Chief Joseph

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Our people could not talk with these white-faced men, but they used signs which all people understand.

You might as well expect rivers to run backwards as any man born free to be contented penned up.

I will speak with a straight tongue.

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.

Treat all men alike. Give them the same law. Give them an even chance to live and grow.

I pressed my father's hand and told him I would protect his grave with my life. My father smiled and passed away to the spirit land.

It does not require many words to speak the truth.

It makes my heart sick when I remember all the good words and the broken promises.

The earth is the mother of all people, and all people should have equal rights upon it.