Black Elk Speaks

by Neihardt, John G.

• ISBN13: 9781438425405
• ISBN10: 1438425406
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-08-01
• Publisher: STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK PRESS

Summary

Black Elk Speaks is widely hailed as a religious classic, one of the best spiritual books of the modern era and the bestselling book of all time by an American Indian. This inspirational and unfailingly powerful story reveals the life and visions of the Lakota healer Nicholas Black Elk (1863-1950) and the tragic history of his Sioux people during the epic closing decades of the Old West. In 1930, the aging Black Elk met a kindred spirit, the famed poet, writer, and critic John G. Neihardt (1881-1973) on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. The Lakota elder chose Neihardt to share his visions and life with the world. Neihardt understood and today Black Elk is known to all.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	p. ix
Maps	p. xi
Preface to the 1932 Edition	p. xvii
Preface to the 1961 Edition	p. xxi
Preface to the 1972 Edition	p. xxvii
The Offering of the Pipe	p. 1
Early Boyhood	p. 7
The Great Vision	p. 17
The Bison Hunt	p. 37
At the Soldiers' Town	p. 47
High Horse's Courting	p. 53
Wasichus in the Hills	p. 61
The Fight with Three Stars	p. 73
The Rubbing Out of Long Hair	p. 83
Walking the Black Road	p. 103
The Killing of Crazy Horse	p. 111
Grandmother's Land	p. 115
The Compelling Fear	p. 123
The Horse Dance	p. 129
The Dog Vision	p. 141
Heyoka Ceremony	p. 149
The First Cure	p. 155
The Powers of the Bison and the Elk	p. 163
Across the Big Water	p. 171
The Spirit Journey	p. 179
The Messiah	p. 185
Visions of the Other World	p. 193
Bad Trouble Coming	p. 201
The Butchering at Wounded Knee	p. 207
The End of the Dream	p. 213
Neihardt's Postscript	p. 219
Letter from Neihardt to Black Elk, 6 November 1930	p. 223
The Drawings by Black Elk's Friend, Standing Bear	p. 227
John G. Neihardt and Nicholas Black Elk	p. 289
References	p. 317
Index	p. 325
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