Chronology of American Indian History

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fall they are starving from inadequate rations and
weakened by a devastating malaria epidemic. In
desperation, about 300 flee the reservation and set
out for their old homeland in what is now Wyo-
ming and Montana. Chased by more than 10,000
soldiers, the Northern Cheyenne led by Dull Knife
are overpowered during a blizzard six weeks later.
The army sends the captured Cheyenne to Fort
Robinson in Nebraska, where they are held as pris-
oners. (See also entry for JANUARY 9, 1879.)

October 5

The Nez Perce War ends with Chief Joseph’s
surrender.
Ending one of the greatest campaigns during the In-
dian Wars in the West (see entry for JUNE 15, 1877),
Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce surrenders to the U.S.
Army. Only about 40 miles from the Canadian
border, he and his followers were surprised and sur-
rounded by an army led by Colonel Nelson A. Miles.
During the five-day siege that followed, many Nez
Perce warriors were killed, while the group’s women
and children starved in the freezing cold.

“I am tired of fighting. Our chiefs

are killed.... My people, some

of them, have run away to the

hills and have no blankets, no

food; no one knows where they

are—perhaps freezing to death.

I want to have time to look for

my children and see how many I

can find. Maybe I shall find them

among the dead. Hear me, my

chiefs. I am tired; my heart is sick

and sad. From where the sun

now stands I will fight no more

forever.”

—Nez Perce leader Chief Joseph

as he surrenders to the U.S. Army

As Chief Joseph surrenders to Colonel Miles

and General Oliver O. Howard, he makes a moving

speech in which he mourns the dead and chronicles

the enormous hardships suffered by his followers

during the Nez Perce War. According to Chief Jo-

seph’s later claims, Miles promises that his followers

will be able to return to their homeland. Instead,

they are declared prisoners of war and will be sent

first to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, then to a reserva-

tion in Indian Territory, where many will die from

disease. (See also entry for JANUARY 14, 1879.)

October 17

Sitting Bull meets with the Terry

Commission.

As the presence of Sitting Bull and his followers

north of the U.S. border (see entry for OCTOBER

1876) puts increasing strains on the United States’s

relationship with Canada, a commission headed

by General Alfred Terry seeks an audience with the

Lakota Sioux leader. With great reluctance, Sitting

Bull agrees to meet with Terry, whom the Indians

regard with contempt because of his past campaigns

against them.

At the conference, Terry delivers a speech in

which he tries to persuade Sitting Bull’s people

to give up their weapons and return to their res-

ervation in the United States. After a long silence,

Sitting Bull responds with an angry recitation of all

the wrongs his people have suffered at the hands

of Americans. He concludes with, “You come here

to tell us lies, but we don’t want to hear them.” He

then tells Terry to “go back home where you came

from.” (See also entry for JULY 19, 1881.)

1878

The Bureau of Indian Affairs establishes

Indian police forces on reservations.

At the request of the secretary of the interior, Con-

gress authorizes the Bureau of Indian Affairs to hire

Indian men to police reservations. The Indian police

forces are meant to replace U.S. troops in settling