DOCSLIB.ORG

The Sacred Tree : Black Elk, Colonialism and Lakota Catholicism

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Sacred Tree : Black Elk, Colonialism and Lakota Catholicism The Sacred Tree: Black Elk, Colonialism and Lakota Catholicism Thesis Submitted to the College of Arts & Science of the University of Dayton In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts Degree in the Department of Religious Studies By Damian M. Costello University of Dayton Dayton, Ohio October 2003 Approved by: Faculty Advisor Faculty Reader Faculty Reader Chairperson TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I. Introduction..................................................................................................... 1 II. Missionaries and Colonialism........................................................................16 III. Anthropological Discrimination....................................................................41 IV. Western Systemization and Lakota Agency..................................................65 V. Black Elk’s Vision and Biblical Imagery.......................................................86 VI. Misinterpreting the Vision...................................................... 142 VII. Colonialism, the Holy Man, and Christianity............................................175 VIII. Postcolonialism, The End of Western Romanticism and One Black Elk ....................................................................................................................... 195 BIBLIOGRAPHY..........................................................................................................207 i ABSTRACT Black Elk, Oglala holy man and subject of the infamous book Black Elk Speaks, was also a convert to the Catholic Church. This study examines the implications of Black Elk’s conversion and challenges the assumptions many scholars and popular culture uses to dismiss the significance of his Catholic life. Within the framework of postcolonial theory, this study hopes to deconstruct the modem western assumptions that present Black Elk as a “noble savage” unable to face the ravages of colonialism. In contrast, I argue that Black Elk was an active agent fulfilling his role as a holy man. Black Elk’s conversion was in continuity with the dynamics of Lakota culture and provided new power to challenge the dominance of colonialism. Most importantly, this study uses linguistic analysis of the Dakota Bible to argue that Black Elk’s great vision is in fact a Christian narrative. As a consequence, the Black Elk described by Neihardt and the Lakota Catechist remembered by the Lakota community are not contradictory but one consistent agent. ii Chapter One: Introduction Lakota History and Culture In Pre-Columbian times the Lakota inhabited the woodlands east of the Missouri River, in the area west of the Great Lakes. In the sixteenth century, the Iroquois in the New York area obtained European weapons and began a military expansion westward. The Iroquois displaced the tribes of the Great Lakes regions, such as the Ojibway, who in turn gradually pushed against the eastern territory of the Dakota. European and consequent American colonial expansion exacerbated this ripple effect. Over the course of two centuries, western Dakota people migrated from the woodlands to the Midwest plains and became the Lakota. They separated into seven main bands: Oglala, Brule, Hunkpapa, Mnikowoju, Black Foot, Two Kettle and Sans Arcs.1 The Lakota acquired horses in 1750 and crossed the Missouri River in 1775. Through armed conflict, the Lakota pushed the Kiowa and Crow tribes out of the Black Hills, which became the 2 sacred center of the Lakota world. The Lakota transformed their semi-sedentary woodland economy to a nomadic culture to match their new environment. The Lakota based this new economy on the buffalo. The buffalo provided all necessities of life not obtained through trade. Even the buffalo hides provided the currency for trade goods. The Lakota spent the summers in nomadic fashion, following the herds across the plains, and the winters in the sheltered valleys of the Black Hills. In the mid-nineteenth century, the increasing American presence on the plains provoked armed conflict against the Lakota. The U.S. government waged intermittent war with the Lakota from 1855 to 1890, pursuing a policy of reservation confinement. Through much coercion, deception and the complete destruction of the buffalo herds, the U.S. government finally forced 1 Clyde