What tribe does Black Elk belong to?
Ogala Lakota
Who are the Wasichu?
Lakota name for white people who worship money and gold
What role do animal messengers play in Black Elk? What are some examples and what do they symbolize?
It's key that Black Elk receives his vision from the natural world of the woods and clouds and that creatures of nature deliver the message. Then, thunder and rain accompany the vision. The men that turn to geese and disappear before it begins to rain in
What does the hoop in Black Elk's first vision represent?
The sacred hoop of his nation that he refers to is the integrated and united community of his people, imagined as within a circle. The base of the tepee is circular, and an encampment of tepees was usually arranged in a circle.
Discuss the duality between Black Elk and Eagle Wing Stretches. How did he get this second name and what does it represent?
The sixth grandfather gives Black Elk the name Eagle Wing Stretches in his first vision. The eagle is an animal that is especially significant to Black Elk, throughout the rest of the narrative, he reports feeling pulled back into the world of his vision
How do the interactions between the Lakota and the Wasichu change throughout the book?
The Wasichu begin by building the railroad and interrupting the land, but are not immediately violent. However, as gold and railway settlement become priorities, they become more aggressive and begin violating their treaties. They slowly forced the Lakota
Why is the number four a common theme? What does it represent?
There are four directions (north, south, east, and west), four seasons, four ages of a person's life, and four ages (ascents) of tribal history. For Black Elk, the number four denotes a circle, not a square, as the four directions denote the earth.
Why is Black Elk at first afraid to admit his visions? What changes this?
Black Elk wants to tell people about his experience, but he feels that the meaning of the vision cannot be put into words; he is afraid that he will be misunderstood. At the age of sixteen, Black Elk can think of nothing but his vision. He is frustrated b
What does Black Elk's vision in chapter three mean? What does it predict? Do these predictions come to pass?
Black Elk's vision gives him the power to heal and lead his people in times of trouble. The vision foreshadows the destiny of the Sioux, who were once prosperous and free but who now, with the coming of the whites, have lost their sense of community. As h
What does the number 12 represent?
The number 12 is used in the number of virgins, horses, and bison in Black Elk's first vision. In Black Elk's last vision (Ch 22, Visions of Other Worlds), he thinks that the twelve men and women he see represent the twelve moons of the year.
How does Black Elk loose his father?
Black Elk's father passed away due to the 'bad sickness many people had,' likely whooping cough or measles.
What happens to Black Elk when he goes to lament? Who goes with him? What does he decide to do when he has finished this ceremony?
Black Elk performs a lamentation ritual with the help of the old medicine man Few Tails. He fasts and purifies himself and, taking the sacred pipe, goes to a sacred place on a hill where Few Tails plants the flowering stick. He is granted another vision t
What is a Heyoka? What do they do in the ceremony held when Black Elk returns?
Heyokas are sacred fools. The truth has a sad side and a rejoicing side and people need different sides at different times. Heyokas do everything backwards and make people laugh, but their actions represent profound truth. To enact the dog vision, two hey
Who was the first person Black Elk healed? What happened?
Cuts-to-Pieces comes and asks him to attend to his little boy, who is seriously ill. Black Elk performs his first healing, using the four-rayed blossoming herb he found with One Side and a cup, a pipe, and an eagle bone whistle, representing the sacred ob
What is the reason Black Elk thinks the white men killed all the buffalo?
White men killed the bison to sell only the hides or the tongues, or just for sport. Black Elk thinks this is irrational; the Indians killed only what they needed and used every single bit of a bison.
What famous person did Black Elk see? What circumstances lead him to see her?
Black Elk saw Queen Victoria when traveling with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. She had a command performance to celebrate her 15th anniversary of her succession to the throne.
What similarities were there between Black Elk's vision and his mother's?
In Black Elk's vision, he seems to be riding on a cloud over the ocean back to his own country; he recognizes the Black Hills, Pine Ridge, and his parents' tepee. Black Elk's mother dreams that her son came back one night on a cloud, but could not stay.
How does Crazy Horse die?
Soldiers bring Crazy Horse into Fort Robinson (Soldiers' Town) with the understanding that he will not be harmed if he will simply come and talk to the Wasichu chief, but the soldiers lied. Black Elk later learns that he was imprisoned. When he tries to f
Why do the Wasichus take over the Lakota land? What is their goal?
They want the gold that they believe is in the sacred black hills.
What battles are described in Black Elk Speaks? Which represent a turning point in the narrative?
Battle of General Cook (aka Three Stars)- The Lakota who do not want to sell their land band together to fight the violation of a treaty
Battle of Little Big Horn (aka Greasy Grass)- victory for Lakota, but after than the Indians were still displaced and
How was this story written? Who were the informants? Who wrote the book? What biases may exist as a result of this?
Black Elk's son Ben translated his father's spoken Oglala dialect into spoken English. Then, Neihardt's daughter Enid, who often functioned as her father's secretary, recorded Ben's spoken English in shorthand. Neihardt himself edited her written transcri
How is color used symbolically in Black Elk Speaks? What do these colors represent?
The ribbons tied to the sacred pipe represent a direction with a color association.
Black = west = source of rain
white = north = cleansing wind
red = east= morning star that gives wisdom
yellow = south = summer and growth
How important are horses in the Lakota society? How is this reflected in Black Elk Speaks?
Horses are used as a form of payment, have an important role in marriage rituals, and provide the transportation necessary to hunt the buffalo on the plains. This is reflected by the key role horses play in Black Elk's vision, as well as they ways in whic
What does the pipe represent in Lakota culture?
The four ribbons tied to the pipe represent the powers of the four quarters of the universe. It is a gift from the sacred woman.
How does Black Elk describe the world before and after the Wasichu?
Before the Wasichu, the Lakota were unified under the nation's hoop. After, they are broken. They have been forced into the poverty of the reservation system and have lost their customs and traditions.
What kind of animal does Black Elk have a special connection to? What role do these animals play in the narrative?
Black Elk has a special connection to birds. They frequently appear as messages or omens throughout the narrative.
How does Black Elk end up being employed by Buffalo Bill? What is this experience like for him?
Black Elk joins Buffalo Bill in hopes of learning the secrets of the Wasichu to help his people. However, he does not. He is dismayed by their customs and wastefulness, and quickly becomes homesick.
What is the role of medicine men in the Lakota society?
They have been granted an external higher power to cure people. According to Black Elk, they do not have powers, rather the powers of greater beings act through them.
How does the theme of people and animals transforming into each other reflect Lakota beliefs?
Creatures of nature are meant to deliver messages, the transformations show that the divine power of nature.