Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt, popularly known as Chief Joseph, or Young Joseph (March 3, 1840 – September 21, 1904) succeeds his father Tuekakas (Chief Joseph the Elder) as the leader of the Wal-lam-wat-kain (Wallowa) band of Nez Perce, a Native American tribe indigenous to the Wallowa Valley in what is today the State of Oregon in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States.

He leads his band during the most tumultuous period in their contemporary history when they are forcibly removed from their ancestral lands in the Wallowa Valley by the United States federal government and forced to move onto an reservation in Lapwai, Idaho.

A series of events, which culminates in episodes of violence, leads the those Nez Perce who resist removal, including Joseph's band and an allied band of the Palouse tribe, to take flight to attempt to reach political asylum, ultimately with the Sioux chief Sitting Bull in Canada.

They are pursued by the United States Army in a campaign led by General Oliver O. Howard.

This epic 1,170 mile fighting retreat by the Nez Perce becomes known as the Nez Perce War.

The skill in which the Nez Perce fight and the manner in which they conduct themselves in the face of incredible adversity lead to widespread admiration amongst their military adversaries and the American public.

Coverage of the war in United States newspapers leads to widespread recognition of Joseph and the Nez Perce.

For his principled resistance to the removal, he becomes renowned as a humanitarian and peacemaker.