words will not get my people a home where they can live in peace and take care of themselves. I am tired of talk that comes to nothing. It makes my heart sick when I remember all the good words and broken promises.
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A chief called Lawyer, because he was a great talker, took the lead in the council, and sold nearly all the Nez Perce country.
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If the white man wants to live in peace with the Indian, he can live in peace. Treat all men alike. Give them all the same law. Give them all an even chance to live and grow. All men were made by the same Great Spirit Chief. They are all brothers. The Earth is the mother of all people, and all people should have equal rights upon it. Let me be a free man, free to travel, free to stop, free to work, free to trade where I choose, free to choose my own teachers, free to follow the religion of my fathers, free to think and talk and act for myself, and I will obey every law, or submit to the penalty.
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I have heard talk and talk, but nothing is done.
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I saw that the war could not be prevented. The time had passed.
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I believe much trouble and blood would be saved if we opened our hearts more. I will tell you in my way how the Indian sees things. The white man has more words to tell you how they look to him, but it does not require many words to speak the truth.
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We are going by you without fighting if you will let us, but we are going by you anyhow!
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I cannot tell how much my heart suffered for my people while at Leavenworth.
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The white men told lies for each other. They drove off a great many of our cattle. Some branded our young cattle so they could claim them.
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It makes my heart sick when I remember all the good words and the broken promises.
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For a short time we lived quietly. But this could not last. White men had found gold in the mountains around the land of winding water.
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When my young men began the killing, my heart was hurt.
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I only ask of the government to be treated as all other men are treated.
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Lawyer acted without authority from our band. He had no right to sell the Wallowa country.
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The Great Spirit Chief who rules above all will smile upon this land... and this time the Indian race is waiting and praying.
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We did not know there were other people besides the Indian until about one hundred winters ago, when some men with white faces came to our country.
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I am not a child, I think for myself. No man can think for me.
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We live, we die, and like the grass and trees, renew ourselves from the soft earth of the grave. Stones crumble and decay, faiths grow old and they are forgotten, but new beliefs are born. The faith of the villages is dust now... but it will grow again... like the trees.
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I labored hard to avoid trouble and bloodshed.
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I hope that no more groans of wounded men and women will ever go to the ear of the Great Spirit Chief above, and that all people may be one people.
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I pressed my father's hand and told him I would protect his grave with my life. My father smiled and passed away to the spirit land.
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It does not require many words to speak the truth.
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Our chiefs are killed. . . . The little children are freezing to death. . . . My people have no blankets, no food. . . . My heart is sick and sad. . . . I will fight no more forever.
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Good words will not give me back my children.
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It required a strong heart to stand up against such talk, but I urged my people to be quiet and not to begin a war.
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We ask to be recognized as men.
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We were taught to believe that the Great Spirit sees and hears everything, and that he never forgets; that hereafter he will give every man a spirit-home according to his deserts: if he has been a good man, he will have a good home; if he has been a bad man, he will have a bad home. This I believe, and all my people believe the same.
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You might as well expect rivers to run backwards as any man born free to be contented penned up.
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