Holler, Black Elk’s Religion: The Sun Dance and Lakota Catholicism (Syracuse, New York: Syracuse University Press, 1995), XXV. 1 the Lakota to settle on seven separate reservations in the present day states of North and South Dakota. Black Elk’s Life Until Wounded Knee Black Elk’s life spans the Lakota change from a plains culture into a reservation culture. Black Elk was bom into the Oglala Lakota in December of 1863, on the Powder River, probably within the borders of present day Wyoming. His father was a medicine man and cousin of the great Crazy Horse. When he was nine years old he had a great vision. One night, while settling down for camp, Black Elk heard a voice saying, ‘“It is time, now they are calling you.’” The next day, while starting out on horseback, he collapsed with a great sickness. While lying in a tipi, he saw two men coming from the sky saying, “Hurry up, your grandfather is calling you.” He was taken up to the clouds where he visited the spirit world where his “grandfathers [were] having a council.”23 During the course of his visit, the six grandfathers brought Black Elk to the different regions of the spirit world: the four directions, the cloud tipi of the six grandfathers, the black sacred road from west to east, the red sacred road from south to north, and the center of the earth. At the center of the nation’s hoop the sacred tree was established. The six grandfathers also gave Black Elk two specific powers: the power to heal and the power to destroy. I remember that the grandfather of the west had given me a wooden cup of water and a bow and arrow and with this bow and arrow I was going to destroy the enemy with the power of the fearful road. With the wooden cup of water I was to save mankind. This water was clear and with it I was to raise a nation (like medicine).4 2 Michael F. Steltenkamp, Black Elk: Holy Man of the Oglala (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1993), 9-10. 3 Raymond J. DeMallie, The Sixth Grandfather: Black Elk's Teachings Given to John G. Neihardt (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1984), 4, 111, 114, 115. 4 Ibid., 119. 2 The vision of the six grandfathers changed Black Elk’s life. The vision was a call to become a wicasa wakan, a “holy man.”5 This made Black Elk responsible for the survival and prosperity of his people on earth, for “a nation [Black Elk] shall create.” Black Elk believed that he was “appointed by [his] vision to be an intercessor of [his] people with the spirit powers.”6 7 Black Elk was called to create a nation, bring his people on the sacred road into the sacred hoop, and make the sacred tree bloom by using the power he received from the six grandfathers. Black Elk interpreted his life through this message and continually tried to find the way that best corresponded to his vision. Black Elk grew up during the Lakota Wars. He witnessed the Battle of Little Big Hom and killed an American soldier at the age of thirteen. He was among the last of the Lakota to surrender, living for three years with Sitting Bull’s band in Canada. After Sitting Bull surrendered in 1881, Black Elk settled on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation which became his home for the remainder of his life. The Lakota, separated from the plains economy, were forced to take up ranching and farming.8 In 1886, Black Elk took the opportunity to travel with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show with a two-year contract. The show traveled to New York City in the winter of 1886 and then to London in the spring of 1887. Black Elk also visited France, Germany, and Italy with a show run by Mexican Joe. He had gone to explore “the ways of the white men,” and if any of these ways were better, he “would like to see my people live that way.”9 During his time in Europe, he encounters Christianity for the first time. While in Europe, Black Elk wrote a letter to the Iapi Oaye (the “Word Carrier”), a monthly newspaper in Lakota under the Indian Mission of the 5 There are various spellings of Lakota words. I have tried follow the pattern of the most recent scholarship, but some quotations will have variant spellings. 6 DeMallie, The Sixth Grandfather, 293. 7 Ibid., 126, 293. 