He was subsequently frustrated when the government overrode those assurances and sent the nimíipuu first to Fort Leavenworth and then to Indian Territory.

This does not entirely exculpate Miles.

The pattern of army officers making promises that civilian authorities then overrode was not unknown in the Indian wars period, and an experienced officer might have known better than to make such specific promises without prior authorization.

Miles was ambitious — he sought credit for the capture of Joseph as a military accomplishment — and the assurances he gave may have been as much about securing the surrender quickly as about genuine intent to honor the terms.

What Miles promised and what happened next became one of the specific grievances that Joseph raised in the years of advocacy that followed.