Hinmatóowyalahtq’it (Chief Joseph)

Hinmatóowyalahtq’it, also known as Chief Joseph, was a leader of the Wal-lam-wat-kain band of the Nez Perce tribe, in what is now Oregon. He and other Nez Perce, or Nimiipuu, leaders attempted to negotiate with U.S. government officials to prevent the government from stealing their lands. The Wal-lam-wat-kain band went to war with the U.S., and Hinmatóowyalahtq’it and other leaders were captured. In 1879, Hinmatóowyalahtq’it traveled to meet the president in Washington, D.C, where he posed for this studio photograph. The photographer, Charles Milton Bell, took many photographs of visiting Native dignitaries on government commission. Scholars have written about how delegation photography recorded Native leaders as "types", rather than individuals. Today, Native-led projects such as the Coquille Indian tribe’s Southwest Oregon Research Project and the scholarship of Wendy Red Star, restore public knowledge of these honored leaders.