Search results
People also ask
Who said 'I will fight no more forever'?
Why is I will fight no more forever important?
Why did Chief Joseph write 'I will fight no more forever'?
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!
- Introduction
- Biography Chief Joseph
- Plot Summary
- Themes
- Historical Overview
- Critical Overview
- Criticism
- Media Adaptations
- Sources
"I Will Fight No More Forever" is the name given to the speech made by Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce on October 5, 1877, when the Nez Perce were forced to surrender to Colonel Nelson Miles and General O. O. Howard after the Battle of the Bear Paw Mountains. General Howard led the U.S. soldiers who, for over four months, had chased the Nez Perce—men...
Chief Joseph, also known as Hinmahtohyahlatkekt (which has been translated as Thunder Rolling Down the Mountain, or Thunder Coming Up Over the Land From the Water), was born in 1840, the second son of a Nez Perce chief, Old Joseph. In 1877, when the U.S. military forced Chief Joseph's people off their lands in the Wallowa Valley of eastern Oregon, ...
In his surrender speech, "I Will Fight No More Forever," Chief Joseph confesses his own exhaustion and offers a list of the hardships that have befallen his people while attempting to escape the U.S. army. They had traveled as many as seventeen hundred miles, hoping to find refuge with Sitting Bull, the Sioux chief, who brought his people to Canada...
Oppression and Genocide
The history of contact between the Indians and the whites from the sixteenth through the nineteenth centuries is often considered in terms of a genocidal war carried out against the Native Americans. After the arrival of the whites, native populations were drastically reduced, some groups disappearing forever. They were killed by diseases brought to the New World by Europeans, including, as Alice B. Kehoe describes in North American Indians: A Comprehensive Account, smallpox, measles, and who...
Survival
In the face of a sorrowful defeat and confronted with the possibility of a forced march away from his homeland, or even execution, Chief Joseph emphasizes his weariness with fighting, but not with survival. He asks for "time to look for [his] children and see how many [he] can find." Chief Joseph wishes to search for survivors among his fellow Nez Perce, to regroup, and to protect his remaining people. Although they were finally overcome, the long flight of the Nez Perce was a testament to th...
Heroes and Leaders
Chief Joseph speaks formally to the U.S. leaders, reminding them of General Howard's terms for surrender by saying he has kept them "in his heart." Although he is the one surrendering, by beginning his speech this way he emphasizes the responsibilities the victors have to fulfill their promises. This indicates Chief Joseph has considered the terms and found them better than the alternative of certain death. By the speech's closing, however, it is obvious that this address is intended as much...
The Nez Perce
"Nez Perce" is the name given to a group of Native American peoples who traditionally occupied the plateau regions of the Northwest—eastern Oregon and Washington, and western Idaho. Nez Perce means "Pierced Nose" in French and refers to an early tradition, reported by French fur trappers, of some members of the tribe to wear shell ornaments in their noses. As the National Geographic book Indians of the Americaspoints out, though, there is some question about whether this practice actually exi...
The Nez Perce War
Chief Joseph tried to prepare his people for departure as peacefully as possible, despite the fact that they were given only thirty days to remove themselves to Idaho. Their military escort was heavily armed, and Chief Joseph wanted no violence. An unfortunate series of events led, however, to all-out fighting: by some accounts, a Nez Perce man was killed by white settlers, and according to other sources, a significant number of Nez Perce horses were stolen. While Chief Joseph counseled again...
Indian Statesmanship
As David Beurge discusses in "Chief Seattle and Chief Joseph: From Indians to Icons," Chief Joseph is one of the most well-known Native American spokesmen. Both his surrender speech and his Washington address are famous for their eloquence and strength. Some attribute Chief Joseph's skill with words (and the skillful oratory of other American Indian leaders) to their oral traditions; that is, their experience in the art of verbal rather than written communication. While the native language of...
From the time of its delivery in 1877, Chief Joseph's surrender speech has been praised for its poignancy and dignity. By all accounts, it is one of the most famous Native American speeches ever documented. According to Colin Taylor in "Plateau and Basin," "Joseph's final answer summed up the desperate experiences and now the plight of the remnant ...
Anonymous
In the following historical excerpt, Harper's Weekly recounts the events that led to the surrender of Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce tribe.
I Will Fight No More Forever(1975), the story of Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce, was adapted as a film by Richard T. Heffron. Starring James Whitmore, Sam Elliott, Ned Romero, and Nick Ramus, it is available on video from Anchor Bay Entertainment. On September 30 Colonel MILES made a sudden attack on the enemy, whose camp was situated on a bench or...
Beal, Merrill, I Will Fight No More Forever: Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce War, University Press of Washington, 1963, pp. 41, 229, 233. Buerge, David M., "Chief Seattle and Chief Joseph: From Indians to Icons," The University of Washington, content.lib.washington.edu/aipnw/buerge2.html(August 17, 2005). Bureau of Indian Affairs, Famous Indians: A ...
May 29, 2023 · This brief speech, delivered by Joseph to Gen. Oliver O. Howard (1830–1909), is best remembered for its last sentence: “From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever.” Joseph surrendered on the understanding that his people would be permitted to return to their reservation in Idaho.
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."
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.
Nov 6, 2023 · My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever." This quote captures a poignant moment in history, reflecting Chief Joseph's weariness and sense of resignation.
Merrill Beal's I Will Fight No More Forever: Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce War (2000) was positively received both regionally and nationally. Chief Joseph is sympathetically portrayed in Will Henry's novel of the Nez Perce War, From Where the Sun Now Stands (1959).
