Thanks for the Thanksgiving history. Here's something that was written some
250+ years after the pilgrims and native Americans sat down in peace together
at the first Thanksgiving. It seems appropriate to think about.
I WILL FIGHT NO MORE FOREVER
Tell General Howard I know his heart. What he told me before, I have in
my heart. I am tired of fighting. Our chiefs are killed. Looking Glass is
dead. Toohoolhoolzote is dead. The old men all are dead. It is the young
men who say yes and no. He who led on the young men is dead. It is cold and
we have no blankets. The little children are freezing to death. My people,
some of them, have run away in 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.
Chief Joseph of Nez Perce Tribe
Territory now known as Oregon
October 5, 1877
Bear Paw Mountains, Montana