1. Black Elk Speaks
A Vision of Place

2. 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

3. 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

4. Phenomenon of
Black 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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?

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. Offering the Pipe
• Must be done before
talking
• White Buffalo Calf
Woman
• Directions of the
offering
– Orientation to past,
land, and cosmos

12. 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]

13. 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

14. 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