3 Presbyterian and Congregational Churches, dated February 15, 1888. He wrote of his trip and what he learned of the white man’s customs. “One custom is very good. Whoever believes in God will find good ways - that is what I mean.”810 9 Black Elk Returns from Europe In 1889 Black Elk returned to Pine Ridge. That fall, messengers brought the Lakota news of Wovoka the Messiah. Wovoka was a Paiute from Nevada, who taught that by practicing the Ghost Dance, the whites would disappear, the buffalo would return and all would be like the olden times.11 12After 13 a long period of cautious investigation, Black Elk joined the Ghost Dancers due to the strong connection between the imagery of his vision and the Ghost Dance. The Ghost Dance culminated in the Wounded Knee Massacre, in which American troops killed around 260 Lakota. In the days that followed, Black Elk participated in the battles with the U.S. Army. 12 After the fighting, Black Elk settled down and married Katie War Bonnet in 1892. For the next fourteen years, Black Elk worked as a store clerk and ayuwipi healer. It is likely that his wife became Catholic during this period. Also, his three sons were baptized: William and John in 1895, and Ben in 1899.14 His role as ayuwipi man brought him into conflict with the Catholic presence on the reservation. John Lone Goose, who worked with Black Elk as a catechist, states: I first met Nick around 1900 - when I was a young boy and he was not a Catholic.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Rahm Uaf 0006E 10262.Pdf
    Deconstructing the western worldview: toward the repatriation and indigenization of wellness Item Type Thesis Authors Rahm, Jacqueline Marie Download date 23/09/2021 13:22:54 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/11122/4821 DECONSTRUCTING THE WESTERN WORLDVIEW: TOWARD THE REPATRIATION AND INDIGENIZATION OF WELLNESS A THESIS Presented to the Faculty of the University of Alaska Fairbanks in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY By Jacqueline Marie Rahm, B.A., M.A. Fairbanks, Alaska December 2014 Abstract As Indigenous peoples and scholars advance Native histories, cultures, and languages, there is a critical need to support these efforts by deconstructing the western worldview in a concerted effort to learn from indigenous knowledge and ways of knowing for humanity’s future wellbeing. Toward that imperative, this research brings together and examines pieces of the western story as they intersect with Indigenous peoples of the lands that now comprise the United States of America. Through indigenous frameworks and methodologies, it explores a forgotten epistemology of the pre-Socratic and Pythagorean Archaic and Classical Greek eras that is far more similar to indigenous worldviews than it is to the western paradigm today. It traces how the West left behind this timeless wisdom for the “new learning” and the European colonial settlers arrived in the old “New World” with a fragmented, materialistic, and dualistic worldview that was the antithesis to those of Indigenous peoples. An imbalanced and privileged worldview not only justified an unacknowledged genocide in world history, it is characteristic of a psycho-spiritual disease that plays out across our global society.
    [Show full text]
  • Plains Indians
    Your Name Keyboarding II xx Period Mr. Behling Current Date Plains Indians The American Plains Indians are among the best known of all Native Americans. These Indians played a significant role in shaping the history of the West. Some of the more noteworthy Plains Indians were Big Foot, Black Kettle, Crazy Horse, Red Cloud, Sitting Bull, and Spotted Tail. Big Foot Big Foot (?1825-1890) was also known as Spotted Elk. Born in the northern Great Plains, he eventually became a Minneconjou Teton Sioux chief. He was part of a tribal delegation that traveled to Washington, D. C., and worked to establish schools throughout the Sioux Territory. He was one of those massacred at Wounded Knee in December 1890 (Bowman, 1995, 63). Black Kettle Black Kettle (?1803-1868) was born near the Black Hills in present-day South Dakota. He was recognized as a Southern Cheyenne peace chief for his efforts to bring peace to the region. However, his attempts at accommodation were not successful, and his band was massacred at Sand Creek in 1864. Even though he continued to seek peace, he was killed with the remainder of his tribe in the Washita Valley of Oklahoma in 1868 (Bowman, 1995, 67). Crazy Horse Crazy Horse (?1842-1877) was also born near the Black Hills. His father was a medicine man; his mother was the sister of Spotted Tail. He was recognized as a skilled hunter and fighter. Crazy Horse believed he was immune from battle injury and took part in all the major Sioux battles to protect the Black Hills against white intrusion.
