The Home of My People
When Lewis and Clark stepped onto the Weippe Prairie in present-day Idaho in September 1805, they met the Nez Perce Indians. In the following years, the white explorers(探險者)began to fight with the Indians for their land. Some Nez Perce chiefs signed agreements with the U.S. government, selling part of their lands. But the government always broke those agreements and demanded more land.
Other chiefs refused to go along with the government’s plans. The most famous was Chief Joseph, whose people lived in the Wallowa Valley(present-day Oregon).
“In order to have all people understand how much land we owned,” he once explained, “my father planted poles around it and said: ‘Inside is the home of my people…It circled around the graves(墳?zāi)梗﹐f our fathers, and we will never give up these graves to any man.’”
But in 1874, the U.S. government declared the valley open for white settlement and ordered the Nez Perce onto a reservation(保留地). Seeing that resistance was useless, Chief Joseph agreed to move.
Later fighting broke out between the Nez Perce and U.S. soldiers. Chief Joseph tried to lead his people to Canada, winning several battles against the soldiers during their flight. But finally, he was forced to give in.
56. Which historic site (on the map)lies in the south of today’s Nez Perce Reservation?
A. Buffalo Eddy. B. Dug Bar.
C. Joseph Canyon Viewpoint. D. Chief Looking Glass Camp.
57. What can we learn about the Nez Perce lands from the map?
A. They were in the state of Oregon.
B. They have become a historic site.
C. They have become much smaller.
D. They were limited to the Wallowa Valley.
58. From Paragraph 3, we know that the Indians wanted to ______.
A. show off their land B. keep their land
C. turn their place into a graveyard D. build their homes around the poles