Thunder Rolling Down the Mountain

The Story of Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce

By: Rusty Zimmerman, Dr. Troy Johnson, Agnieszka Biskup

Narrated by: anonymous

Chief Joseph wanted peace for his people. But the US Army had different ideas. As the headman and spokesperson for the Nez Perce, Chief Joseph tried to do what was best for his people. Join him as he leads his people over vast plains and rugged mountains on the run from the US Army.

©2020 Rusty Zimmerman, Dr. Troy Johnson, Agnieszka Biskup (P)2017 Capstone Publishers, Inc.

Not bad for a short dramatization

This very brief account of the flight of Nez Perce bands from US troops trying to force them from their land, to which they had not agreed to cede by treaty, is ok for what it is. In a 15 minute dramatized account, there is obviously going to be much left out, including the long history of good relations between the Nez Perce and the US government, going back to the Lewis and Clarke expedition. Also little emphasized here are the string of battles the Nez Perce won on their more than 1500 mile odyssey to escape to Canada and the result of the ultimate capture of Chief Joseph and many of his people. Today, the tribe is scattered from groups in Canada to bands on various American reservations, though they were never given back the homeland they valued so much. Fortunately, there are quite a number of longer and more detailed accounts that take up these issues. As someone who just visited the surrender site, at the feet of the Bear Paw Mountains, this account was something I played for my family to let them know why I dragged them out there in the first place.