Black Elk
Heȟáka Sápa was a wičháša wakȟáŋ and heyoka of the Oglala Lakota people. He was a second cousin of the war leader Crazy Horse.
Oglala Lakota
The Oglala are one of the seven subtribes of the Lakota people who, along with the Dakota, make up the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ. A majority of the Oglala live on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, the eighth-largest Native American reservation in the United States.
Battle of the Little Bighorn
The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass and also commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes and the 7th Cavalr…
What is Black Elk known for?
Jump to navigation Jump to search. Oglala Lakota leader. Heȟáka Sápa (Black Elk) (December 1, 1863 – August 19, 1950) was a wičháša wakȟáŋ ("medicine man, holy man") and heyoka of the Oglala Lakota people. He was a second cousin of the war leader Crazy Horse.
What religion did Black Elk convert to?
Heȟáka Sápa ( Black Elk) (December 1, 1863 – August 19, 1950) was a wičháša wakȟáŋ (" medicine man, holy man") and heyoka of the Oglala Lakota people. He was a second cousin of the war leader Crazy Horse. Black Elk's first wife Katie converted to Roman Catholicism, and they had their three children baptized as Catholics.
Where did Black Elk live in the Great Plains?
Black Elk. Black Elk, also known as Hehaka Sapa and Nicholas Black Elk, was a famous holy man, traditional healer, and visionary of the Oglala Lakota (Sioux) of the northern Great Plains. Black Elk was born in December 1863 on the Little Powder River in Wyoming, west of present-day South Dakota.
Is Black Elk related to Crazy Horse?
Black Elk. Heȟáka Sápa (Black Elk) (December 1, 1863 – August 19, 1950) was a wičháša wakȟáŋ ("medicine man, holy man") and heyoka of the Oglala Lakota people. He was a second cousin of the war leader Crazy Horse.
What did Nicholas Black Elk do?
Nicholas, in December of 1904, Black Elk was a practicing and proselytizing Catholic. He remained one until his death. He baptized hundreds of Sioux and other Indians, taught the Bible, held Masses, preached sermons, and lived a humble, righteous, and useful life.
What did Black Elk teach?
After Katie's death, in 1904 Black Elk, then in his 40s, converted to Catholicism. He also became a catechist, teaching others about Christianity.
What was Black Elk's message?
The theme of unity is, perhaps, the most important message in Black Elk's vision, and it too is strongly linked to Lakota religion. As mentioned earlier, as a result of their religious beliefs, the Lakota nation stressed the relationship between all things. This bond linked man with animal as well as man with man.
Why did Black Elk convert?
Wounded Knee and Beyond After being wounded in an attempt to retaliate after Wounded Knee, Black Elk was convinced to surrender by another Sioux chief, Red Cloud. He remained living on the Pine Ridge Reservation and later converted to Catholicism, taking the name Nicholas Black Elk.
What does Black Elk say is his purpose in telling his life story?
Therefore, after seeing his people's culture all but destroyed, Black Elk realized that the wisdom of his vision must not die. Black Elk felt that the telling of his story was “. . . incumbent upon him. His chief purpose was to 'save his Great Vision for men (preface – xix).
What does Black Elk see in his vision?
Still, in the fourth ascent, Black Elk cries in despair as life suddenly returns to his vision: he sees a fat bison and a flowering tree in the center of the nation's hoop. He now realizes that he and his people “must find a new strength” if the cycle of life is to continue.
Was Black Elk a prophet?
To those who saw his countercultural image as a permanent rebuke to American settlers' domination, extermination, and marginalization of Native American peoples, Black Elk was a tragic prophet who channeled ecstatic visions of Indian pride and independence.
What is the best summary of the work Black Elk Speaks?
Black Elk Speaks tells the life story of Black Elk, a Lakota medicine man, visionary, and spiritual leader, as he reflects on the destruction of his culture as a result of American westward expansion, as well as his failure to enact his visionary powers to save his people and preserve their way of life.
Why does Black Elk tell the story of his life to Mr neihardt?
When the two men met, Black Elk recognized that Neihardt was a sympathetic listener, someone interested in the spiritual world and in Indian history. He wanted to tell Neihardt his life story, especially the story of his vision, because he felt he would soon die.
How did Crazy Horse get his name?
Crazy Horse had lighter complexion and hair than others in his tribe, with prodigious curls. Boys were traditionally not permanently named until they had an experience that earned them a name, so Crazy Horse was called “Curly Hair” and “Light-Haired Boy” as a child.
What is the historical significance of the Battle of Wounded Knee to the Indian wars?
