Chief Joseph Quotes - Page 3

The earth is our mother. She should not be disturbed by hoe or plough. We want only to subsist on what she freely gives us.

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 am tired of talk that comes to nothing.

The Great Spirit Chief who rules above all will smile upon this land... and this time the Indian race is waiting and praying.

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.

Words do not pay for my dead people.

We were like deer. They were like grizzly bear.

Cursed be he that scalps the reputation of the dead.

Some of you think an Indian is like a wild animal. This is a great mistake.

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.

War can be avoided, and it ought to be avoided. I want no war.

I cannot tell how much my heart suffered for my people while at Leavenworth.

The first white men of your people who came to our country were named Lewis and Clark.

My father was the first to see through the schemes of the white man.

Let me be a free man - free to travel, free to stop, free to work.

I will speak with a straight tongue.

The Indian race is waiting and praying.

I only ask of the Government to be treated as all other men are treated. If I cannot go to my own home, let me have a home in a country where my people will not die so fast.

Governor Isaac Stevens of the Washington Territory said there were a great many white people in our country, and many more would come; that he wanted the land marked out so that the Indians and the white man could be separated.

A chief called Lawyer, because he was a great talker, took the lead in the council, and sold nearly all the Nez Perce country.

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.

I labored hard to avoid trouble and bloodshed.

I saw clearly that war was upon us when I learned that my young men had been secretly buying ammunition.

We damaged all the big guns we could, and carried away the powder and the lead.

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.