Run to Freedom: The Nez Perce War

I am tired of fighting. Our chiefs are killed. Looking Glass is dead. Too-hul-hul-sote is dead. The old men are all dead. It is the young men who say yes or no. He who led on the young men is dead. It is cold and we have no blankets. The little children are freezing to death. My people, some of them, have run away to the hills, and have no blanket, no food; no one knows where they are - perhaps freezing to death. I want to have time to look for my children and see how many of them I can find. Maybe I shall find them among the dead. Hear me, my chiefs. I am tired; my heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever. Chief Joseph, 1877. 

Hey everyone. Welcome back. 

In the summer of 1877, as the nation was gripped with the news of the strike that was spreading across the country, a small band of Indigenous Americans in the Pacific Northwest were desperately trying to escape the clutches of the United States government. The Nez Perce, a nation who had enjoyed an overwhelmingly friendly relationship with the federal government as far back as the Lewis and Clark expeditions, were being actively pursued by the United States cavalry. Over several months, the two engaged in a series of battles before several Nez Perce - led by a man Americans know as Chief Joseph - surrendered to U.S. authorities. Yet - despite the fame and attention of the Battle of the Little Big Horn, few know about the series of events leading up to the Nez Perce War. 

So this week, I am diving into it. What prompted the hostilities? Who was Chief Joseph? And what happened to the Nez Perce people?

Grab your cup of coffee, peeps. Let’s do this. 

In many ways, the story of the Nez Perce War is like so many other incidents between the federal government and indigenous nations. You have on one side a collection of people trying desperately to maintain their independence and clinging to their traditions - and who rightfully expected, even if naively, that prior agreements and treaties be honored. On the other side is the United States - an ever expanding federal bureaucracy dedicated to the idea of manifest destiny and pushing the nation’s borders west. Although the Nez Perce enjoyed a longtime cooperative relationship with the United States, the thirst for natural resources and land proved too strong and like so many other indigenous nations, the Nez Perce would find themselves on the opposing end of an overwhelming force committed to extracting compliance by any means necessary. 

The original homeland of the Nez Perce included parts of present day Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. The group was also known to travel out to other areas - as far out as Wyoming and Montana - to fish, hunt, and trade. Upon their initial contact with the haggard Lewis and Clark scouting team, the Nez Perce offered food and shelter, earning the respect and gratitude of William Clark who later recorded that the Nez Perce had shown his group quote, “greater acts of hospitality than we have witnessed from any nation or tribe since we have passed the Rocky Mountains,” end quote. In 1855, the group signed a treaty at Walla Walla that carved out roughly 7.5 million acres for the tribe to use as their land. Of course, once gold was discovered in the area and settlers flooded the territory, all bets were off. Instead of honoring the agreement and trying to enforce its terms and push the settlers off the land, the federal government came in and - in a decision that I think will not shock anyone who has been a longtime listener - demanded changes. Thus, in 1863, representatives of the federal government met with members of the Nez Perce and reduced land holdings by 90% - to just 750,000 acres, primarily in present day Idaho.

And in a theme we’ve seen throughout stories of conflict between Indigenous nations and the federal government, not everyone was on board with the terms of the treaty. The Nez Perce did not have a singular chief or president who could act on behalf of the entire nation. The group did attempt to come to a consensus by holding a tribal council, but after failing to find a viable solution that everyone was happy with, several bands broke apart and left the council. That tiny detail, of course, did not stop federal agents from designating someone of their choosing as the head of the tribe and continuing to negotiate in order to get the treaty signed as they wanted. Per the terms of the 1863 treaty, in addition to the overall reduction of their traditional territory, the lands of Nez Perce groups later referred to as non-treaty bands were left outside of the new reservation, and thus promised no protection from future white settlers - no matter how tepid or inconsistent the government had been in adhering to these promises thus far - despite the fact that the groups failed to acknowledge let alone sign the treaty. These non-treaty members included a band led by a man known as Chief Joseph who lived primarily in the Wallowa valley in Northeastern Oregon. 

Born in 1840, Chief Joseph was known to his people as Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt. My sincerest apologies if I am mispronouncing the traditional name. The name Joseph was given during his baptism and while the leader was initially warm toward white settlers he, like so many other Indigenous leaders throughout the country, became weary of their seemingly endless demands for territory and resources. His father, known as Joseph the Elder, was a signer of the Treaty of Walla Walla in 1855 which supposedly set aside over 7 million acres for the Nez Perce, so it is perhaps unsurprising that when the government came back around in 1863 to renegotiate, the younger Joseph chose not to sign. In total, roughly 25% of the Nez Perce refused to participate in reservation life - which was understandable considering the troubling record of the United States.

Dating back to Andrew Jackson in the 1830s, the United States had carried out various official policies relating to Native American removal and relocation, designating specific areas for tribes to live - almost always areas that were inhospitable or otherwise hostile to its new residents. The United States made several promises to provide relocated individuals with supplies, food, and stipends - promises that all too often fell far short - if they came through at all. At the same time that the government was failing to honor their side of forced agreements, they also forced tribal dependency by preventing tribal members from engaging in their traditional activities like hunting, fishing, or weaving. By the 1860s, this was all well known and thus, unsurprising to hear that there were tribal members who chose to operate outside the reach of the United States government. 