    [Show full text]
  • Teacher’S Guide Teacher’S Guide Little Bighorn National Monument
    LITTLE BIGHORN NATIONAL MONUMENT TEACHER’S GUIDE TEACHER’S GUIDE LITTLE BIGHORN NATIONAL MONUMENT INTRODUCTION The purpose of this Teacher’s Guide is to provide teachers grades K-12 information and activities concerning Plains Indian Life-ways, the events surrounding the Battle of the Little Bighorn, the Personalities involved and the Impact of the Battle. The information provided can be modified to fit most ages. Unit One: PERSONALITIES Unit Two: PLAINS INDIAN LIFE-WAYS Unit Three: CLASH OF CULTURES Unit Four: THE CAMPAIGN OF 1876 Unit Five: BATTLE OF THE LITTLE BIGHORN Unit Six: IMPACT OF THE BATTLE In 1879 the land where The Battle of the Little Bighorn occurred was designated Custer Battlefield National Cemetery in order to protect the bodies of the men buried on the field of battle. With this designation, the land fell under the control of the United States War Department. It would remain under their control until 1940, when the land was turned over to the National Park Service. Custer Battlefield National Monument was established by Congress in 1946. The name was changed to Little Bighorn National Monument in 1991. This area was once the homeland of the Crow Indians who by the 1870s had been displaced by the Lakota and Cheyenne. The park consists of 765 acres on the east boundary of the Little Bighorn River: the larger north- ern section is known as Custer Battlefield, the smaller Reno-Benteen Battlefield is located on the bluffs over-looking the river five miles to the south. The park lies within the Crow Indian Reservation in southeastern Montana, one mile east of I-90.
    [Show full text]
  • Afraid of Bear to Zuni: Surnames in English of Native American Origin Found Within
    RAYNOR MEMORIAL LIBRARIES Indian origin names, were eventually shortened to one-word names, making a few indistinguishable from names of non-Indian origin. Name Categories: Personal and family names of Indian origin contrast markedly with names of non-Indian Afraid of Bear to Zuni: Surnames in origin. English of Native American Origin 1. Personal and family names from found within Marquette University Christian saints (e.g. Juan, Johnson): Archival Collections natives- rare; non-natives- common 2. Family names from jobs (e.g. Oftentimes names of Native Miller): natives- rare; non-natives- American origin are based on objects common with descriptive adjectives. The 3. Family names from places (e.g. following list, which is not Rivera): natives- rare; non-native- comprehensive, comprises common approximately 1,000 name variations in 4. Personal and family names from English found within the Marquette achievements, attributes, or incidents University archival collections. The relating to the person or an ancestor names originate from over 50 tribes (e.g. Shot with two arrows): natives- based in 15 states and Canada. Tribal yes; non-natives- yes affiliations and place of residence are 5. Personal and family names from noted. their clan or totem (e.g. White bear): natives- yes; non-natives- no History: In ancient times it was 6. Personal or family names from customary for children to be named at dreams and visions of the person or birth with a name relating to an animal an ancestor (e.g. Black elk): natives- or physical phenominon. Later males in yes; non-natives- no particular received names noting personal achievements, special Tribes/ Ethnic Groups: Names encounters, inspirations from dreams, or are expressed according to the following physical handicaps.
    [Show full text]
  • Heavy Metals in Traditionally Used Fruits Among the Lakota Joanita M
    South Dakota State University Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange Theses and Dissertations 2013 Heavy Metals in Traditionally Used Fruits Among the Lakota Joanita M. Kant South Dakota State University Follow this and additional works at: https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/etd Recommended Citation Kant, Joanita M., "Heavy Metals in Traditionally Used Fruits Among the Lakota" (2013). Theses and Dissertations. 1448. https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/etd/1448 This Dissertation - Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. HEAVY METALS IN TRADITIONALLY USED FRUITS AMONG THE LAKOTA BY JOANITA KANT A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy Major in Biological Sciences Specialization in Plant Science South Dakota State University 2013 ii HEAVY METALS IN TRADITIONALLY USED FRUITS AMONG THE LAKOTA This dissertation is approved as a creditable and independent investigation by a candidate for the Doctor of Philosophy in Biological Sciences with Plant Science Specialization degree and is acceptable for meeting the dissertation requirements for this degree. Acceptance of this does not imply that the conclusions reached by the candidate are necessarily the conclusions of the major department. ________________________________________ Bruce W. Berdanier, Ph. D., P. E. Date Co-Dissertation Advisor Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering ________________________________________ Gary E. Larson, Ph.
