--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I know that my race must change. We…" description: "\"I know that my race must change. We cannot hold our own with the white men as we are. We only ask an even chance to live as other men live. We ask to b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64d/chief-joseph-4820_asks_i-know-that-my-race-must-change-we-canno_2478981.png" --- # I know that my race must change. We cannot hold our own… ![“I know that my race must change. We cannot hold our own with the white men as we are. We only ask an even chance to live as other men live. We ask to be recognized as men. We ask that the same law shall work alike on all men. If an Indian breaks the law, punish him by the law. If a white man…” quote by Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64d/chief-joseph-4820_asks_i-know-that-my-race-must-change-we-canno_2478981.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64d/chief-joseph-4820_asks_i-know-that-my-race-must-change-we-canno_2478981.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64d/chief-joseph-4820_asks_i-know-that-my-race-must-change-we-canno_2478981.png) > “I know that my race must change. We cannot hold our own with the white men as we are. We only ask an even chance to live as other men live. We ask to be recognized as men. We ask that the same law shall work alike on all men. If an Indian breaks the law, punish him by the law. If a white man breaks the law, punish him also.” [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Advocating equal legal treatment, urging fairness regardless of race. **In simple terms:** All men deserve equal law. Key Takeaway Demand equal justice. Themes justice equality rights Mood determined serious Type historical advocacy When to use this quote - legal reform - civil rights activism - public policy Key Concepts civil rights law racial equality Questions to Reflect On - What barriers prevent equal law enforcement? - How can societies ensure fairness? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Asks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asks/) [Break](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/break/) [Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chance/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Indian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indian/) [Know Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-race-497803/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Men Indian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-indian-843466/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Race Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race-change-843465/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white/) [White man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-man/) [White Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-men/) ## Related quotes > [I know that my race must change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/i-know-that-my-race-must-change/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [I have asked some of the great white chiefs where they get their authority to say to the Indian that he shall stay in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/i-have-asked-some-of-the-great-white-chiefs-where-they-get-their/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [Black men, Indian men, and gay men have all have something in common: They do not provide an economic security blanket for women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-farrell/black-men-indian-men-and-gay-men-have-all-have-something-in-common/) [Warren Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-farrell/) > [We gave up some of our country to the white men, thinking that then we could have peace. We were mistaken. The white man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/we-gave-up-some-of-our-country-to-the-white-men-thinking-that-then-we/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [The first white men of your people who came to our country were named Lewis and Clark.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/the-first-white-men-of-your-people-who-came-to-our-country-were-named/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [When we are growing up, we all have our dreams - and for me, I idolised the men of the Indian army, navy, air…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suniel-shetty/when-we-are-growing-up-we-all-have-our-dreams-and-for-me-i-idolised/) [Suniel Shetty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suniel-shetty/) > [I believe much trouble and blood would be saved if we opened our hearts more. I will tell you in my way how the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/i-believe-much-trouble-and-blood-would-be-saved-if-we-opened-our/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [Well, I would want 'Race 3' to change the course of my career, but whether that will happen is something which we will know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saqib-saleem/well-i-would-want-race-3-to-change-the-course-of-my-career-but/) [Saqib Saleem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saqib-saleem/) > [Half the human race can change its name and sometimes its nation without suffering — at least half! All women!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-giraudoux/half-the-human-race-can-change-its-name-and-sometimes-its-nation/) [Jean Giraudoux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-giraudoux/) > [“Redesign your image, make it brighter! You can’t wait for any other time, any other person or any other skill. Once you are convinced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/redesign-your-image-make-it-brighter-you-can-t-wait-for-any-other/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [The ideas of right and wrong change with the experience of the race, and this change is wrought by the gradual ascertaining of consequences…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/the-ideas-of-right-and-wrong-change-with-the-experience-of-the-race/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [I finally made up my mind that I would neither disclaim the black race nor claim the white race; but that I would change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-weldon-johnson/i-finally-made-up-my-mind-that-i-would-neither-disclaim-the-black/) [James Weldon Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-weldon-johnson/) > [You think about every piece of idiomatic speech adopted by white men over the past ten or twenty years; virtually all of it comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-row/you-think-about-every-piece-of-idiomatic-speech-adopted-by-white-men/) [Jess Row](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-row/) > [The mass criminalization of white men would disturb us to the core.