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Welcome to Spotlight. I'm Joshua Leo
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And I'm Liz Waid. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand no matter where in the world they live.
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"I will fight no more forever."
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In the United States in the late eighteen hundreds, many Native Americans were forced from their home lands. United States soldiers and government officials wanted to use the land for themselves. Some Native American tribes fought back. Others did not. Today's Spotlight is on one of these tribal leaders, Chief Joseph. He is still a hero to many people today.
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Chief Joseph was born in 1840*. His first, tribal name was Hinmuuttu-yalatlat. In his language, that meant "Thunder rolling down the mountain". He was a member of the Nez Perce tribe. This tribe lived in the northwest United States, in what is now Oregon. The tribe lived on these lands for thousands of years.
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Thunder rolling down the mountain's father later changed his name to Joseph. This was because he became a Christian. And so many people called his son "Joseph the younger" instead of Thunder rolling down the mountain. Joseph's father supported the peace agreements between his tribe and the US government. He worked to keep the peace between his tribe and the white settlers around them. One of these agreeements gave the Nez Perce over 30,000 square kilometres of land - their homeland. But when the white settlers wanted the tribe's land for gold, things changed.
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In 1863, the US government asked the Nez Perce tribe to give up most of their land. In return the government promised to give the tribe money, schools, and a hospital. Many tribe members did not want to give up so much of their land. But other tribe members wanted to take the offer. And this group signed the treaty agreement. The tribe divided. Chief Joseph's father was one of the leaders who did not want to sign this new treaty.
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Some of the tribe moved to a new area, a long distance away. But Chief Joseph's father and the other non-treaty tribe members refused to move from their mountain valley. The chief said,
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"Inside this area all our people were born. It circles the graves, the burial places of our fathers. And we will never give up these graves to any man."
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Chief Joseph's father died in 1871. It was now Joseph's responsibility to lead the tribe. His father told Joseph to never sell the land, to never give it up. Three years later Chief Joseph met with government officials to discuss his tribe's land. The government agreed to let the Nez Perce tribe stay in the valley. All white settlers were ordered to leave the land.
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But it was only three years later that the government overturned this decision. The army threatened said that they would attack if the tribe did not move out of the valley.
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Again, Chief Joseph tried talking with government officials. He said he believed that God would not give one kind of men the right to tell another kind of men what they must do. He did not believe that God gave the US officials the right to tell the Nez Perce people to leave their homeland. But Chief Joseph knew the tribe could not win against the army. So he agreed to the government's demands.
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Chief Joseph and two other tribal leaders went with an army general to look for land the tribe could move to. The general offered the tribe an area where native people and white settlers lived. But Chief Joseph would not agree to this. He did not want to force other people from their land.
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The government and tribe could not agree. The army general gave the tribe 30 days to leave. If they did not move, the army would declare war on the tribe.
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Chief Joseph went back and spoke to his tribe. He said that he would rather leave the land of his fathers than go to war. He wanted peace. The tribe gathered up the things from their homes and prepared to leave.
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But there were some members of the Nez Perce tribe that refused to leave the valley. They were very angry about what was happening. These young men went to a white settlement and killed four white men. Chief Joseph was very sad about this. And he knew that the Unites States Army would come after the tribe. So Chief Joseph decided to take the tribe north towards Canada.
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2000 soldiers followed the Nez Perce tribe. For three months Chief Joseph led the tribe across thousands of miles. They escaped and battled the army many times. The military generals were amazed that the tribe could escape so well. But after one period of fighting for five days in very cold weather, Chief Joseph surrendered. Days later he gave one of his most famous speeches. He said:
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"I am tired of fighting. Our chiefs are killed...The old men are 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 blankets, 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. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever."
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Chief Joseph just wanted to live life peacefully. He wanted his people to live their lives freely. And he wanted others to be free to live theirs.
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Chief Joseph and his tribe moved from their land. The government forced the tribe to live on a government reservation far from their home. Chief Joseph lived peacefully in this new land. But his tribe was divided. Many people had died. And they were not able to live in their homeland again. Late in his life Joseph spoke out against injustice in the United States. He dreamed that the United States' hope for equality and freedom would someday come true for all people. And still to this day, Chief Joseph's words and actions inspire people to continue the dream for freedom.
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The writer and producer of this program was Joshua Leo. All quotes have been adapted and voiced by Spotlight. The voices you heard were from the United States. Computer users can hear our programs, read our scripts, and see our word list on our website at http://www.radio.english.net. This program is called "Chief Joseph: A Man of Peace".
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If you have a comment or question about this program, you can e-mail us. Our e-mail address is radio @ english . net. We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye!
*This sentence was corrected. It originally stated that Chief Joseph was born in 1904. |