    [Show full text]
  • Spring 2014.Indb
    VOLUME 3, ISSUE 2 ISSN: 2162-2817 Immersion and Indigenous Th eology: Refl ections from NAIITS 1 A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR YALIN XIN, WCIDJ SENIOR EDITOR GUEST EDITORIAL 2 TERRY LEBLANC 5 CULTURE, CHRISTIAN FAITH AND ERROR: A WORK IN PROGRESS ADRIAN JACOBS, RICHARD TWISS, AND TERRY LEBLANC 26 INDIGENOUS THEOLOGY: ABATING COLONIAL IMPACT TERRY LEBLANC THE RESURRECTION OF STORY 32 RAY ALDRED AUTHENTIC CHRISTIAN EDUCATION FROM A NATIVE 39 AMERICAN POINT OF VIEW LEONARD “CASEY” CHURCH 49 BLACK ELK SPEAKS DAMIAN COSTELLO William Carey International Development Journal SPRING 2014 1539 E. Howard Street William Carey International Development Journal Pasadena, CA 91104 Published by William Carey International University www.wciujournal.org www.wciujournal.org • [email protected] William Carey International Development Journal Vol 3 Issue 2: Spring 2014 A Note from the Editor reetings to you all, colleagues, friends, and readers of WCIDJ! I am delighted to take this opportunity to announce a recent partnership initiative between William Carey Interna- Gtional University (WCIU) and the North American Institute for Indigenous Th eological Studies (NAIITS) in support of the education of Native North Americans and other indigenous peoples in the area of biblically and theologically framed education and community development. To celebrate this partnership, WCIU and NAIITS co-hosted a Winter Institute, in Feb/March 2014, on Indigenous Th eological Refl ections: Understanding History, Engaging the Future. At the Institute Dr. Terry LeBlanc, Casey Church, and Bryan Brightcloud led presentations and workshops on both the indigenous theologizing process and expressions. As you may agree with me after viewing some of the videos of the Institute included in this issue, NAIITS leaders, representing their community of believers, have obviously thought and ploughed deep in contextual theology and presented a lot of thought-provoking stories and refl ections to us.
    [Show full text]
  • Black Elk's Legacy Mark G
    Marquette University e-Publications@Marquette Library Faculty Research and Publications Library (Raynor Memorial Libraries) 12-31-2006 Black Elk's Legacy Mark G. Thiel Marquette University, [email protected] Published version. Whispering Wind, Vol. 37, No. 2 (2007): 14-18. Publisher link. © 2007 Written Heritage. Used with permission. Black Elk's Legacy By Mark Thiel All photographs are courtesy of Marquette University and from its Bureau of Catholic Indian ehaka Sapa or Black Elk Missions Records, unless noted otherwise. H(1863-1950) lived one of the most controversial lives of the 20th century. To most Americans, he is best-known from Black Elk Speaks: Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux, as told through John G. Neihardt (Neihardt, 1979). It chronicles his life as a warrior, wild-west show dancer, and medicine man (photo right) and, although called his life story, the book ends abruptly in 1890 at the Wounded Knee massacre on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, where Black Elk as a 27-year old was wounded. Black Elk dressed as a distinguished elder, probably at the Duhamel's Sioux Indian Pageant, Black Hills, South Dakota, W. Ben Hunt, photographer, ca . 1939. This image is accessible online in the Marquette University Digital Collections. In 1929, Black Elk and the Duhamel family organized a pageant near the developing Mount Rushmore Monument. The pageant included short renditions of Lakota ceremonies and dances narrated by Black Elk to educate tourists about Lakota heritage. It is believed that Black Elk's evolving narration provided the basis for his last collaborative book, The Sacred Pipe: Black Elk's Account of the Seven Rites of the Oglala Sioux, for which he was interviewed in 1947 and 1948.
