"Old " Joseph was born about 1786 near Wawawai, Washington. He was the son of Wallamuutkin and an unnamed Nez Perce woman. Joseph was the father of "Young" Joseph, who gained notoriety during the events surrounding the Nez Perce War of 1877 and subsequent years. "Old" Joseph was one of Spalding's first converts, converted in 1839; upon this occurrence, he relocated his lodge near the Spalding Mission for a brief time. Joseph became dissatisfied with Spalding and tore up his bible and moved back to the Wallowa Valley. Joseph was a key figure in the 1855 Walla Walla Treaty negotiations, which he eventually signed, along with fifty-eight other prominent headman. Joseph died in 1871 in the Wallowa Valley and was buried near the confluence of the Wallowa and Lostine Rivers; his grave was later pillaged by white settlers who moved into the Wallowa Valley.