Chief Joseph – I Will Fight No More Forever

"Joseph was chief of the Nez Perce, a Native American tribe of the Wallowa Valley in Northwest Oregon. In 1877 the Nez Pierce were ordered to a reservation, or special land reserved for Native Americans. The Nez Pierce refused to go. Instead, Chief Joseph tried to lead 800 of his people to Canada. Fighting the U.S. Army all along their 1100 mile journey, they crossed Idaho and Montana. They were trapped just forty miles from Canada. After a five-day fight, the remaining 431 remaining Nez Perce were beaten. It was then, on October 5, 1877 at Bears Paw, that Chief Joseph made his speech of surrender" (Manuel).

The time that Chief Justice was going through, was a time filled with many hardships for the Indian tribes. The Indian tribes were struggling in that time because they just wanted to live their lives on the reservations that were their's but they could not even get that. The reason this whole speech happened was because the government was trying to move all of Chief Justice's people to a place where he did not want to go. I have not seen hero's in the past stories, but I think that Chief Justice was a true hero in this story, because he was helping out his people.

After Chief Joseph had gone through a bunch of terrible things in this war, and was losing a lot of people, he finally delivered this speech, "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" (Manuel).

I think that it is pretty obvious that this speech that Chief Justice gave was a great example of realism. Chief Justice was going through a lot at that point, and was just ready to be honest and lay it all out there. I mean he was sick of watching all of his people get hurt by the US, and he finally just told them that he was tired of all of this, and he just wanted to stop and make sure that his people were ok. "My people, some of them, have run away to the hills and have no blankets, no food" (Manuel). I think this is a good example of realism, because he had to be real and also honest with these people so they knew what he was really going through. He was not interested in messing around anymore, and he was all about getting to the point. The Chief just wanted them to know what it would feel like to be them right now. Chief Justice ended the speech with, "I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever" (Manuel). I mean honestly, Chief Justice could not be any more serious than he was in this statement right here. That last sentence in his speech was a great way to end the speech on a realism note. He was not trying to hide any of his feelings or walk around on pins and needles, he was just all about getting to the point and being realistic with the people. He said he was not going to fight ever again, and he knew he needed to do that for his people.

Manuel, David. "Chief Joseph." Welcome to Georgia State University. Web. 17 Feb. 2011. .