Photograph as originally submitted to this page in the Historical Marker Database www.HMdb.org. Click on photo to resize in browser. Scroll down to see metadata.

Photographer: Allen C. Browne
Taken: February 16, 2015
Caption: Chief Joseph
Additional Description: This 1878 painting of Chief Joseph by Cyrenius Hall hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC.

“Chief Joseph came to embody for many the tragic plight of Native Americans during the second half of the nineteenth century … His resistance to government efforts to move the Nez Perce people to a reservation drew anger from U.S. authorities, but also prompted widespread sympathy from many Americans. When troops were called in to speed the removal process in 1877, Joseph and 800 of his followers began a strategic retreat, seeking safety first among allied tribes in Montana and then heading toward Canada. Only thirty miles from the border, a command led by General Nelson Miles intercepted this band and forced Joseph to surrender. For the next eight years Joseph was imprisoned at several sites, including Fort Leavenworth in Kansas. It was there that artist Cyrenius Hall created this painting of the dispirited leader.” — National Portrait Gallery
Submitted: May 25, 2015, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland.
Database Locator Identification Number: p309335
File Size: 1.692 Megabytes

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