Tuekakas, (also ''Tiwi-teqis'', meaning "senior warrior"
) commonly known as Old Chief Joseph or Joseph the Elder (c. 1785-1871), was a
Native American leader of the Wallowa Band of the
Nez Perce. Old Joseph was one of the first Nez Percé converts to Christianity and a vigorous advocate of the tribe's early peace with whites. In 1855 he aided Washington's territorial governor and set up a Nez Percé reservation that expanded from Oregon into Idaho. The Nez Perce agreed to give up a section of their tribal lands in return for an assurance whites would not intrude upon the sacred
Wallowa Valley Wallowa may refer to:
Places
* Wallowa, Oregon
*Wallowa County, Oregon
* Wallowa Lake
* Wallowa Lake State Park
*Wallowa Mountains
*Wallowa River
Other
*'' Acacia calamifolia'', a shrub or tree
*'' Acacia euthycarpa'', a shrub or tree
* '' The ...
.
Nevertheless, in 1863, following a gold rush in Nez Percé territory, the federal
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...
took back approximately of this land. That confined the Nez Percé to a reservation in Idaho, which was only one tenth its previous size. Old Joseph argued that this second treaty was never approved by his people. Feeling deceived, Old Joseph condemned the United States, slashed his American flag, shredded his Bible, and declined to move his band from the Wallowa Valley or to sign the treaty that would make the new reservation boundaries legitimate.
He was the father of Hinmahtoo-yahlatkekht, also known as "Young Joseph" or
Chief Joseph.
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]
See also
*
Joseph Gale
References
External links
* http://www.indigenouspeople.net/joseph.htm
* http://www.myhero.com/myhero/hero.asp?hero=c_joseph
* https://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/a_c/chiefjoseph.htm
{{DEFAULTSORT:Joseph, Old Chief
1780s births
1871 deaths
Converts to Christianity from pagan religions
Native American history of Oregon
Native American leaders
Nez Perce people
18th-century Native Americans
Native American people from Oregon