His seminal work was a book entitled, The Sacred Pipe, an account of his discussions with the Lakota holy man, Black Elk, regarding the religious rites of his people.
Born in Ridgefield, Connecticut on September 9, 1920, Brown studied at Haverford College where he received his undergraduate degree.
Black Elk had requested that the book, The Sacred Pipe, be created so that the beliefs of his people could be preserved and become more fully understood by both Native Americans and the world at large.
He was also a frequent contributor of articles on Native American spirituality to the journal Studies in Comparative Religion.
The late Joseph Brown was a legendary mentor, whose gentility and grace in person and on the page lent dignity and depth to the indigenous ways of knowledge and ceremony he passed on to others.