Chief Joseph & the Flight of the Nez Perce: The Untold Story of an American Tragedy

Kent Nerburn

Harper Collins, Oct 25, 2005 - History - 419 pages

Hidden in the shadow cast by the great western expeditions of Lewis and Clark lies another journey every bit as poignant, every bit as dramatic, and every bit as essential to an understanding of who we are as a nation -- the 1,800-mile journey made by Chief Joseph and eight hundred Nez Perce men, women, and children from their homelands in what is now eastern Oregon through the most difficult, mountainous country in western America to the high, wintry plains of Montana. There, only forty miles from the Canadian border and freedom, Chief Joseph, convinced that the wounded and elders could go no farther, walked across the snowy battlefield, handed his rifle to the U.S. military commander who had been pursuing them, and spoke his now-famous words, "From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever."

The story has been told many times, but never before in its entirety or with such narrative richness. Drawing on four years of research, interviews, and 20,000 miles of travel, Nerburn takes us beyond the surrender to the captives' unlikely welcome in Bismarck, North Dakota, their tragic eight-year exile in Indian Territory, and their ultimate return to the Northwest. Nerburn reveals the true, complex character of Joseph, showing how the man was transformed into a myth by a public hungry for an image of the noble Indian and how Joseph exploited the myth in order to achieve his single goal of returning his people to their homeland.

Chief Joseph & the Flight of the Nez Perce is far more than the story of a man and a people. It is a grand saga of a pivotal time in our nation's history. Its pages are alive with the presence of Lewis and Clark, General William Tecumseh Sherman, General George Armstrong Custer, and Sitting Bull. Its events brush against the California Gold Rush, the Civil War, the great western pioneer migration, and the building of the telegraph and the transcontinental railroad. Once you have read this groundbreaking work, you will never look at Chief Joseph, the American Indian, or our nation's westward journey in the same way again.

Contents

• We Thought They Might Be Descended from Dogs: 3
• A Harvest for the Lord: 13
• A Child of Two Worlds: 26
• A Tide of Laws and Men: 38
• We Will Not Give Up the Land: 63
• There Have Been Killings: 87
• We Are Living Here Peacefully and Want No Trouble: 105
• The Most Terrible Mountains I Ever Beheld: 120
• In a Dream Last Night I Saw Myself Killed: 143
• Pursue Them to the Death: 162
• Alone in a Strange Country: 183
• Our People Are Hungry and Weak: 205
• Soldiers Are Coming: 231
• Colonel Miles Wants to Meet with Chief Joseph: 244
• It Is Cold and We Have No Blankets: 262
• You Will Be Returned to Your Homeland: 277
• You Must Move Again: 294
• When Will These White Chiefs Begin to Tell the Truth?: 303
• Is It Possible That the Noble Red Man Is Not a Myth?: 316
• We Wont Be Responsible for Their Lives: 373
• The Noblest Indian of Them All: 397

About the author

Kent Nerburn holds a PhD in both theology and art. He is an author, sculptor, and educator who has been involved in Native American issues and education. He developed and directed an award-winning oral history project on the Red Lake Ojibwe reservation in northern Minnesota. He has edited several books on Native American subjects including Native American Wisdom, The Wisdom of the Native Americans, and The Soul of an Indian. He is also the author of Letters to My Son, The Wolf at Twilight, Simple Truths: Clear and Gentle Guidance on the Big Issues of Life, Small Graces: The Quiet Gifts of Everyday Life, and Ordinary Sacred: The Simple Beauty of Everyday Life. In 1995, Neither Wolf Nor Dog won the Minnesota Book Award. Nerburn is also the author of New York Times bestseller Chief Joseph and the Flight of the Nez Perce: The Untold Story of an American Tragedy.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Chief Joseph & the Flight of the Nez Perce: The Untold Story of an American Tragedy
• Author: Kent Nerburn
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: Harper Collins, 2005
• ISBN: 0060513012, 9780060513016
• Length: 419 pages
• Subjects: History / Indigenous Peoples in the Americas; History / United States / 19th Century; History / United States / State & Local / West (AK, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NV, UT, WY); Social Science / Ethnic Studies / American / Native American Studies