Chief Joseph White Man Quotations

The first white men of your people who came to our country were named Lewis and Clark. They brought many things that our people had never seen. They talked straight. These men were very kind.

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.

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

The white men told lies for each other. They drove off a great many of our cattle. Some branded our young cattle so they could claim them.

I would have given my own life if I could have undone the killing of white men by my people.

If the white man wants to live in peace with the Indianwe 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.

I know that my race must change. We cannot hold our own with the white men as we are. We only ask an even chance to live as other men live. We ask to be recognized as men. We ask that the same law shall work alike on all men. If an Indian breaks the law, punish him by the law. If a white man breaks the law, punish him also.