    [Show full text]
  • The Representation of Sioux Life by Black Elk, Lame Deer and Ohiyesa
    Jihočeská univerzita v Českých Budějovicích Pedagogická fakulta Katedra anglistiky Bakalářská práce The Representation of Sioux Life by Black Elk, Lame Deer and Ohiyesa Pohled do života Siouxů podle Black Elka, Lame Deera a Ohiyesa Vypracoval: Marek Hůla, Aj-Nj, III. ročník Vedoucí práce: PhDr. Christopher Koy, M.A., Ph.D. České Budějovice 2013 Prohlášení Prohlašuji, že svoji bakalá řskou práci Pohled do života Sioux ů podle Black Elka, Lame Deera a Ohiyesa jsem vypracoval samostatn ě pouze s použitím pramen ů a literatury uvedených v seznamu citované literatury. Prohlašuji, že v souladu s § 47b zákona č. 111/1998 Sb. v platném zn ění souhlasím se zve řejn ěním své bakalá řské práce, a to v nezkrácené podob ě elektronickou cestou ve ve řejn ě přístupné části databáze STAG provozované Jiho českou univerzitou v Českých Bud ějovicích na jejích internetových stránkách, a to se zachováním mého autorského práva k odevzdanému textu této kvalifika ční práce. Souhlasím dále s tím, aby toutéž elektronickou cestou byly v souladu s uvedeným ustanovením zákona č. 111/1998 Sb. zve řejn ěny posudky školitele a oponent ů práce i záznam o pr ůběhu a výsledku obhajoby kvalifika ční práce. Rovn ěž souhlasím s porovnáním textu mé kvalifika ční práce s databází kvalifika čních prací Theses.cz provozovanou Národním registrem vysokoškolských kvalifika čních prací a systémem na odhalování plagiát ů. V Českých Bud ějovicích, 29.4.2013 ........................................ Marek H ůla Pod ěkování: Rád bych pod ěkoval panu PhDr. Christopherr Koyovi, M.A., PhD. za jeho cenné rady, p řipomínky, mimo řádnou trp ělivost a mnohostrannou podporu. Acknowledgments: I would like to thank PhDr.
    [Show full text]
  • TITLE PAGE Neihardt's Ghost Dance: the Literary Creation of Black Elk
    TITLE PAGE Neihardt’s Ghost Dance: The literary creation of Black Elk and Lakota Religion by Robert DeBarba M.A. (Hood College) 2019 THESIS / CAPSTONE Submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in HUMANITIES in the GRADUATE SCHOOL of HOOD COLLEGE May 2019 Accepted: ______________________ ______________________ Dr. Amy Gottfried Dr. Corey Campion Committee Member Program Director ______________________ ______________________ Dr. Corey Campion Dr. April Boulton Committee Member Dean of the Graduate School ______________________ Dr. Jay Harrison Capstone Advisor i STATEMENT OF USE AND COPYRIGHT WAIVER “I do authorize Hood College to lend this Thesis (Capstone), or reproductions of it, in total or in part, at the request of other institutions or individuals for the purpose of scholarly research.” ii ABSTRACT Native American ceremonies are an integral part of understanding indigenous culture. In the early 1900’s, John Neihardt attempted to better understand the Lakota culture by interviewing Black Elk about the Ghost Dance of 1890. Originally, Neihardt’s intention was to use the information he gathered as a backdrop to his impending novel. Instead, in 1930, he wrote Black Elk Speaks, which was based on the interview of Black Elk on Lakota Culture. Originally, the book was touted as a lens into authentic Native American religion; information that was traditionally internal was made available to outsiders. Throughout decades the book has been accepted as a valuable primary source of indigenous culture. The Lakota Ghost Dance filled a religious void in Lakota culture that resulted from generations of oppression of tribal members by Anglo Americans.
