Answer:
(C) The government broke a treaty protecting their land when gold was discovered
Step-by-step explanation:
At the time of Wilhautyah's demise, the Nez Perce were entangled in a battle to stay on their homeland. The underlying foundations of contention extended back to an 1855 arrangement that gave the Wallowa nation to the Nez Perce and an 1863 settlement that removed it after gold was found on Indian land.
Old Joseph, Chief Joseph's dad and the pioneer of the Wallowa band, would not sign the subsequent settlement. His Nez Perce considered the valley as their home, even as homesteaders started building lodges and planting crops there.