The massacre at Wounded Knee, during which soldiers of the US Army 7th Cavalry Regiment indiscriminately slaughtered hundreds of Sioux men, women, and children, marked the definitive end of Indian resistance to the encroachments of white settlers.
What tribe was attacked at the Battle of Wounded Knee?
On December 29, 1890, in one of the final chapters of America's long Indian wars, the U.S. Cavalry kills 146 Sioux at Wounded Knee on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota.
Why is Black Elk Speaks important?
Within the American Indian Movement, especially among non-Natives and urban descendants who had not been raised in a traditional culture, Black Elk Speaks was an important source for those who were now seeking religious and spiritual inspiration. However, some critics believe John Neihardt, as the author and editor, may have exaggerated or altered some parts of the story to make it more accessible and marketable to the intended white audience of the 1930s, or because he did not fully understand the Lakota context.
What did Black Elk teach tourists?
But, unlike the Wild West shows, used to glorify Native American warfare, Black Elk created a show to teach tourists about Lakota culture and traditional sacred rituals, including the Sun Dance. Black Elk's first wife Katie converted to Roman Catholicism, and they had their three children baptized as Catholics.
What did Black Elk tell Black Road?
When he was seventeen, Black Elk told a medicine man, Black Road, about the vision in detail. Black Road and the other medicine men of the village were "astonished by the greatness of the vision.". Black Elk had learned many things in his vision to help heal his people.
Where was the Black Elk born?
Black Elk was born into an Oglala Lakota family in December 1863 along the Little Powder River (at a site thought to be in the present-day state of Wyoming). According to the Lakota way of measuring time (referred to as Winter counts ), Black Elk was born in "the Winter When the Four Crows Were Killed on Tongue River ".
What did Black Elk do in the Wounded Knee Massacre?
Black Elk participated in the fighting at the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890. While on horseback, he charged soldiers and helped to rescue some of the wounded. He arrived after many of Spotted Elk 's (Big Foot's) band of people had been shot, and he was grazed by a bullet to his hip.
What was Black Elk's vision?
When Black Elk was nine years old, he was suddenly taken ill; he lay prone and unresponsive for several days. During this time he had a great vision in which he was visited by the Thunder Beings ( Wakinyan )"... spirits were represented as kind and loving, full of years and wisdom, like revered human grandfathers." When he was seventeen, Black Elk told a medicine man, Black Road, about the vision in detail. Black Road and the other medicine men of the village were "astonished by the greatness of the vision."
When was the Black Elk Speaks book published?
Neihardt published these in his book Black Elk Speaks in 1932 . This book has since been published in numerous editions, most recently in 2008.. Near the end of his life, he recorded the seven sacred rites of the Sioux to ethnologist Joseph Epes Brown which were published in 1947 in the book The Sacred Pipe.
When was Black Elk born?
Black Elk was born into the Oglala Lakota ( Sioux Nation) in December 1863, ("Moon of the Popping Trees during the Winter When the Four Crows Were Killed"). When he was three years old, his father was wounded in the Fetterman Fight, known among the Sioux as the Battle of the Hundred Slain, organized by Chief Red Cloud. This was a winter when hunting was poor and snowfall was heavy. Nonetheless, the tribe moved westward, away from white encroachment.
What did Black Elk do after the Sioux surrender?
After the Wounded Knee Massacre and the Sioux's final surrender, Black Elk married and began to raise a family. He converted to Catholicism approximately ten years later and became a catechist. The reservation Indians were not allowed to meet in large groups and were forbidden to practice the native religion. However, as a catechist, Black Elk had the freedom to help his people with money, group gatherings, and prayer.
What did Black Elk's vision tell him?
At this point, looking through the teepee's top opening, he viewed the same men from his earlier vision beckoning him to follow them to his Grandfathers. Then led by horses, he was taken to a teepee in which the six Grandfathers were waiting. Each of the grandfathers told Black Elk something about themselves and the Native peoples' destiny, and each gave him a symbolic object. He was told by the sixth Grandfather that he would receive his power, important for the great trouble to come to his nation.
How old was Black Elk when he died?
By the time Black Elk was 20 years old, his people were suffering greatly. They were dying of starvation and disease. Forced onto reservations, they could not practice their traditional ways of life.
How old was Black Elk when he joined Sitting Bull?
When Black Elk was about 15 years old, his family moved to Canada to join Sitting Bull. At this time, he began receiving and using visions to remove his people from impending danger. The voices of his spirit guides also led them to bison and other animals for food.
What happened to Sitting Bull?
