Black Elk Speaks

by Black Elk; Neihardt, John G.

• ISBN13: 9780803261709
• ISBN10: 0803261705
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-12-01
• Publisher: Bison Books

Summary

Named one of the ten best spiritual books of the twentieth century by Philip Zaleski of HarperSanFrancisco, Black Elk Speaks is the acclaimed story of Lakota visionary and healer Nicholas Black Elk (1863-1950) and his people during the momentous, twilight years of the nineteenth century. Black Elk grew up in a time when white settlers were invading the Lakotas' homeland, decimating buffalo herds and threatening to extinguish the Lakotas' way of life. Black Elk and other Lakotas fought back, a dogged resistance that resulted in a remarkable victory at the Little Bighorn and an unspeakable tragedy at Wounded Knee. Beautifully told through the celebrated poet and writer John G. Neihardt, Black Elk Speaks offers much more than a life story. Black Elk's profound and arresting religious visions of the unity of humanity and the world around him have transformed his account into a venerated spiritual classic. Whether appreciated as a collaborative autobiography, a history of a Native American nation, or an enduring spiritual testament for all humankind, Black Elk Speaks is unforgettable. This special edition features all three prefaces to Black Elk Speaks that John G. Neihardt wrote at different points in his life, a map of Black Elk's world, a reset text, a listing of Lakota words newly translated and reproduced using the latest orthographic standards, and color paintings by Lakota artist Standing Bear that have not been widely available for decades.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	viii
Acknowledgments	xi
Foreword	xiii
Vine Deloria
Preface to the 1932 Edition	xix
Preface to the 1961 Edition	xxiii
Preface to the 1972 Edition	xxix
The Offering of the Pipe	1	(5)
Early Boyhood	6	(10)
The Great Vision	16	(21)
The Bison Hunt	37	(10)
At the Soldiers' Town	47	(5)
High Horse's Courting	52	(7)
Wasichus in the Hills	59	(11)
The Fight with Three Stars	70	(10)
The Rubbing Out of Long Hair	80	(20)
Walking the Black Road	100	(7)
The Killing of Crazy Horse	107	(5)
Grandmother's Land	112	(7)
The Compelling Fear	119	(5)
The Horse Dance	124	(12)
The Dog Vision	136	(9)
Heyoka Ceremony	145	(5)
The First Cure	150	(7)
The Powers of the Bison and the Elk	157	(7)
Across the Big Water	164	(8)
The Spirit Journey	172	(5)
The Messiah	177	(7)
Visions of the Other World	184	(7)
Bad Trouble Coming	191	(5)
The Butchering at Wounded Knee	196	(6)
The End of the Dream	202	(6)
Author's Postscript	208	(3)
Appendix 1. Letter from Neihardt to Black Elk, 6 November 1930	211	(4)
Appendix 2. Comparison of the Transcript and Draft for the Origin of the Peace Pipe	215	(6)
Appendix 3. Lakota Words in the Text	221	(4)
Index	225