Black Elk Speaks

A Vision of Place

What is Indigenous?

• Centrality of place– Locative• Primacy of place• Crisis of contact with utopian traditions

– Mircea Eliade--the hierophany• Manifestation of the sacred• Distinctive qualities and presence of the sacred

Native American Religions

• Religion as Habitation– Centrality of habitation– Centrality of the body– Centrality of exchange

• Materiality of Religion– Engagement with material world– Distinctive from “belief” emphasis

Phenomenon ofBlack Elk Speaks

• World famous book– Presents a true picture of Native American

Religion

• Framed between the first scuffle between European Americans (wasichu) and Lakota along the Bozeman Trail (Thieves Road), and the slaughter at Wounded Knee – 1860's to December 1890

Creation of BES

• R. DeMallie, The Sixth Grandfather• John Neihardt was an epic poet of American West– Ghost Dance and The Song of the Messiah in The Twilight

of the Sioux– Wovoka (Jack Wilson) Paiute in Nevada was prophet of

Ghost Dance• changed character as it moved into the Plains context

• JN found BE through contacts w/ BIA– Instant connection between the two men

Telling the Story

• Meeting in 1931– Big Ceremonial occasion– Dancing in traditional ceremonial clothing, feast,

and smoking the pipe• Significance of pipe

– Many Old Men turned out for the occasion

Writing the Story

• BE didn’t know English, JN didn’t know Lakota– Ben Black Elk (Nicolas’ son) would translate into

English; JN would reiterate in English; Enid Neihardt would write it down

• Whose speaking in BES?

John Neihardt’s vision

• ”Always I felt it a sacred obligation to be true to the old man’s meaning and manner of expression.”

• Hated Anthropological writing• How does one remain true to BE’s vision?– Creation of literature involved in finding truth

Problems with JN’s vision

• Different from Black Elk’s vision• Work of tragedy, slaughter of the Lakota– Fit into epic saga

• Appeared in 1932 and flopped– Re-discovered by Jung in 1950’s– Re-published in 1961

Reactions to BES

• Many Native scholars hate it• Deloria calls it a “North American bible of all

tribes.”• Had a profound impact on JN and his family– Sky Rim Farm, Columbia MO

Offering the Pipe

• Must be done before talking

• White Buffalo Calf Woman

• Directions of the offering– Orientation to past,

land, and cosmos

Early Boyhood

• Ogalala Band of Lakota• wasichus (whites) were coming and going to take

the land because of the yellow metal which made them crazy

• 2 August 1867; Wagon Box Fight• 1868 ...”in the Moon of Falling Leaves

(November) they made a treaty with Red Cloud that said our country would be ours as long as grass should grow and water flow.”[15]

The Great Vision

• Bison herd was cut-off by RR• At 9 his legs hurt and body swelled• Had his vision while sick– Visits the 6 Grandfathers, connected with

directions

Bison Hunt

• Recovered 12 days later– Sick or dead?– Cured by Whirlwind Chaser

• ”I did not have to remember these things; they have remembered themselves all these years.”[41]

• World changed– Didn’t tell anyone; couldn’t hunt– Connection with Thunder Clouds