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I know that my race must change.

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
Race
Change
Must

More quotes by Chief Joseph

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Cursed be he that scalps the reputation of the dead.
Chief Joseph
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I am tired of talk that comes to nothing It makes my heart sick when I remember all the good words and all the broken promises. There has been too much talking by men who had no right to talk. It does not require many words to speak the truth.
Chief Joseph
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Big name often stands on small legs.
Chief Joseph
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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.
Chief Joseph
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Our fathers gave us many laws which they had learned from their fathers. These laws were good.
Chief Joseph
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Our chiefs are killed. . . . The little children are freezing to death. . . . My people have no blankets, no food. . . . My heart is sick and sad. . . . I will fight no more forever.
Chief Joseph
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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
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Finest fur may cover toughest meat.
Chief Joseph
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I will speak with a straight tongue.
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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From where the sun now stands I will fight no more.
Chief Joseph
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We ask only that the law shall work alike on all men.
Chief Joseph
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My father... had sharper eyes than the rest of our people.
Chief Joseph
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We had a great many horses, of which we gave Lewis and Clark what they needed, and they gave us guns and tobacco in return.
Chief Joseph
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When my young men began the killing, my heart was hurt.
Chief Joseph
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All people should be treated the same way on earth.
Chief Joseph
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I saw clearly that war was upon us when I learned that my young men had been secretly buying ammunition.
Chief Joseph
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The earth is the mother of all people, and all people should have equal rights upon it.
Chief Joseph
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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.
Chief Joseph
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Good words will not give me back my children.
Chief Joseph