Chief Joseph

Research papers on Chief Joseph illustrate that he was one of the most brilliant Native American leaders to face the encroaching white settlers. Some of the aspects of Chief Joseph that should be brought out in your research paper are:
- Chief Joseph believed in peace rather than war
- Chief Joseph was forced into armed conflict with the white army
- Chief Joseph executed one of the most brilliant retreats in military history
Chief Joseph research paper due and don't know how to start it? How about like this?
Chief Joseph inherited his name from his father, Joseph the Elder, who was one of the first Nez Perce converts to Christianity and also an active supporter of the tribe's long-standing peace with the white man. Joseph's father had even helped to set up a reservation that stretched from Oregon to Idaho. But in 1863, following a gold rush that crossed into Nez Perce borders, the federal government took back over six million acres of that land and relegated the Nez Perce people to a reservation in Idaho that was approximately one tenth the size it had been. That course of events caused Joseph the Elder to renounce his association with the Americans and he refused to move his people out of Oregon. When his father died in 1871, Chief Joseph was elected to succeed him. He also inherited an ever-worsening situation between his people and the white man who had begun to spill onto Nez Perce land in increasing numbers.
The US vs Chief Joseph
The federal government continued to try and force the Nez Perce off their land, and Chief Joseph remained staunch in his resistance. In 1877, after the latest in a series of broken promises, the government threatened a cavalry attack. Opposed to war, and believing resistance to be futile, Chief Joseph began to lead his people to Idaho. However, a group of twenty Nez Perce warriors were enraged at the injustice and attacked white settlements and killed several white settlers. This act thrust the tribe into war with the white man. The tribe of about seven hundred, led spiritually by Chief Joseph and strategically by his brother Olikut, fought valiantly against over two thousand U.S. soldiers. The two brothers received most of the credit for orchestrating what is known as one of the most brilliantly executed retreats in American history. Chief Joseph led the tribe through over 1,500 miles of mountainous terrain in an attempt to evade U.S. troops. When evasion was impossible, the tribe fought bravely to stave off the U.S. troops, succeeding at many a turn but, eventually the strain on the tribe was too great and on October 5, 1877, after the loss of many of the tribe's top chiefs, Chief Joseph formally surrendered, in the Bear Paw Mountains of Montana, just forty miles short of the safety of the Canadian border.
Chief Joseph and Peace
Given his aversion to war and violence, it is quite fitting that Chief Joseph is best known for his orchestration of a valiant retreat and not an attack. If Chief Joseph was guilty of anything, it was his refusal to give up the belief that men of all races could live happily and freely together, on the same land, under the same set of rules. Chief Joseph spent the later years of his life confined to a reservation, but continued to make many eloquent speeches against the injustice of the United States toward his people and held out hope that Native Americans would one day be treated equally.
Related Research Paper Topic Suggestions
American Indian Identity - American Indian Identity Research Papers examine the 'loss of identity' of the Native American people.
American Indian Language - American Indian Language Research Papers discuss the unique writing system of the American Indian Language.
American Indian Literature - American Indian Literature research papers examine the rich culture found in Native American literature.
American Indians - Research papers on American Indians, also known as Native Americans, look into the descendants of the indigenous peoples who inhabited North America at the time of the Columbian Exchange.
American Indian Studies - American Indian Studies research papers examine the interdisciplinary approach that examines the history, culture, politics, and contemporary experience of the aboriginal peoples of North America.
Art of Storytelling Among Native American Tribes - Art of Storytelling Among Native American Tribes Research Papers discuss the importance of the art of storytelling among native American tribes and the key featurs of the stories.
Bureau of Indian Affairs - Bureau of Indian Affairs research papers examine a federal agency that is responsible for administering and managing more than 55 million acres of land that the U.S. government holds in trust for the many Native American tribes.
Burial Practices For Native Americans - Burial Practices for Native Americans Research Papers explore the different tribal practices of funerals.
Cherokee - Cherokee research papers look into the Native American tribe, originally from the Southeastern region of the United States.
