Pride of the Nez Perce If there was one Native American who best brought the plight of Native Americans to America’s conscience it was Chief Joseph. Chief Joseph fought to preserve the land on which he lived, and his people lived. Chief Joseph fought Native American rights, justice, and the land that was rightly his. Joseph was born the Wallowa Valley of northeastern Oregon. In 1871, upon the death of his father, he assumed leadership …showed first 75 words of 474 total…

…showed last 75 words of 474 total…Colville Reservation in Washington, along with 150 of his followers; the others were returned to Oregon. Joseph made many pleas to be returned to his tribal homeland, but he died on Sept. 21, 1904, and was buried on the Colville Reservation. History remembers Chief Joseph as a fighter for Native American rights, as well as a great leader of the Nez Perce. His contributions, while futile, shined new light into the way Americans thought and treated Native Americans.