Black Elk

Black Elk Speaks is a personal narrative that encompasses an autobiography of Black Elk’s life as a holy man and healer coupled with the tribal history of the lifestyle, and tough challenges that Native Americans faced during the westward expansion movement of white settlers. In the beginning of the book unravel the first unique cultural practice of the Lakota people. That is, before telling his story Black Elk invites Neihardt (the author of the book) to smoke with him the red willow bark in the holy pipe as an offering to the great spirits. The four ribbons tied to the holy pipe represented the divine powers of the four quarters or seasons. The Black color characterized as the west stood for the source of rain, the White for the north…

Black Elk and Red Crow ride back to camp in Pine Ridge, each with a baby he saved from the battleground. The site at Pine Ridge is vacant, the Indians having bolted away. While eating some food that the fugitive Indians left they are shot at. Black Elk says that he desires he had died right then and there with remains of the Indian meat in his mouth. They leave camp to search for their people. Black Elk's mother is joyful she assumed he was dead. Black Elk wants to seek revenge for the…

The article “Black Elk Speaks” addresses many problems that the “Wasichus” did to change the way the native americans lived and carried on as a culture. “Black Elk” is discussing his story to John Neihardt and John is using his evaluation skills to simply for future readers. “Black Elk” is telling the stories of how the “Wasichus” building their roads drastically changed the way of living for the native american way of life. He relies on his emotions “pathos” to spread views on what the…

“The Black Elk Speaks” is a book on the life of Black Elk. The narrator John Neihardt, tells the story of Black Elk’s life, which is translated by Black Elk’s son Ben. Neihardt shares the journey of Black Elk, which includes his early life as an autobiography, spiritual revelation, and about the history of his tribal life and religious believes and customs. In the beginning chapters Black Elk as he is saying his story, he tells the audience that this is not his story alone, this story is about…

Black Elk was a leader among his people during the latter half of the 19th century. Although he is not as widely recognized as other leaders of the time including Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull, Black Elk had a key part in helping his people hold onto hope even in their dire situation. While most people’s idea of progress in the late 1800’s regarding the so called “Indian problem” involved assimilation or outright eliminating them from the map, Black Elk’s definition of progress was significantly…

hard to comprehend without an illustration to follow. Since this is the case, Black Elk Speaks will be utilized to highlight Geertz’s…

As I have previously written on Black Elk Speaks Journal 1, this story relates to the life I lived and experienced back in my home country, Iraq. Of course both stories are set in different time lines and different events, yet they still are similar. As soon as Chapter 9 starts, Black Elk begins talking about his come country and how the soldiers came there to kill them. There was a reason for the soldiers to go out there and attempt to eliminate an entire tribe and that was because of land,…

or models for their Halloween costume. However, the book Black Elk Speaks sheds a more morose light on Native American life and culture. John G. Neihardt tells the story of Nicholas Black Elk, a healer and visionary of the Oglala Lakota tribe; Black Elk’s story stands testament to the cultural annihilation Indian peoples faced in America during the latter part of the nineteenth century. It is through the perspective of Black Elk that one can see just how much Sioux culture was displaced by the…

negotiations with the United States Government to sell land in an attempt to protect his people. The members of Black Elk’s tribe recognized that with every negotiation made, the whites always wanted more, and so they lost respect for their leader, whom they saw as weak. In the ninth chapter, Black Elk and his friends share their memories of the Battle of the Little Bighorn, or as they refer to it, “the Battle of the Greasy Grass.” Once again, Neihardt is able to transcribe first-hand accounts…

Not a sound can be heard in the dark and silent black timber. The brutal terrain gradually slopes as a hunter walks out and onto the next ridge. Wind howls as it blows across the mountainside, for nothing blocks it. Monster mule deer graze on the horizon as bighorn sheep bed down on some rocks, prepared for any situation that may arise. The Rockies are not just home to mighty animals but a wide variety of people as well: The Roadhunter, The Nature Hunter, and The Hardcore Hunter. The most…