Chickasaw - Chickasaw research papers analyze the Native American tribe of the Southeastern United States.
Chumash Indians - Chumash Indians Research Papers discuss these group of Indians background, and where they originated. Their roots as a hunter-gatherer society are also examined.
Crazy Horse - Crazy Horse Research Papers account for his time with Lakota tribe and his battle against the US government for land and his people.
Culture of Native Americans - Culture of Native Americans Research Papers delve into a specific aspect of stroytelling among native americans and how they pass it on.
Dawes Act - Dawes Act research papers discuss the Act that authorized the President of the United States to survey and divide Native American lands for individuals.
Haitian Art - Research papers on Haitian Art discuss the art of the people of Haiti with it's blends of African traditions with the stylings of Indigenous/Native Americans and Europeans.
How Native American Gender Roles Have Evolved - How Native American Gender Roles have Evolved Research Papers discuss the updated gender roles through the story of Mary Crow Dog's Lakota Woman.
Incas - Incas research papers examine the South American native group from the pre-Columbian Americas.
Indians of California - Indians of California Research Papers research the history of American Indians that moved from Mexico and surrounding territories into California.
Indigenous People - Research papers on indigenous people examine the members of a cultural group with historic ties to a particular region that predates the arrival of European immigrants.
Long Walk Home - How the Long Walk was initiated, who carried it out, what the Indians were subjected to during it, and its aftermath was the subjects of a research paper from Paper Masters.
Love Medicine - Love Medicine Research Papers look at a novel about the multigenerational connection of two Native American families. Custom research papers from Paper Masters.
Mary Jemison - Mary Jemison Research Papers delve into the life white woman captured during the French and Indian War.
Native American Arts - Native American Arts research papers discuss the art that can be found among the tribes from the southern tip of South America, all the way north to the Inuit tribes of the Arctic.
Native American Traditional Gender Roles - Native American Traditional Gender Roles Research Papers delve into original tribal life for men and women.
Native American Tribes - Native American Tribe research papers examine the tribes of America from the Northeast, Southeast, Plains, Southwest, Great Basin, California and Subarctic areas.
Navajo Indians - Navajo Indians research papers look into the indigenous tribe of the American southwest, and the second largest recognized tribe in the United States.
Out of Many - Out of Many Research Papers discuss a book about Columbus' first voyage and the different peoples and cultures he encountered.
Pocahontas - Pocahontas Research Papers discuss what the truth about her life is, and myths.
Pueblo Indians of New Mexico - Pueblo Indians of New Mexico Research Papers delve into the different tribes of pueblos along with different attributes that are commong among the different tribes along with differences.
Seminole Indians - Seminole Indian research papers examine the history and culture of the Seminole Indian tribe.
Seminole War - Seminole Wars research papers look into the three separate conflicts between the United States and the Seminole Indians in Florida.
Seneca Nation - Research papers on Seneca Nations look at one of the three reservations, based in western New York State, for Seneca Native Americans in the United States.
Sitting Bull - Sitting Bull Research Papers discuss experiences with Sioux tribe.
Southwest Indians - Southwest Indians research papers examine the Native American tribes located in the American Southwest, which include the Apache, Hopi, Navajo, Pueblo, and Zuni.
The Cherokees and The Trail of Tears - The Cherokees and the Trail of Tears Research Papers discuss how Americans were unfair, unjust, and downright savage when they pursued the Trail of Tears, which resulted in the deaths and mistreatment of thousands of Indians. History research papers are available at Paper Masters.
The Indian Removal Act - The Indian Removal Act research papers discuss the act signed by Andrew Jackson that forcibly removed the Five Civilized Tribes from their land west of the Mississippi.
Trail of tears - Trail of Tears Research Papers examine one of the darkest acts in American history. History research papers on Native American topics such as the Trail of Tears.
Way of Life - Way of Life for Native Americans Research Papers evaulates life before Europeans arrived.
Wilma Mankiller - Wilma Mankiller Research Papers explore the life of the first female Chief of the Cherokee Nation.