The first time I had heard of Black Elk, a Lakota-Oglala medicine man, was when Harney Peak was renamed.
This South Dakota peak with an elevation 7,242 feet is the highest mountain west of the Pyrenees. The 6-mile round trip trek provides stunning views of the Black Hills, especially from the lookout tower at the top.
The name change came in 2016. Army Gen. William S. Harney was known for massacring Indians. The Native Americans consider the peak to be holy ground, and found the name Harney offensive.
It was unfortunate at my family reunion in June that I had cousins who refused to call Black Elk Peak by its proper name. When it’s deliberate versus forgetful you learn a lot about a person.
A different cousin, Dana, had brought me a book about Black Elk, knowing I wanted to learn more.
Black Elk’s Vision: A Lakota Story (Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2010) is the perfect introduction to this man. It is written and illustrated by S.D. Nelson, a member of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe in the Dakotas.
It’s easy to get through, especially considering it’s designed for younger readers. But it doesn’t dumb things down either.
For anyone looking to understand Native Americans better, to learn their stories, about their leaders, well, this a book that is bound to satisfy those desires. It also might make you more frustrated and angry about what white people did to these indigenous people. Still, I want to keep learning and understanding.
Black Elk’s vision showed how human beings, the earth, and the Creator are all connected in one sacred circle.
In his later life, after much suffering and witnessing the loss of his people’s freedom, Black Elk became a Christian. He saw in Christ the fulfillment of the sacred vision — the Tree of Life in the center of all peoples united under one God.
If I’m not mistaken the Catholic Church did/is working on canonizing Black Elk.
Of all your articles Kae I must admit I enjoy hearing of the books you read. I have pick some of them up over the years!
I began to appreciate Black Elk when we lived in Sioux Falls in the 1990’s and I was a faculty advisor to the high school Tribal Club. We often visited Black Hills and climbed then Harney Peak. I am happy to learn of the name change. I find myself reading all I can about the Native Americans, as tragic as their story is. Thank you, Kae, for reminding me of this great hero.
I agree with what you and Dan said, Kae. I do get frustrated almost to the point of anger when I think of what was done to people “not like us”when the “us” were the original invaders/aggressors. And all in the name of Christianity—— mercy.