Chief Joseph & the Flight of the Nez Perce: The Untold Story of an American Tragedy [Hardcover]

Kent Nerburn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 25, 2005

Hidden in the shadow cast by the great western expeditions of Lewis and Clark lies another journey every bit as poignant, every bit as dramatic, and every bit as essential to an understanding of who we are as a nation -- the 1,800-mile journey made by Chief Joseph and eight hundred Nez Perce men, women, and children from their homelands in what is now eastern Oregon through the most difficult, mountainous country in western America to the high, wintry plains of Montana. There, only forty miles from the Canadian border and freedom, Chief Joseph, convinced that the wounded and elders could go no farther, walked across the snowy battlefield, handed his rifle to the U.S. military commander who had been pursuing them, and spoke his now-famous words, "From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever."

The story has been told many times, but never before in its entirety or with such narrative richness. Drawing on four years of research, interviews, and 20,000 miles of travel, Nerburn takes us beyond the surrender to the captives' unlikely welcome in Bismarck, North Dakota, their tragic eight-year exile in Indian Territory, and their ultimate return to the Northwest. Nerburn reveals the true, complex character of Joseph, showing how the man was transformed into a myth by a public hungry for an image of the noble Indian and how Joseph exploited the myth in order to achieve his single goal of returning his people to their homeland.

Chief Joseph & the Flight of the Nez Perce is far more than the story of a man and a people. It is a grand saga of a pivotal time in our nation's history. Its pages are alive with the presence of Lewis and Clark, General William Tecumseh Sherman, General George Armstrong Custer, and Sitting Bull. Its events brush against the California Gold Rush, the Civil War, the great western pioneer migration, and the building of the telegraph and the transcontinental railroad. Once you have read this groundbreaking work, you will never look at Chief Joseph, the American Indian, or our nation's westward journey in the same way again.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Nerburn (Neither Wolf Nor Dog: On Forgotten Roads with an Indian Elder) brings balanced passion to this popular history of the man best known for his sad speech signaling his tribe's surrender at the end of an 1,800-mile retreat from their homeland in Oregon: "I will fight no more forever." Nerburn's novelistic chronicle moves from the kind welcome Lewis and Clark receive from the Nez Percé in 1805 to General O.O. Howard's May 1877 order for the tribespeople to move onto a reservation in Idaho within 30 days. The author follows chiefs Joseph, Ollokot, Looking Glass and White Bird through their armed resistance to Howard's order, their torturous six-month flight toward Canada and their final surrender to U.S. forces just 50 miles away from the Canadian border. Subsequently relocated to several reservations, the tribe was decimated in numbers, culture and spirit, and Joseph's efforts in the 1880s to regain legal ownership of his rightful land, Wallowa Valley, Ore., came to naught. While Joseph's symbolic importance as "America's premier Indian" bloomed, the actual Nez Percé dwindled toward extinction. Nerburn sets out to bust the myth of the "Red Napoleon" in this engaging volume, but his characterization of Joseph's "compassionate leadership" can lean toward stereotyping of a different sort: the noble and tragic Native American in defeat. (Nov.)
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From Booklist

Among numerous biographies of Chief Joseph describing the Nez Perce retreat in 1877 from their home in Oregon's Wallowa Valley and their ultimate capture just miles south of Canada, Nerburn offers a somewhat different slant. After the council at Lapwai (Idaho), near their home, conflict arose within the tribe between those bands who had signed the 1855 treaty, and those who had not, those who wanted to move to the reservation lands they were offered at Lapwai, and those who wanted to fight for their right to return home to their beloved Wallowa Valley. According to Nerburn, U.S. Army General Oliver Otis Howard assumes that Joseph is the military leader of all the nontreaty bands, when in fact, "the Nez Perce were anything but Joseph's people," and Joseph was "barely listened to at all." Nerburn concludes that Joseph's role as the preeminent war-loving chief was emphasized by General Howard because "a strong enemy makes an opposing commander look good." An intriguing twist to a legendary saga, which is sure to encourage rebuttal. Deborah Donovan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: HarperOne (October 25, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060513012
• ISBN-13: 978-0060513016
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #582,061 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nerburn Get's It Right, January 9, 2006

By 

Adrian P. Schoone (Racine, WI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Chief Joseph & the Flight of the Nez Perce: The Untold Story of an American Tragedy (Hardcover)

As one who has visited the Dakotas, Wyoming and Montana on virtually an annual basis for almost 50 years, I recognize that by going to the physical source of his subject, Dr. Nerburn has captured the spirit of the Nez Perce saga. Past biographies of Joseph such as Beal, I Will Fight No More Forever: Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce War (1973), fail to disclose that he was hardly a Napoleonic war leader, but rather the caretaker of his tribe during their crisis. Similarly, earlier efforts to describe the Nez Perce fell short in explaining the importance of their Appaloosa horse breeding to tribal pride. As an owner of such equines, I understand how unique is that breed in terms of stamina and courage.

In short, the author, through his four years of meaningful interaction with the Nez Perce of today, coupled with intensive academic research of such record as exists of their history, has presented a fair, realistic portrayal of a veritable sin committed by the then government of our country, crying out for atonement even today.

Adrian P. Schoone
6220 Partridge Hills Dr.
Racine, WI 53406

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Chief Joseph seen in a whole new light, November 22, 2005

By 

Debby Lynn (Troutdale, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chief Joseph & the Flight of the Nez Perce: The Untold Story of an American Tragedy (Hardcover)

I devoured this new book about Chief Joseph and even took notes on it...some inspiring things I wanted to remember, as well as some convicting things I must never forget. I have read other works about the Nez Perce and, in fact, I live in the Pacific Northwest and have visited many of the areas related to this part of history. But, I have never heard or read some of the things that Mr. Nerburn includes in his book. They are real and intimate and raw...and clearly tell "the rest of the story". I was sad when I finished it...like a very honest friend had to stop our very wonderful interaction. I will keep my copy and read it again and reference it often. I have read several of Mr. Nerburn's books...his voice resonates with my own. I highly recommend all of his work, but at this moment I would encourage everyone to get a fresh and vivid look at this man, Joseph, and his people by reading this book. You won't regret it.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nerburn's Fascinating Labor of Love, December 2, 2005

By 

Larry Shaw - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Chief Joseph & the Flight of the Nez Perce: The Untold Story of an American Tragedy (Hardcover)

The flight of Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce in the 1800's is told with love and great skill by Kent Nerburn in his new book. The events are historically accurate, but presented as a great story by a great story teller. It's history that reads like a novel. I felt like I was there with the soldiers in the frozen North as they pursued the small band who desired only the freedom to live as their creator intended. I was there with the Nez Perce as their elders and children died one by one during the tragic flight. I felt their pain and suffering. I recommend this book highly to anyone not satisfied with the history as it was taught to us in our schools, and who desire the true story of this sad chapter in the story of the American West. I say thanks to Mr. Nerburn for this fascinating and absorbing labor of love. Five Stars.