by Kent Nerburn
First published 2009
Chief Joseph faces an impossible choice when the U.S. government orders his people from their ancestral lands in eastern Oregon. Rather than submit to reservation life, he leads eight hundred Nez Perce men, women, and children on a desperate 1,800-mile trek through the most treacherous mountain terrain in western America. For months they evade pursuing military forces, moving toward the Canadian border and freedom. The grueling journey tests every member of the band as they cross hostile territory with wounded and elderly among them. Just forty miles from safety on the wintry Montana plains, Joseph makes the agonizing decision to surrender, handing over his rifle with the words "From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever." But the story continues beyond that famous moment, following the Nez Perce through their unexpected reception in Bismarck, their eight years of exile in Indian Territory, and their eventual return to the Northwest. Joseph emerges as both a skilled leader fighting for his people's survival and a man who learned to navigate the mythology that white America created around him.
Genres: biography, historical-fiction, 20th-century, american, adventure, 19th-century, native-american, american-history
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, thought-provoking
Tropes: historical-figures, survival
Setting: Eastern Oregon, Canada, Montana, Indian Territory, Northwest
Period: 19th Century
448 pages · ebook · HarperOne