In-mut-too-yah-lat-lat, better known to us as Chief Joseph, was arguing for the freedom of his people. He was trying to set straight the way that things occurred, in order to convince the white man that the land belonged to his people and they were free. First he demonstrated that his people were good, law abiding people by explaining the code of laws that they lived by. This was likely an attempt to convince the reader that what he said next was true. Next he illustrated the history of his people to prove they had always been on their land, had never been the aggressor towards the white man, and that over the previous 100 years white men had gone from being friendly to threatening them with force. Chief Joseph attempted to lay out their history with the white man to show step by step how the situation had developed and prove that his people were in the right. Throughout the speech, he addressed the audience as a friend in the hopes of appealing to their emotions.
Chief Joseph was an eloquent, convincing speaker. Instead of using violence to defend his position, he used words. It took great courage to stand up to the white man’s determination to own the entire west with just words. History will never forget the plight of his people because of Chief Joseph.
I have always been saddened and ashamed by how our American ancestors treated the Native Americans. Chief Joseph’s speech is proof of the greedy betrayal of the white man and their disregard for others that were different.
Well said! I really like how you broke down the speech. I agree with you totally. Chief Joseph was a man with courage and respect. I thought his speech was rather convincing as a reader because he detailed the beginnig to the end of how everything came about. His people welcomed the first white men of Lewis and Clark with absolute respect, but eventually their were some white men that wanted more. I agree with you that the white man kept getting more aggressive and tried to force Chief Joseph and his tribe off their land. The white man didn't come just to live in peace, they came to take everything over. His speech will be remember in history forever as he knew what was the right thing and even tried to share it with others. I also agree that it is a shame that how the Native Americans were treated by the Americans and that Chief Josephs speech was the proof of their greed. I also thought his speech was powerful with the words he spoke of and the details he went into. Again, great job!
ReplyDelete