    [Show full text]
  • Benjamin Black Elk Copyright © 1984 by the South Dakota State Historical Society
    Copyright © 1984 by the South Dakota State Historical Society. All Rights Reserved. Benjamin Black Elk Copyright © 1984 by the South Dakota State Historical Society. All Rights Reserved. Dakota Images Seen through the camera viewfinders of thousands of visitors to Mount Rushmore, Benjamin Black Elk, dress- ed in traditional Sioux clothing, seemed to epitomize the popular image of the Sioux Indian. Those few visitors who also paused to talk with the man known as the "Fifth Face of Mount Rushmore" found an articulate spokesman working for the preservation of his heritage. Benjamin Black Elk was born in 1899 at Manderson on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota. One of sever- al in a line to carry the family name, he was the son of Black Elk, the Oglala medicine man who was a cousin of Crazy Horse and fought with him at the Battle of the Lit- tle Bighorn. After attending Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania for a short time, Ben Black Elk returned to Manderson. He served as an interpreter when, in the early 1930s, John G. Neihardt conducted the interviews with his father that culminated in the book Black Elk Speaks. He later became a successful rancher in the area, winning awards for both crops and livestock. In the last two decades of his life, Ben Black Elk became one of the most photographed men of all time. In the 1950s, he began twenty years of posing for summer tourists at Mount Rushmore, having his picture taken as often as five thousand times in one day. In 1962, he became the first person to appear on the initial live televi- sion broadcast transmitted from the United States to Eu- rope via the Telstar satellite.
    [Show full text]
  • The Life & Holiness of Nicholas Black Elk, Our Brother in Jesus Christ
    The Life & Holiness of Nicholas Black Elk, Our Brother in Jesus Christ By Mark G. Thiel, Marquette University Archives, with narration by Ben Black Bear, Jr., And technological assistance by Eric Kowalik, 2015 Video: The Life and Holiness of Nicholas Black Elk, Our Brother in Jesus Christ 1. Nicholas Black Elk lived a life of holiness during the 19th and 20th centuries. He was a Lakota Sioux holy man and lay convert in South Dakota and he became widely known through the books Black Elk Speaks and Nicholas Black Elk: Medicine Man, Mystic, Missionary. Baptized “Nicholas,” after the saint whose generous giving resonated with Lakota traditions, he committed his life to better knowing the Great Spirit and teaching Jesus’ way of peace, love, and harmony towards all creation. In so doing he seamlessly lived Christian and Native ways without contradiction and led over 400 Dakota-Lakota people to baptism in Jesus Christ. 1 2. So why canonize Nicholas Black Elk and why now? By baptism, all Christians are called to become saints, and since its first days, the church has canonized outstanding Christians it identifies as intercessors of prayer and models of virtue. But north of Mexico, such efforts were delayed until 1884 when the United States bishops felt sufficiently organized. Then they nominated three 17th century candidates from New York State – Mohawk-Algonquin convert Kateri Tekakwitha and Jesuit Father Isaac Jogues, both on the left, and other Jesuit companions added later. As martyrs, the causes of the Jesuits concluded first and they were canonized in 1930. Kateri’s cause then followed and ended with her canonization in 2012.
    [Show full text]
  • What Sort of Indian Will Show the Way? Colonization, Mediation, and Interpretation in the Sun Dance Contact Zone
    WHAT SORT OF INDIAN WILL SHOW THE WAY? COLONIZATION, MEDIATION, AND INTERPRETATION IN THE SUN DANCE CONTACT ZONE DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Sandra Garner, B.A., M.A. Graduate Program in Comparative Studies The Ohio State University 2010 Dissertation Committee: Lindsay Jones, Advisor Maurice Stevens Richard Shiels Copyright by Sandra Garner 2010 ABSTRACT This research project focuses on the Sun Dance, an Indigenous ritual particularly associated with Siouan people, as a site of cultural expression where multiple, often conflicting concerns, compete for hegemonic dominance. Since European contact the Sun Dance has been variously practiced, suppressed, reclaimed, revitalized, and transformed. It has also evoked strong sentiments both from those that sought to eradicate its practices as well as those who have sought its continuance. In spite of a period of intense colonial repression, during the last three decades the Siouan form of the Sun Dance has become one of the most widely practiced religious rituals from Indigenous North America and the number of Sun Dances held and the numbers of people participating has grown significantly. How has the Sun Dance ritual endured in spite of a lengthy history of repression? What is it about the Sun Dance that evokes such powerful sentiments? And, how do we account for the growth of the Sun Dance. I argue that the current growth and practice of the Sun Dance must be considered within the context of colonialism; a central focus of this dissertation. I identify the complex and messy ways that individuals mediate the inequitable power relations that shape colonialist interactions, as well as the way they interpret these social spaces.
    [Show full text]