For this reflection, we were supposed to read "I Will Fight No More Forever," a speech made my Chief Joesph. Reading this speech, my heart broke for Chief Joseph, as well as the other Indians. His speech was basically begging for peace. He describes his heart as being "sick and sad" (Chief Joseph). I was really happy that I found the website that had his speech, because right under the speech of Chief Joseph there was a little part that gave background information about why he was giving this speech. I think that was when I really started getting sad for Chief Joseph (and plus, we just went over this stuff in AP US History, so I feel like I am some sort of expert on this time period). As Americans--Americans being the white man--started moving west, they were taking the land that belonged to the Indians. They did not even ask for or attempt to purchase or compromise for the land. The Americans completely annihilated the Indians if they refused to move on to the reservations the white men made. The reservations were on extremely undesirable land. Anyway, Chief Joseph's tribe was located in Oregon (Chief Joseph). Instead of moving to the reservations like the white men were trying to get them to do, Chief Joseph wanted to move his tribe to Canada. This obviously made the white men mad because they were not doing what they were told, like they were "supposed" to. I felt really bad for Chief Joseph because he was just trying to avoid conflict and keep his people happy. There was no reason that the white people should have controlled what the Native American's did. I think that is how Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau felt about the government. They did not mind so much that is was there, like the Indians just accepted the white men were there, but they did not think they belonged all up in there business.
"Chief Joseph." Welcome to Georgia State University. Web. 05 Mar. 2012.
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