1863-1950

Black Elk has an important place in Native American history and United States history, having been a big part of the Battle of Wounded Knee. A medicine man of the Oglala Sioux with great talents as a healer, Black Elk is a fascinating figure for young readers to learn about. In this volume, his life and importance are discussed in age-appropriate detail. Historical context in the main text and fact boxes supplements social studies classroom learning as well as awareness of other cultures. A concluding timeline sums up Black Elk's life to aid readers' understanding.

Chronicles the life of Black Elk of the Oglala Lakota Sioux from his birth around 1860, his participation at the Battle of Little Bighorn at the age of thirteen, his experiences with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, and his life on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.

Recounts how a childhood vision shaped the life of Black Elk, a Lakota-Oglala medicine man who was involved in the battles of Little Bighorn and Wounded Knee.

Describes the life of Oglala Lakota visionary and healer Nicholas Black Elk (1863-1950) and that of his people during the late nineteenth century, with his visions of the unity of humanity and Earth, and his spiritual testament as conveyed by poet, writer, and critic John G. Neihardt, who met Black Elk in 1930 on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.

A biography of Black Elk, a famous medicine man/holy man of the Oglala Lakota.

Black Elk was a medicine man of the Oglala Sioux who rose to fame because of his talents as a healer and his role in the Battle of Wounded Knee. These are just some of the facts readers learn about this fascinating figure, whose life is detailed through biographical text, primary sources, and historical photographs. Readers learn the important place Black Elk occupies in Native American history and United States history. The social studies-focused text helps readers understand how Black Elk helped shape the history of the Sioux people in the 19th century and beyond. A timeline and sidebars offer opportunities for additional learning.

In this sweeping book, Joe Jackson provides the definitive biographical account of a figure whose dramatic life converged with some of the most momentous events in the history of the American West. Born in an era of rising violence between the Sioux, white settlers, and U.S. government troops, Black Elk killed his first man at the Little Bighorn, witnessed the death of his second cousin Crazy Horse, and traveled to Europe with Buffalo Bill?s Wild West show. Upon his return, he was swept up in the traditionalist Ghost Dance movement and shaken by the Massacre at Wounded Knee. But Black Elk was not a warrior, instead accepting the path of a healer and holy man, motivated by a powerful prophetic vision that he struggled to understand. Although Black Elk embraced Catholicism in his later years, he continued to practice the old ways clandestinely and never refrained from seeking meaning in the visions that both haunted and inspired him.

Native American medicine man Black Elk describes growing up in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, his relationship to Crazy Horse, the battles he was involved in, and his time with Buffalo Bill's Wild West show. He also describes the vision he had as a child that shaped his whole life. Includes an author's note, a timeline, and historical photographs.