Ellis was the grandson of the renowned chief Red Grizzly Bear (Haxaac Ilpilp). Ellis was the first known Nez Perce to be instructed in the non-Indian education system. This instruction took place when he was brought to the Red River Settlement at age eleven, just after Spokane Garry and Kootenai Pelly had gone through previous instruction at the same location. Ellis was later appointed as "Head Chief" of the Nez Perce by Dr. White in 1842, before this appointment Ellis ranked as a minor chief among the Lapwai band. The appointment caused much consternation among the Nez Perce people, so much that Ellis and sixty of his followers relocated to the Montana Plains. Another explanation was that Ellis lost interest in the position as head chief because of the lack of authority and pay. Soon after their move to Montana in the summer of 1847, Ellis and his followers were decimated by measles or small pox.