Popularly known during his time as Chief Joseph, Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt was a leader of the wal-lam-wat-kain indigenous tribe and remains an iconic figure in the Pacific Northwest indigenous peoples movement from the late nineteenth century into the early twentieth century. Chief Joseph's advocacy and defense of the Nez Perce tribe led to his eventual choice to lead his people to seek political asylum in Canada under the guidance of Sitting Bull. Some eight hundred tribe members were pursued for nearly twelve hundred miles during the Nez Perce War under Chief Joseph, and the group's tactics and military ability gained them respect and acclaim in newspapers across the United States.
In October 1877, the remaining tribe members were finally forced to surrender only forty miles from the Canadian border in the Northern Montana Territory. The surrender occurred with the understanding that the group would be allowed to return to a reservation in Western Idaho. Chief Joseph's legacy became an enduring symbol of the struggle for indigenous people's rights, and he is pictured here in 1900, only four years before his death at the Colville Reservation in Washington State. Chief Joseph became well renowned for his principled perspective and work as both a humanitarian and a peacemaker, which gave him global recognition and status that remains studied to this day.
This is an authentic piece of American photographic history that captures one of the most iconic figures of the fight for equality of indigenous peoples everywhere during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.
