Black Elk Speaks Essay

Black Elk was a holy man of the Oglala band of the Lakota Sioux nation. Black Elk interpreted his life as a holy man as "the story of a mighty vision" (BES, p. 2). As a child, Black Elk was blessed with a great vision from the other world. In receiving his great vision, Black Elk received a great power, a "power to make over" (BES, p. 201), a power to make things better for sick and suffering individuals and nations. He did not know it at the time, but this vision would be the blueprint of his life. It would guide him through times when he doubted his importance to his people. He had other visions, but they all tied into the great vision he experienced as a child. Black Elk made incredible

Religious beliefs varied between tribes, but there was a widespread belief in a Great Spirit who created the earth, and who pervaded everything. The constitution of the Iroquois stated every time assembly is held, “ they shall make an address and offer thanks to the earth, to the streams of water, to the animals”. Native American believe everything on earth was given by the Mother Earth, so they must pay respect to their surroundings. In Natives’ culture, there is no such thing of I am first because I am this because they are all relying on one another to sustain life. According to the Digital History, Native American lifestyle was “ free from all the traditional constraints of civilized life-- such as private property or family bonds” . The natives had never of a thought of themselves as owners. They believed that everything on earth was gifted by the Mother Earth, which explains why Indians have a great respect for nature. This concept has proven to us that these Native American were not self- centered. They don’t take everything for granted. They appreciated every little thing around

European Americans have commonly failed to recognize the plurality of American Indian groups, as they have classified all Indians as being in the same group of “natural beings” that wear feathers and ride on horses. However, there are many different American Indian groups and communities, and some groups had further divisions, such as the Lakota. The Lakota were made of seven tribes, the Oglalas, Brulés, Minneconjous, Hunkpapas, Two Kettles, Sihasapas, and Sans Arcs (7). Out of these, the Oglalas and the Brulés got the most attention, as they spent the most time in the Black Hills out of the tribes; however, the other tribes were definitely affected by United States policy too as the Europeans set up forts all over their territory (13).

For years, the Native Americans lived a very solitary life with their own unique way of living, that was until the European’s showed up with their very complex way of living. Harmony with nature was a very important aspect of Native American culture. The Native people embraced nature with no intention to modify it unlike the Europeans. They simply cared more about nature and what it had to offer. The spiritual connection between the land and these Natives were distinctive from the Europeans also due to the fact that to the settlers, land meant wealth. As a European, if you owned any land you were considered a wealthy upper class human being. As a Native, no one owned the land and anyone could benefit from the land.

The buffalo were evidently everything to the Native Americans, hereby causing the defeat of buffalo to fall hand in hand with theirs. The plains Indians used bison as not only food, but in religious rituals, for clothing, for hunting, for shelter, and more. The buffalo were an integral part of the native’s lives. In the aftermath of the increasing killings of bison, the lives of countless Native Americans were destroyed. The said 30-60 million buffalo which had roamed freely upon the Great

The Native Americans lived on millions of acres of land in Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina and Florida, they inherited all of these lands from their ancestors who cultivated for generations. According to Elias Boudinot the natives considered themselves to be just as equal as the Whites, he states, “What is an Indian? Is he not formed of the same materials with yourself?” (Boudinot, 1826) The natives saw themselves to be no different from the Whites, in fact they cared for one another as a whole, they lived in kinships, where there was never an Indian left alone without a family. They followed a society based off of the concept of interdependence, they had in their mind that everything is dependent of something. The Indians were very advanced, and were able to prosper in their society, although the Whites believed otherwise, and believed that the natives were uncivilized.

Black Elk explains the Lakota ideology and what it means to be native. Black Elk falls very ill. While ill, Black Elk has a vision known as “The Great Vision”(Neihardt 17 footnote 1). The Wasichus, a name for white people, start building the iron road, and the start of treaties being made. “Wherever we went the soldiers came to kill us”(Neihardt pg 105), this quote was spoken by Black Elk at the beginning of destruction of the Lakota Nation. Black Elk and his tribe leave for Grandmother’s land (Canada). While in Canada, the Lakota perform the Horse Dance. Cuts-to-pieces’ son was the first human to be healed by Black Elk, and after this miraculous deed happens his tribe performs the Heyoka ceremony. After the Heyoka ceremony, Black Elk performs the final part of his Great Vision. Black Elk travels over the big water and when Black Elk recovers from being sick, he then returns home to find his people dying from starvation and sickness. The messiah is introduced, and rumors are spreading that this man promises a new “better” world is coming, where all their loved-ones are alive and buffalo still roam. Historically known as the Massacre of Wounded Knee, Wasichus came into the native camp, at this time there were so few native tribes left that multiple tribes banded together and slaughter men women and children. This is when the Lakota Nation has one final battle against the U.S. Army. “Brothers, this is a very hard winter. The women and children are starving and

