'Homecoming': 100 years after forceful removal, Nez Perce people celebrate reclaimed land.
Show Caption Hide Caption VIDEO: Nez Perce Tribe reclaims and blesses land in Joseph, Oregon Nez Perce Tribe rides to Am’sáaxpa or “the place of boulders,” for a land blessing ceremony.
"Our people know that we sprang from this land and we're tied to the land in that manner and the land is also tied to us in the same way.".
Wheeler is a descendent of Chief Joseph, one of the several Nez Perce leaders who fought tirelessly to protect the Nez Perce tribe and its land.
War broke out in 1877 when Gen. Oliver O. Howard attempted to force non-treaty Nez Perce from the land.
It is estimated that more than 230 Nez Perce people died during the fighting retreat, including women and children.
She’d joined family in Oregon when the Nez Perce celebrated the United Methodist Church’s return of sacred land in Wallowa in May. »
