Chief Joseph of a chief of the Nez Perce Indians located in Northwest Oregon in Wallowa Valley (McCloskey). In 1877 the Nez Perce were ordered to live in a reservation, but they refused. Instead of going to the reservation, Chief Joseph attempted to lead his people to Canada. They crossed Idaho and Montana, and they fought the United States army the whole way. Chief Joseph's people were trapped about forty miles outside of Canada, and they then had a five day fight. All of the Indians who remained after that fight were beaten. Chief Joseph then made his speech on October 5, 1877 at the Bear Paw's battleground in Montana (McCloskey).
Chief Joseph's speech says:
"I am tired of fighting. Our chiefs are killed. Looking Glass is dead. Toohulhulsote is dead. The old men are all dead. It is the young men who say yes or no. He who led the young men is dead. It is cold and we have no blankets. The little children are freezing to death. My people, some of them, have run away to the hills and have no blankets, no food. No one knows where they are--perhaps freezing to death. I want to have time to look for my children and see how many I can find. Maybe I shall find them among the dead. 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" (McCloskey).
This speech depicts Realism because Chief Joseph was very real with the men he was talking to. He finally kind of gave up and said, "look, this is how things are for us right now, I need time to find my people and make sure they are okay." This is an example of Realism because Chief Joseph told the people what he was feeling and thinking, and he was very real about it. This speech could be an example of Naturalism because the listener to the speech is put in Chief Joseph's place when they listen to this speech. They hear the chief's troubles, and the chief pretty much asks them to put themselves in his shoes by saying that he needs to find his people (in which case he is actually asking to find his people, which is why he is asking the listener to put themselves in his shoes because they would want to find their people too if they were Chief Joseph at that time).
Chief Joseph concludes with, "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" (McCloskey). This is another example of Realism because Chief Joseph is being real when he says that he is very tired of fighting. Chief Joseph, and other Indian chiefs, had to fight for their people for a long time during the American expansion period. They had to fight for their land, their food, and even just their culture and way of living. Not only was Chief Joseph sick of fighting for that, but he was literally sick of fighting in combat (McCloskey).
Chief Joseph's speech reflects his society during his time period for the reasons stated above. A lot of Indian tribes were being forced out of their land given to them by the government and into small reservations. The government ties into his speech because they were forcing the Indians to move onto reservation which is what Chief Joseph did not want to do. The typical "Hero" we talk about in literature does not make an appearance in Chief Joseph's speech, but I think Chief Joseph is a hero for trying to save his people and take them to a better part of the continent where they could live peacefully. I also think he is a hero because he stopped fighting because his people were getting very hurt, and they were sick, cold, hungry, and tired which is what a true leader should do. They should always be looking after their people which is what Chief Joseph was doing.
Works Cited:
McCloskey, Mary Lou. "Surrender Speech of Chief Joseph". obtained 15 Feb 2011. http://www2.gsu.edu/~eslmlm/chiefjoseph.html.
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