The Life of Black Elk

Paper Summary:

By examining the life of Black Elk, this paper provides a brief historical tour of the life of a typical Native American being confronted with the advancing white pioneers attempting to move Westward. It explores the events of various battles that took place between the pioneers and the Native Americans and the involvement that Black Elk had in each of these. It focuses specifically on the saga of the Sioux tribe.

From the Paper:

"According to the Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia (2002), Black Elk (1863-1950) was a Native American religious leader of the Oglala Lakota band of the Sioux tribe. Black Elk, who at the age of 17 had a vision of the Lakota people rising up and freeing their lands from the white settlers, tried to find ways of reconciling his people's traditions with Christianity and the encroaching reality of white dominance. This vision was a famous one among the Sioux in which the Powers of the World told Black Elk of a "fearful road, a road of troubles and of war. On this road you shall walk, and from it you shall have the power to destroy a people's foes" (Neihardt, p. 29). Reality, unfortunately, would prove to be quite different. The whites were eventually successful in obliterating the Native Americans' way of life and subjugating the peoples."

More papers on The Life of Black Elk:

• Term Paper # 96305 : "Black Elk's Religion"
• Book Review # 24282 : "Black Elk Speaks" by John Neihardt"
• Book Review # 114541 : "John Neihardt's "Black Elk Speaks"

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