The lack of promised protection from future settlement wasn’t an issue initially. The land in question was remote enough that the non-treaty members had little contact with settlers. But, increased desire for more land led to an influx of settlers causing tensions to rise, leading to the murder of at least one member of the Nez Perce without an arrest in 1876. In May 1877, General Oliver Otis Howard - the Civil War hero known for his support for freedmen after the war and for establishing Howard University - was sent in to handle the situation and extract compliance from the tribe. He issued an order to the non-treaty band of the Nez Perce to report to the reservation within 30 days or face the wrath of the United States army who would forcibly move them. There were members of the non-treaty bands who wanted revenge over compliance, but Chief Joseph understood that the chances of winning any lasting victory over the cavalry was unlikely and that even if they were successful in winning a battle, the guaranteed retaliation would simply not be worth it. Thus, he advised his people to make arrangements to move onto the reservation - the other chiefs agreed.

The non-treaty bands made their way toward the reservation in June, meeting to camp for a few days at Camas Prairie near Grangeville, Idaho. Joining Chief Joseph’s band from Wallowa was Chief Whitebird, Chief Looking Glass, and others - whose names I know I will butcher - totalling around 400 people. Although the groups had all agreed to move onto the reservation, there were several who were angered at the injustice of the situation - and the unpunished murders of their fellow tribal members. On June 13, several members of the Nez Perce rode out to Salmon River in search of vengeance. They killed four men and took horses and guns. This was followed the next night by a second, larger raid causing even more white deaths. The tribes knew this would cause trouble and held a meeting trying to determine how to best respond in an effort to avoid war - unable to come to an agreement, the group splintered. Several members of the Nez Perce stayed behind - committed to keeping the peace and hoping to negotiate with the U.S. and avoid a war. Six Nez Perce waited for the soldiers, armed with a white flag, prepared to discuss a truce. 

As expected, upon hearing the news of the attack, General Howard sent soldiers of the U.S. Cavalry out to White Bird Canyon on June 17th. For reasons that remain unclear, when the soldiers came upon the Nez Perce, they fired their guns. The Nez Perce returned fire, killing one of the cavalry and the two sides engaged in a gun fight. At the end of the engagement, over 30 soldiers were dead and two were wounded - only three Nez Perce warriors suffered injuries. This loss of life for the U.S. cavalry was unacceptable and kicked off a four month campaign where soldiers continuously tracked the Nez Perce trying - and failing - to force their compliance. Despite being outnumbered, and carrying the extra burden of traveling with their elders, children, and women, the Nez Perce outmaneuvered U.S. forces repeatedly. 

It all came to an end when the Nez Perce stopped to make camp near the Snake Creek in the foothills of the Bear’s Paw Mountains. The group believed that they had successfully outrun Howard and his men - what they did not know was that a new man - Brigadier General Nelson A. Miles - had been dispatched to track them down and was closing in. Miles launched a surprise attack on the morning of September 30th and after holding the line for 3 days, Howard arrived with reinforcements and Chief Joseph officially surrendered on October 5th. They were just 40 miles from the Canadian border. 

By the time of his surrender, Chief Joseph had earned quite the reputation as a masterful military commander. And while he was a chief of some of the Nez Perce, Chief Joseph was not a war chief and thus it is inaccurate to paint him as a military leader. During his surrender, he also gave what is now considered a famous speech - which I read at the start of the episode. In negotiating their surrender, Chief Joseph asked that his people be allowed to return to their reservation near Idaho. While Howard and Miles initially agreed, their decision was overridden by William Tecumseh Sherman, the commanding general of the army, who ordered the Nez Perce to be sent to Kansas. Joseph was later quoted as saying that had he known that Howard and Miles were not to be believed, he would never have surrendered. 

Despite his surrender, the Chief continued to advocate for his people, desperately pleading for their return to their home territory - even if it was relegated to living in a reservation. In 1879, he was invited to the nation’s capital where he had some pointed criticisms for the federal government and for the treatment of Indigenous Americans saying partially quote:

When I think of our condition, my heart is heavy. I see men of my own race treated as outlaws and driven from country to country, or shot down like animals. I know that my race must change. We cannot hold our own with the white men as we are. We only ask an even chance to live as other men live. We ask to be recognized as men. We ask that the same law shall work alike on all men. If an Indian breaks the law, punish him by the law. If a white man breaks the law, punish him also. 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 talk, think and act for myself - and I will obey every law or submit to the penalty, end quote.

It wasn’t until 1885 that Chief Joseph and the remaining Nez Perce would be permitted to return to the Pacific Northwest - but they weren’t allowed to stay together. Some were sent to a reservation in Idaho, while others, including Chief Joseph were shipped to a reservation in northern Washington where he remained until his death in 1904. 

The Nez Perce War reflects yet another episode of armed Indigenous resistance against the ongoing quest for consolidation of U.S. control during the Gilded Age. It remains a foundational moment of Native American political memory, illustrating both resistance and survival. While it is not as well remembered or studied today as the Battle of Little Big Horn, the Nez Perce War exposes the moral contradictions of the Gilded Age, revealing how a nation that increasingly claimed to value order, progress, and limited political reform simultaneously relied on military force and treaty violations to suppress Indigenous sovereignty. 

Thanks, peeps. I will see you next time.