Portal:Oregon/Selected biography/8

Chief Joseph (1840–September 21, 1904) was the chief of the Wallowa band of Nez Perce Indians during General Oliver O. Howard's attempt to forcibly remove his band and the other "non-treaty" Indians to a reservation. For his principled resistance to the removal, he became renowned as a humanitarian and peacemaker. In 1873, Joseph negotiated with the federal government to ensure his people could stay on their land, but in 1877, the government reversed its policy, and General Oliver Howard threatened to attack if the Wallowa band did not relocate to the Idaho Reservation. Chief Joseph reluctantly agreed. Joseph and other chiefs began leading his people north toward Canada. Over 3 months, the band traveled 1,700 miles across Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana. On October 5, 1877, in the mountains of the Montana Territory, less than 40 miles south of Canada, Chief Joseph surrendered to General Howard. He earned the praise of General Sherman, and became known in the press as "the Red Napoleon". Although Joseph had negotiated a safe return home for his people, they were instead taken to eastern Kansas and then to a reservation in the Indian Territory where many of them died from diseases. In 1885, Joseph and his followers were allowed to return to the Pacific Northwest, though many, including Chief Joseph, were taken to the Colville Indian Reservation. Joseph continued to lead his band of Wallowa until his death in 1904.