It is simply incredible, to read about all of these events described first-hand, from the perspective of a character you come to know and understand. And he sailed across the sea, and was one of a handful of performers to dance before Queen Victoria at her Golden Jubilee. He joined up with Buffalo Bill's Wild West tour, and, having never been off the range, traveled to New York City to perform for months to sell-out crowds at Madison Square Garden. He learned the Ghost Dance when it spread to the plains, and was at Wounded Knee, where again, he fought. He was present at the Battle of Little Big Horn, and fought against Custer's army. His vision is paradigmatic of the shamanic initiatory experience of great distribution, and were this book nothing more than an account of this extraordinary episode and how he viewed it at different stages of his life, the book would be an invaluable document.īlack Elk was fearless in his desire to know the world and to be a part of it, and his hunger for adventure brought him into close contact with a series of historical events of great importance. He awoke with the conviction that he had a sacred mandate and duty to restore his people to health and power, and spent the rest of his life with that vision as a spiritual and moral reference point, asking himself at various points along the way how important experiences fit into his vision, and suffering the frequent anxiety that he was not fulfilling his charge. As he took leave of the Grandfathers, he gradually realized that the sixth grandfather, the lord of the earth below, was he himself. Born to an Oglala Lakota family in Wyoming in the late nineteenth century, Black Elk lived a traditional life in camps pitched with tipis on the forests and plains, hunting buffalo and resisting the encroachment of white settlers in the region.Īt the age of nine, he fell into a coma for twelve days, during which time he experienced what he would subsequently call his "Great Vision," in which he traveled up into the sky and met with the Six Grandfathers, partial personifications of the Great Spirit who dwell in the six directions (north, south, east, west, up, and down). These dialogs are better known by Neihardt's poeticized rendition in the book "Black Elk Speaks." In my review of that book, I discuss the pervasive and serious distortions that mar it, and for this reason I enthusiastically recommend "The Sixth Grandfather" instead.īlack Elk lived the kind of life that no one would believe, if it were made up. Neihardt."The Sixth Grandfather" offers an annotated presentation of the raw transcripts of the testimony of the Lakota medicine man Black Elk to the poet and amateur ethnographer John Neihardt. Neihardt, that celebrates Neihardt’s remarkable accomplishments and a look at the legacy of the special relationship between Neihardt and Black Elk, written by Lori Utecht, editor of Knowledge and Opinion: Essays and Literary Criticism of John G. Neihardt that further illuminate his experience with Black Elk an essay by Alexis Petri, great-granddaughter of John G. This new edition features two additional essays by John G. Whether appreciated as the poignant tale of a Lakota life, a history of a Native nation, or an enduring spiritual testament, Black Elk Speaks is unforgettable. As related by Neihardt, Black Elk’s searing visions of the unity of humanity and the earth have made this book a venerated spiritual classic. Black Elk Speaks offers much more than a precious glimpse of a vanished time, however. The Lakotas fought fiercely to retain their freedom and way of life, a dogged resistance that resulted in a remarkable victory at the Little Bighorn and an unspeakable tragedy at Wounded Knee. When Black Elk received his great vision, white settlers were invading the Lakotas’ homeland, decimating buffalo herds, and threatening to extinguish the Lakotas’ way of life. Neihardt understood and conveyed Black Elk’s experiences in this powerful and inspirational message for all humankind. Neihardt (1881–1973) in 1930 on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota and chose Neihardt to tell his story. Black Elk met the distinguished poet, writer, and critic John G. Black Elk Speaks is the story of the Lakota visionary and healer Nicholas Black Elk (1863–1950) and his people during the momentous twilight years of the nineteenth century.
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