Chief Joseph & the Flight of the Nez Perce

The Untold Story of an American Tragedy

By: Kent Nerburn

Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner

Length: 16 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

Hidden in the shadow cast by the great western expeditions of Lewis and Clark lies another journey every bit as poignant, every bit as dramatic, and every bit as essential to an understanding of who we are as a nation - the 1,800-mile journey made by Chief Joseph and 800 Nez Perce men, women, and children from their homelands in what is now eastern Oregon to Montana. There, only 40 miles from the Canadian border and freedom, Chief Joseph, convinced that the wounded and elders could go no farther, walked across the snowy battlefield, handed his rifle to the US military commander who had been pursuing them, and spoke his now-famous words, "From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever."

Drawing on four years of research, interviews, and 20,000 miles of travel, Nerburn takes us beyond the surrender to the captives' unlikely welcome in Bismarck, North Dakota, their tragic eight-year exile in Indian Territory, and their ultimate return to the Northwest. Nerburn reveals the true, complex character of Joseph, showing how the man was transformed into a myth by a public hungry for an image of the noble Indian and how Joseph exploited the myth in order to achieve his single goal of returning his people to their homeland.

©2005 Kent Nerburn (P)2018 Tantor

Amazing account of Chief Joseph

One of the best books on Native history I have read. How I wish I would have learned this in school. The narrator is great and I was sad when the book ended

Incredible true history !!

Oh my word!!! This is a truthful, historical accounting of the absolute, awful treatment of Chief Joseph and his people. He continually acted in good faith, only to be taken advantage of time and again by ‘civilized - educated people’ that didn’t have the least amount of or honesty as he and his people did. Time and time again he acted in good faith only to be dishonored. How on earth can anyone, any government make up for what has been lost. Breaks my heart.

Gripped from start to finish by both hands!

This book is a fascinating and very well written in it’s historical account of a people who lived through so much after enjoying thousands of years of self sustaining and respectful living in the Pacific Northwest. I realized that I literally live 10 minutes from their reservation in Steven’s County, Wa and knew very little about who the Nez Perce people were or their rich place in history. This author created a “feel like you were there” experience masterfully.
While listening to this audiobook, completely unrelated to this book, I found a PBS DOCUMENTARY of how the West was discovered and settled by Ken Burns. It is also an in-depth visual presentation of the exact same people that combined creates an unparalleled presentation in both book and documentary mediums of this time period.
The tragic history of how the U.S. leaders from the President’s all the way down to Indian agents, military officers, towns mayors, etc. never once kept their word or written agreements is a scar on who they were personally and this nation’s founding. It’s one thing to see how rapidly the new age of expansion steam rolled mercilessly over these rightful owners of the American west but the degree of dishonest, treacherous, no character, murderers people who played God with them is repulsive. This doesn’t include the citizen settlers, gold miners, railroad workers who displayed very similar treatment to a peaceful people. Attacked, scattered, hunted down and taken advantage of by the white peoples who were stealing their lands, traditions, centuries old way to live in harmony with the earth and ultimately almost caused them to become extinct will be documented in historical records for the ages to see the kind of people who started cities and towns from Canada to Mexico in the late 1700 - 1900’s.
The silver lining is watching time and time again a people with many leaders of high character, whose visionary leader, Chief Joseph displayed character and integrity seldom witnessed at any time in history.
If the U. S. and citizens ever do decide to make reparations to any slighted people, the Indigenous Peoples need to be at the top of this list.

Excellent & Accurate Book of Chief Joseph

Kent Nerburn did a fantastic job at documenting and researching an accurate story of Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce.

Terrific listen. Sad story. Accurate and unbiased history.

Excellent

A Must read/listen that encompasses so much history that is not only educational, but interesting and opposite of boring. #noregrets

He Died of a Broken Heart. My heart weeps.

This is a narrative of a life. The details and context make it very relatable to a modern American citizen. The story must be better known for it tells us a lot about our history and culture. Having good feelings and even sympathy and respect is not enough to right the wrongs of our history. But this book is an essential building block of the knowledge needed to really understand the history and debt we owe native peoples.

compelling story telling, exacting attention

A trip through Yellowstone lead me to learn more about the Nez Perce, and this was the first book I chose. it is superb Story telling, bringing to life hundreds of people. I felt that all stories were explored in depth with equal respect to all and without mythologizing anyone. I found myself, however, constantly asking, "How does he know?" I skipped ahead to the author's note where he directly confronts this failing. I went back to the text convinced that Nerburn had done the work and was giving me the best interpretations that could be made. Scholarly works are available. Nerburn has studied them for us. These stories deserve to be heard, and this book is a compelling vehicle for them. Read this book!

Tragic.

A story of heart wrenching sadness, despair, betrayal, and hopelessness. The author did a good job.

Engrossing and heartbreaking.

The tragic life of Joseph and his people were a product of both the unenlightened era in US history and the inherent arrogance of a budding country. This story needs to be shared.

Well Written and Researched

A truly fascinating story about a very proud people. Tough subject matter that looks pourly upon the US Govt such as this, can be difficult to learn about. The other did a great job of presenting the facts and information without clouding it up in "Right or Wrong".
A great book, a must.