The buffalo would supply the Indians with their necessities for living including resources for thread, clothes, food and shelter. The buffalo was also used for trading things more valuable. An important action that undermined the Plains Indian culture was the large killing of buffalo in a short period of time. Army commanders who worked in the north west often tried to deprive the Indians of their main source of survival by killing the buffalo as a way to drive them of their land. As the population of buffalo dwindled, the Plains Indians had no means of independent support or nourishment and were forced to accept the US government’s policy of living on Indian reservations. The killing of buffalo was supported by the US military in order to undermine the survival of the Indians, and up to 250 buffalo were killed each

The Omaha Chief Big Elk commented on the effect of the white migration to the West across the Overland Trails while visiting Washington D.C. He stated eloquently, “there is a coming flood which will soon reach us, and I advise you to prepare for it.” An estimated 500,000 people made the journey West to California and the Willamette Valley between the years 1840 – 1870. However, much like the first rains in a wet season, benefits were found in the first storm of white emigrants heading west. Native people were able to cooperate with white emigrants and benefit from trading with them. But the storms continued, emigrants as plentiful as rain drops came through the Indian lands and eventually, the prophecy of a great flood Chief Big Elk spoke of came true. Overtime, whites used up the limited resources of the plains tribes, depended on one another instead of Indians for help, and used force rather than compromise to clear the way for the expansion of the West.

Northern Indians depended on hunting and gathering. During the spring they lived near the river which allowed them to catch fish, whales and seals. Children would catch birds and bird eggs for food. They kept their hunting to a moderation which allowed animal populations to be sustained. They also ate native plants such as strawberries, raspberries, and other wild plants. During the months of October through March Indians moved to the forest where they hunted beaver, moose and deer. They tried to use every part of the animals they hunted; they used the animals' skin as clothing and their bones as tools. Certain tribes had rules on what to do with left over animal parts. They kept population from increasing in the winter by not storing enough food, which caused some Indians to die during the winter. They also set big forest fires during the summer and fall, which in the long run increased nutrients in the soil. An abundance of grass for the animals made the soil warmer and drier, which allowed oak trees to grow. When the colonists arrived everything changed, the land began to be altered.

One of the most important traits shared by all Plains tribes was the fact that they all hunted bison or buffalo. This was also the economic basis of their way of life since hunting provided them with food and

Black Elk seemed disgusted by the behavior of the United States government. Black Elk had lived through the government’s unlawful slaughter of Chief Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull. He had seen the Battle of Little Bighorn where an attempt was made to forcibly take their sacred land. Black Elk had witnessed the massacre of men, women, and children at the Battle of Wounded Knee. Black Elk went as far to say that “I did not know then how much was ended….I can see that something else died there in the bloody mud, and was buried in the blizzard. A people's dream died there. It was a beautiful dream.” Black Elk experienced the true injustices done by the government, and lived long enough to see their negative impact (“Black Elk”).

The division in the world among the races always was and will be one of the

The Sioux ate what they found in the homelands. Buffalo was an important food, it was mostly hunted in the fall. None of the buffalo was wasted. It was eaten and made into clothing, tipi coverings, shields, and weapons. The Sioux also made pemmican from dried meats, dried berries, dried fruits, nuts, and melted buffalo fat. The meat, berries, fruits, and nuts were crushed. Then they poured melted buffalo fat over the mixture. The pemmican was stored in animal intestines and bladders. The containers were lightweight, watertight, and safe from insects.

The Indians relied on buffalo for survival. In Dances with Wolves, Dunbar quickly learns that hunting buffalo is key for survival. Dunbar’s new friends end up having to move to a different location because there were no buffalo to hunt and Dunbar decides to go with them. The Indians use the buffalo fur for blankets, teepees, and drums (Native American Culture). They also would eat the meat of the buffalo. They used everything so that nothing was wasted. Also in The Searchers there is a scene that shows the white men killing all the buffalo in the valley. They did that because they knew how important they were to the Indians survival. Obviously, they didn’t care about them surviving because they had kidnapped Ethan’s niece.