The Indians seemed to be trailed by white soldiers. Some encampments were attacked and the Indians killed in their sleep. Indian removal began, though many chose death over assimilation or imprisonment on reservations. Over the next year, the new forces relentlessly pursued the Lakota, forcing many of the Indians to surrender. Sitting Bull refused to surrender and in May 1877, led his band across the border into Canada, where he remained in exile for many years, refusing a pardon and the chance to return.
Further Reading on Nicholas Black Elk
Raymond DeMallie has edited, with an introduction rich in detail and insight, the interview notes from both Neihardt visits with Black Elk in The Sixth Grandfather (1984). Joseph Epes Brown remembered Black Elk as a Heyoka or clown-trickster in an interview, "The Wisdom of the Contrary," in Parabola (1979).
Additional Biography Sources
Black Elk, Black Elk speaks: being the life story of a holy man of the Ogalala Sioux, Alexandria, Va.: Time-Life Books, 1991; Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1932, 1979, 1988.
What does Black Elk do in the book?
Black Elk is ordered to scalp a man who is down, and Black Elk shoots him in the forehead. Far off, Indian warriors are in a whirl of dust; Custer has attacked from the north end, Neihardt notes. Black Elk goes home to show his mother his first scalp.
Why did the Black Elk fight Crazy Horse?
Although Crazy Horse fought with the white men on the Rosebud River, it was only to prevent them from attacking at the sun dance. During this time, the Indians just wanted to be left alone because they were, after all, on their own land. Feeling increasingly threatened, Black Elk ...
How old was Iron Hawk when he painted himself for battle?
The troops did not pursue the Indians. Iron Hawk, who was fourteen years old at the time, adds to the story: He, too, dressed and painted himself for battle, armed with only a bow and arrow.
What did the Sioux think of the helpless people at home?
The Sioux, thinking of the helpless people at home that they were defending, willingly faced death in battle. Black Elk's account also reveals how the cavalry attack, which occurred while the Indians were swimming and eating, surprised the Indians.
Where is Black Elk in Little Big Horn?
Feeling increasingly threatened, Black Elk relocates with his people to a big camp near the Greasy Grass (Little Big Horn River). The medicine man Hairy Chin dresses and paints Black Elk as a bear to participate in a curing ceremony for Rattling Hawk, who was shot in the hip at the Battle of the Rosebud the week before.
Who was Black Elk's cousin?
He and some other boys rode around the scene of the battle, shooting arrows into the wounded soldiers. He stole a watch from one. His cousin, called Black Wasichu, was severely wounded in the battle. His father and Black Elk's father were so angry that they butchered a white man.
What bands were in the Sioux camp?
The encampment included Lakota bands (Oglalas, Brules, Sans Arcs, Minneconjous, and Hunkpapas) as well as Cheyenne and Blackfeet. The Sioux had a reputation as warriors, and this chapter gives us a glimpse of some of their practices, including war cries, horsemanship, and scalping.
What did Black Elk do in the Wild West?
Back in America and on the Pine Ridge Reservation, Black Elk carried out the duties of medicine man.
What did the Black Elk do to the dying boy?
A family in the Pine Ridge reservation had a little boy who was dying. Having heard of Black Elk’s skill as a medicine man, they called for him to come and heal the boy. Black Elk came, and began the ceremony, offering tobacco, singing sacred songs, and beating on his drum and rattle. Midway through, priests from the local mission arrived, having baptized the boy previously and coming to anoint the boy in his final moments. One priest, Father Lindebner, came into the tent, and upon seeing Black Elk performing traditional ceremonies over the boy, threw the tobacco into the stove, and the drum, rattle, and Black Elk himself outside.
How old was Black Elk when he was ill?
His life spanned more than the sum of its years. When he was nine years old, Black Elk suddenly became monstrously ill. While immobile and unresponsive for a number of days, the young boy was experiencing a vision of cosmic and spiritual significance.
What would happen if the Lakota mission failed?
If that failed to produce results, priests from the local mission would be brought in, in a type of “all else has failed” situation.
When was Black Elk born?
Born a couple years before the end of the Civil War, Black Elk’s childhood took place among traditional practices, his young adulthood during the tumult of the Reservation Era, and his adulthood in a post-expansion America. His life spanned more than the sum of its years.
Who is Nicholas Black Elk?
Nicholas Black Elk: Holy Man and American Catechist. Family and friends of Nicholas Black Elk, the Oglala Sioux who was known as a holy man, chief, and dedicated catechist, recently presented the diocese of Rapid City with a petition to open his cause for canonization.
