Re-enactment of the story of Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce Indians, who lived in the beautiful Wallowa Valley of Idaho and Oregon. In 1877, President Grant opened the valley to white settlement, and the Nez Perce were given thirty days in which to move to the Lapwai Reservation. The government sent the one-armed soldier-chief, General Oliver Otis Howard, to clear all Nez Perce out of Wallowa Valley. Chief Joseph, in a succession of shrewd military actions, outmaneuvered ten pursuing units of the U.S. Army until his outnumbered band, sick, starving, and tired, finally surrendered after a seventeen hundred mile, one hundred eight day fighting retreat. On October 8, 1877, Chief Joseph made his noble speech, "from where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever." In a period when many thought that "the only good Indian is a dead Indian," Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce won the admiration of the American public. This is a great rendition of the true story of the noble-yet-futile struggle of Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce to retain their independence and tribal life. At one poignant moment, General Howard (in an amazing portrayal by James Whitmore) intones gravely to his Colonel (memorably portrayed by Sam Elliott), "Read Your History." Then, he continues, the weak are always conquered and subjugated by the strong. The colonel retorts that when the strong become immoral, the day will come that they cease to be strong. This was true in 1877, and the parallels between our self-righteous, duplicitous and brutal behavior then and now are frighteningly similar to today's America. <br/><br/>Ned Romero does a great job of conveying the nobility, leadership, and tactical brilliance of Chief Joseph. And the native American actors who play the other Nez Perce are uniformly terrific. This excellent movie should not be missed. My american history teacher showed this film to us and it is a truthful account of what the Nez Perce had to go through thanks to the Union army. Beautifully told and acted though it was pretty obvious it was a Made for TV movie.
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293 weeks ago