The earth is the mother of all people, and all people should have equal rights upon it.
Chief Joseph
In 1879, Chief Joseph of the Nez Percé, who was known to his own people as In-mut-too-yah-lat-lat (Thunder-Traveling-Over-the-Mountains), traveled to Washington, D.C., to negotiate the return of his homeland, a swath of North America that spanned from the Bitterroot Mountains of western Montana to the Wallowas of eastern Oregon. While he was visiting, he granted an interview to reporters and began by saying, “My friends, I have been asked to show you my heart.” What followed was a passionate polemic for equality, circling back over and over again to the idea that all men are brothers, and should have equal rights on Earth. Almost 150 years later, it is an idea that remains worth fighting for.
