Black Elk (Heȟáka Sápa), c. 1885
Black Elk Speaks (1932) is the autobiography of Oglala Lakota warrior and holy man Heȟáka Sápa, commonly known as Black Elk.
Black Elk Speaks
work by Neihardt
Also known as: “Black Elk Speaks: Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux as Told to John G. Neihardt (Flaming Rainbow)”
- In full:
- Black Elk Speaks: Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux as Told to John G. Neihardt (Flaming Rainbow)
Black Elk Speaks, the autobiography of Oglala Lakota (Oceti Sakowin, or Sioux) warrior and holy man Black Elk, published in 1932. Black Elk dictated his life story to Nebraska-based writer John G. Neihardt in Lakota, with Black Elk’s son Ben serving as an English translator and Neihardt’s daughter Enid transcribing their conversations. Neihardt then shaped the conversations into an autobiographical narrative. Although not a big seller upon its release (perhaps because of its esoteric qualities), the work became a major source of information about 19th-century Plains culture. During the 1960s and ’70s the book was embraced by members of the ...(100 of 584 words)