Black Elk Speaks

John G. Neihardt (1881–1973) is the author of several classics, including A Cycle of the West and Eagle Voice Remembers, both available in Bison Books editions. He was named Nebraska’s first poet laureate and foremost poet of the nation by the National Poetry Center in 1936.

• Maps Foreword Preface to the 1932 Edition Preface to the 1961 Edition Preface to the 1972 Edition Introduction by Philip J. Deloria National and International Honors Received by John G. Neihardt Black Elk Speaks1. The Offering of the Pipe 2. Early Boyhood 3. The Great Vision 4. The Bison Hunt 5. At the Soldiers' Town 6. High Horse's Courting 7. Wasichus in the Hills 8. The Fight with Three Stars 9. The Rubbing Out of Long Hair 10. Walking the Black Road 11. The Killing of Crazy Horse 12. Grandmother's Land 13. The Compelling Fear 14. The Horse Dance 15. The Dog Vision 16. Heyoka Ceremony 17. The First Cure 18. The Powers of the Bison and the Elk 19. Across the Big Water 20. The Spirit Journey 21. The Messiah 22. Visions of the Other World 23. Bad Trouble Coming 24. The Butchering at Wounded Knee 25. The End of the Dream 26. Author's Postscript Appendixes1. Gallery of Photographs 2. Gallery of the Drawings by Standing Bear, Black Elk's Friend 3. Transcript of Letter from John G. Neihardt to Nick Black Elk, November 6, 1930 4. Transcript of Letter from John G. Neihardt to Julius House, August 10, 1930 5. "A Great Indian Poet" from Of Making Many Books, June 20, 1931 6. "John G. Neihardt and Nicholas Black Elk" by Raymond J. DeMallie 7. "John G. Neihardt beyond Black Elk" by Alexis N. Petri8. "Neihardt and Black Elk" by Lori Utecht 9. Comparison of the Transcript and Draft of "Origin of the Peace Pipe" 10. Lakota Words Used in the Text Notes References Index

“Black Elk Speaks is an extraordinarily human document-and beyond that the record of a profoundly spiritual journey, the pilgrimage of a people toward their historical fulfillment and culmination, toward the accomplishment of a worthy destiny.”-N. Scott Momaday “An American classic.”-Western Historical Quarterly “If any great religious classic has emerged in [the twentieth] century or on this continent, it must certainly be judged in the company of Black Elk Speaks.”-from Vine Deloria Jr.’s foreword