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We gave up some of our country to the white men, thinking that then we could have peace. We were mistaken. The white man would not let us alone.

Chief Joseph

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Chief Joseph
Age: 64 †
Born: 1840
Born: March 3
Died: 1904
Died: September 21
Tribal Chief
Wallowa Valley
Joseph Buruzagia
Hin-mut-too-uah-lat-kekht
Thunder Rolling in the Mountains
Heinmot Tooyalaket
Joseph the Younger
Gave
Alone
Peace
White
Country
Would
Men
Thinking
Mistaken

More quotes by Chief Joseph

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We damaged all the big guns we could, and carried away the powder and the lead.
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Whenever the white man treats the Indian as they treat each other, then we will have no more wars. We shall all be alike-brothers of one father and one another, with one sky above us and one country around us, and one government for all.
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Lawyer acted without authority from our band. He had no right to sell the Wallowa country.
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The first white men of your people who came to our country were named Lewis and Clark.
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I saw that the war could not be prevented. The time had passed.
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We ask only that the law shall work alike on all men.
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I have asked some of the great white chiefs where they get their authority to say to the Indian that he shall stay in one place, while he sees white men going where they please. They cannot tell me.
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If the white man wants to live in peace with the Indian he can live in peace.
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Some of you think an Indian is like a wild animal. This is a great mistake.
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General Howard informed me, in a haughty spirit, that he would give my people 30 days to go back home, collect all their stock, and move onto the reservation.
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I know that my race must change.
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I believe much trouble would be saved if we opened our hearts more.
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We were taught to believe that the Great Spirit sees and hears everything, and that he never forgets that hereafter he will give every man a spirit-home according to his deserts: if he has been a good man, he will have a good home if he has been a bad man, he will have a bad home. This I believe, and all my people believe the same.
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We were like deer. They were like grizzly bear.
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My people were divided about surrendering.
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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.
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Look twice at a two-faced man.
Chief Joseph
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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.
Chief Joseph
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All men were made brothers. The earth is the mother of all people, and all people should have equal rights upon it. You might as well expect the rivers to run backward as that any man who was born free should be content when penned up and denied liberty to go where he pleases.
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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.
Chief Joseph