Who is Black Elk's daughter?
Black Elk’s daughter, Lucy Looks Twice, would tell the story with great affection and love in later years. When Fr. Lindebner came out of the tent, she describes it as follows: “…he [Fr. Lindebner] came out and saw my father sitting there looking downhearted and lonely- as though he lost all his powers.
Overview
Heȟáka Sápa, commonly known as Black Elk (December 1, 1863 – August 19, 1950 ), was a wičháša wakȟáŋ ("medicine man, holy man"), heyoka of the Oglala Lakota people and educator about his culture. He was a second cousin of the war leader Crazy Horse and fought with him in the Battle of Little Bighorn. He survived the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890. He toured and performed in Eur…
Childhood
Black Elk was born into an Oglala Lakota family in December 1863 along the Little Powder River (at a site thought to be in the present-day state of Wyoming). According to the Lakota way of measuring time (referred to as Winter counts), Black Elk was born in "the Winter When the Four Crows Were Killed on Tongue River".
Vision
When Black Elk was nine years old, he was suddenly taken ill; he lay prone and unresponsive for several days. During this time he had a great vision in which he was visited by the Thunder Beings (Wakinyan)"... spirits were represented as kind and loving, full of years and wisdom, like revered human grandfathers." When he was seventeen, Black Elk told a medicine man, Black Road, about the vision in detail. Black Road and the other medicine men of the village were "astonished by th…
Battle of the Little Bighorn
Black Elk was present at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, and described his experience to John Neihardt:
There was a soldier on the ground and he was still kicking. A Lakota [Sioux] rode up and said to me, 'Boy, get off and scalp him.' I got off and started to do it. He had short hair and my knife was not very sharp. He ground his teeth. Then I shot him in the forehead and got his scalp. ... After a…
Buffalo Bill's Wild West
In 1887, Black Elk traveled to England with Buffalo Bill's Wild West, an experience he described in chapter twenty of Black Elk Speaks. On May 11, 1887, the troupe put on a command performance for Queen Victoria, whom they called "Grandmother England." Black Elk was among the crowd at her Golden Jubilee.
In spring 1888, Buffalo Bill's Wild West set sail for the United States. Black Elk …
Wounded Knee Massacre
Black Elk participated in the fighting at the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890. While on horseback, he charged soldiers and helped to rescue some of the wounded. He arrived after many of Spotted Elk's (Big Foot's) band of people had been shot, and he was grazed by a bullet to his hip.
Later years
For at least a decade, beginning in 1934, Black Elk returned to work related to his performances earlier in life with Buffalo Bill. He organized an Indian show to be held at the Sitting Bull Crystal Cavern Dance Pavilion in the sacred Black Hills. But, unlike the Wild West shows, used to glorify Native American warfare, Black Elk created a show to teach tourists about Lakota culture and traditional sacred rituals, including the Sun Dance.
Family
Black Elk married his first wife, Katie War Bonnet, in 1892. She converted to Catholicism, and all three of their children were baptized as Catholics.
His son, Benjamin Black Elk (1899–1973), became known as the "Fifth Face of Mount Rushmore", posing in the 1950s and 1960s for tourists at the memorial. Benjamin played an uncredited role in the 1962 film How the West Was Won.
Early Life and Visions
Teen Years
- When Black Elk was eleven years old (1874), his people were camped in the Black Hills of present-day South Dakota. The Treaty of Fort Laramie in 1868, had specified the area of the Great Sioux Reservation to be all of South Dakota west of the Missouri Riverand additional territory in adjoining states. This included the Black Hills. The treaty stipulated that the land was to be "set …
Adulthood
- By the time Black Elk was 20 years old, his people were suffering greatly. They were dying of starvation and disease. Forced onto reservations, they could not practice their traditional ways of life.
Later Years
- After the Wounded Knee Massacre and the Sioux's final surrender, Black Elk married and began to raise a family. He converted to Catholicismapproximately ten years later and became a catechist. The reservation Indians were not allowed to meet in large groups and were forbidden to practice the native religion. However, as a catechist, Black Elk had t...
Referencesisbn Links Support Nwe Through Referral Fees
- CliffsNotes by Wiley Publishing, Inc. Black Elk Speaks by John Gneisenau Niehardt.Retrieved December 31, 2007.
- Reuben, Paul P. Black Elk (1863-1950); also known as Hehaka Sapa and Nicholas Black Elk. Perspectives in American Literature. Retrieved December 12, 2007.
- Sanchez, Mark. Black Elk Speaks. Colorado State Education. Retrieved December 12, 2007.