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-mass-criminalization-of-white-men-would-disturb-us-to-the-core/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [Golf is a game where white men can dress up as black pimps and get away with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/golf-is-a-game-where-white-men-can-dress-up-as-black-pimps-and-get/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) ## More by Chief Joseph > [We did not know there were other people besides the Indian until about one hundred winters ago, when some men with white faces came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/we-did-not-know-there-were-other-people-besides-the-indian-until/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [I would give up everything rather than have the blood of white men upon the hands of my people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/i-would-give-up-everything-rather-than-have-the-blood-of-white-men/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [I am tired of talk that comes to nothing It makes my heart sick when I remember all the good words and all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/i-am-tired-of-talk-that-comes-to-nothing-it-makes-my-heart-sick-when/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [Let me be a free man - free to travel, free to stop, free to work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/let-me-be-a-free-man-free-to-travel-free-to-stop-free-to-work/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [I have asked some of the great white chiefs where they get their authority to say to the Indian that he shall stay in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/i-have-asked-some-of-the-great-white-chiefs-where-they-get-their/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [Good words will not give my people good health and stop them from dying. Good words will not get my people a home where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/good-words-will-not-give-my-people-good-health-and-stop-them-from/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [It does not take many words to speak the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/it-does-not-take-many-words-to-speak-the-truth/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [“I will fight no more forever”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/i-will-fight-no-more-forever/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [I do not believe that the Great Spirit Chief gave one kind of men the right to tell another kind of men what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/i-do-not-believe-that-the-great-spirit-chief-gave-one-kind-of-men-the/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [We ask to be recognized as men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/we-ask-to-be-recognized-as-men/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [We soon found that the white men were growing rich very fast, and were greedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/we-soon-found-that-the-white-men-were-growing-rich-very-fast-and-were/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [I have heard talk and talk, but nothing is done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/i-have-heard-talk-and-talk-but-nothing-is-done/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [Look twice at a two-faced man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/look-twice-at-a-two-faced-man/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [I believe much trouble and blood would be saved if we opened our hearts more. I will tell you in my way how the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/i-believe-much-trouble-and-blood-would-be-saved-if-we-opened-our/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [For a short time we lived quietly. But this could not last. White men had found gold in the mountains around the land of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/for-a-short-time-we-lived-quietly-but-this-could-not-last-white-men/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) [Explore all 106 Chief Joseph quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) ## More Asks quotes > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. If you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-helgoe/if-you-ask-an-introvert-a-question-wait-until-she-thinks-about-it/) [Laurie Helgoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-helgoe/) > [I don't wear a watch because I want my arms to weigh the same. So if somebody asks me what time it is, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/i-don-t-wear-a-watch-because-i-want-my-arms-to-weigh-the-same-so-if/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [I am a practicing Catholic, but my lineage is Jewish, so if someone asks me if I'm Jewish, I say yes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neve-campbell/i-am-a-practicing-catholic-but-my-lineage-is-jewish-so-if-someone/) [Neve Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neve-campbell/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [Why did Erich von Stronheim leave Germany? Why did Hitchcock leave England? If you were a director you'd like to work in Hollywood too.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-polanski/why-did-erich-von-stronheim-leave-germany-why-did-hitchcock-leave/) [Roman Polanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-polanski/) > [There is nothing more I ask of this life than this moment, exactly so. And suddenly forever seems like too short a time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-andreas/there-is-nothing-more-i-ask-of-this-life-than-this-moment-exactly-so/) [Brian Andreas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-andreas/) > [Success will come when the societal attitude changes and not a single woman in America asks herself the question 'What did I do?'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/success-will-come-when-the-societal-attitude-changes-and-not-a-single/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [The most fundamental question we can ever ask ourselves is whether or not the universe we live in is friendly or hostile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-most-fundamental-question-we-can-ever-ask-ourselves-is-whether-or/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [The rich people are apparently leaving America. They're giving up their citizenship. These great lovers of America who made their money in this country-when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/the-rich-people-are-apparently-leaving-america-they-re-giving-up/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/) [Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/) > [For someone to ask 'Who did you play for' and to be able to answer a single name 'Liverpool' that would be brilliant...I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-carragher/for-someone-to-ask-who-did-you-play-for-and-to-be-able-to-answer-a/) [Jamie Carragher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-carragher/) > [I have no hesitation in saying that although the American woman never leaves her domestic sphere and is in some respects very dependent within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-have-no-hesitation-in-saying-that-although-the-american-woman-never/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Ask God for temp'rance. That's th' appliance only Which your disease requires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/ask-god-for-temp-rance-that-s-th-appliance-only-which-your-disease/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I don't know how to say it exactly. Only...I want to die as myself. Does that make any sense?' he asks. I shake my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/i-don-t-know-how-to-say-it-exactly-only-i-want-to-die-as-myself-does/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [Physicist Isador Isaac Rabi, who won a Nobel Prize for inventing a technique that permitted scientists to probe the structure of atoms and molecules…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/physicist-isador-isaac-rabi-who-won-a-nobel-prize-for-inventing-a/) [Richard Saul Wurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/) [Browse all 7,138 Asks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asks/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I know that my race must change. We cannot hold our own with the white men as we are. We only ask an even chance to live as other men live. We ask to be recognized as men. We ask that the same law shall work alike on all men. If an Indian breaks the law, punish him by the law. 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