The Nez Perce people really had no government of any sort until the 1840's. They had chiefs who were mainly advisors to the tribe, with no great influence or way of enforcing the things they believed should be done. The real way chiefs were chosen was by a man owning land and having talent. This brought him a little "higher" than the other people and made him chief. Everyone was on an equal status plane. This way of living made them a tribe who lived "every man for himself" so to speak. It created a sense of independence among the people, rather than community which was not a common occurrence in Native American tribes. With no government, there was an amazing law of morality that the Nez Perce lived by. Polygamy, or having more than one wife, was not often found among them and women were required to dress modest and be chaste. Women who did not follow this were disgraced, as they were in any civilized country. Some groups of the Nez Perce still did practice this, but they were few and far between.
Government After 1840
When the Americans began moving into the Oregon county in the 1840's, the Indian agents and military began working with the Nez Perce people to convince them of a need to have some sort of government among them. In December of 1842, the Nez Perce were forced to make a written set of laws and appoint a head chief. These were completely foreign to this tribe and did not have any real longlasting effects at all. In this picture we see Chief Joseph, one of the men present at the council of 1842 and a well-known figure in 1877 when the Nez Perce were finally placed on a reservation because of the conflicts they kept starting with the white settlers. Chief Joseph, as many of the other chiefs, was a man of peace for the most part, yet these people were frustrated at having their lands taken and the outbreaks of conflict and war were signs that they wanted the Treaty of 1863 to be upheld. The Nez Perce never did get totally used to a head chief or the laws placed on them, as their custom had always been to live as they pleased.