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Black Elk Speaks: The Complete Edition Kindle Edition

by John G. Neihardt (Author), Vine Deloria (Foreword), Philip J. Deloria (Introduction) Format: Kindle Edition
4.7 out of 5 stars 1,605 ratings

More than one million copies sold
2017 One Book One Nebraska selection

“An American classic.”—Western Historical Quarterly

Black Elk Speaks, the story of the Oglala Lakota visionary and healer Nicholas Black Elk (1863–1950) and his people during momentous twilight years of the nineteenth century, offers readers much more than a precious glimpse of a vanished time. Black Elk’s searing visions of the unity of humanity and Earth, conveyed by John G. Neihardt, have made this book a classic that crosses multiple genres. Whether appreciated as the poignant tale of a Lakota life, as a history of a Native nation, or as an enduring spiritual testament, Black Elk Speaks is unforgettable.

Black Elk met the distinguished poet, writer, and critic John G. Neihardt in 1930 on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota and asked Neihardt to share his story with the world. Neihardt understood and conveyed Black Elk’s experiences in this powerful and inspirational message for all humankind.

This complete edition features a new introduction by historian Philip J. Deloria and annotations of Black Elk’s story by renowned Lakota scholar Raymond J. DeMallie. Three essays by John G. Neihardt provide background on this landmark work along with pieces by Vine Deloria Jr., Raymond J. DeMallie, Alexis Petri, and Lori Utecht. Maps, original illustrations by Standing Bear, and a set of appendixes rounds out the edition.

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  1. Print length
    410 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Bison Books
  4. Publication date
    March 1, 2014
  5. File size
    10.4 MB
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“An American classic.”—Western Historical Quarterly

  Published On: 2013-10-25

“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

Published On: 2013-10-25

“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

  Published On: 2013-10-25

About the Author

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.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00INIXBP2
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bison Books; Reprint edition (March 1, 2014)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 1, 2014
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 10.4 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 410 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 0803283911
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 out of 5 stars 1,605 ratings

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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
1,605 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find this book to be a must-have that is easy to read and well-written. Moreover, they appreciate its informative content about Native American history and spiritual beliefs. The story quality receives positive feedback, with one customer describing it as the best and saddest stories possible in all of human history.

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81 customers mention "Readability"81 positive0 negative

Customers find the book highly readable and engaging, describing it as a must-have classic.

"...A very important book for all. Enjoy!" Read more

"...Other than that, I don’t think this book was ever read. Great quality! Extremely impressed." Read more

"I bought this as a gift for my mother. She is enjoying reading it." Read more

"...They are very excited to read it. Loved the personal note from Daryl." Read more

56 customers mention "Knowledge"56 positive0 negative

Customers find the book informative about Native American history and spiritual beliefs, with one customer describing it as a treasure trove for research.

"...is for both Natives and westerners because it shows the reality of the supernatural and the kingdom of God that Jesus demonstrated in the bible, its..." Read more

"...this book that what is conveyed is in part through metaphors and mystical symbolism in the ways the ancient ones enhanced the vividness of a telling...." Read more

"This not only contains Black Elk's vision, but gives background information about Black Elk and Niehardt." Read more

"Good notes on this version, and good background information." Read more

19 customers mention "Writing quality"19 positive0 negative

Customers praise the writing quality of the book, describing it as beautifully told and easy to read.

"...It is the story of all life that is holy and is good to tell, and of us two-leggeds sharing in it with the four-leggeds and the wings of the air and..." Read more

"...It's a powerful first-hand recitation of the horrors Native Americans faced in the 19th century...." Read more

"A rare perspective, well written/dictated. I first read this book on recommendation of a high school teacher...." Read more

"I find it beautiful in telling" Read more

17 customers mention "Story quality"12 positive5 negative

Customers praise the book's narrative, describing it as a story of all life, with one customer noting it provides an unbiased account of Custer's battle.

"...This book took me there in spades. "It is the story of all life that is holy and is good to tell, and of us two-leggeds sharing in it..." Read more

"...notes that have been added to this text are highly informative and often sobering...." Read more

"...Those sections of the book got a bit tedious and I don't feel they added much to the overall narrative." Read more

"...Black Elk and his peers, read here, sum up the best and saddest stories possible all human history in the death of a nation...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Br. Bill
    5.0 out of 5 stars A very important for all!
    Reviewed in the United States on November 2, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    We live in days that most spirituality has been lost by our busyiness and American, western ways of life or oppression. God or "The Great Spirit" raised up Black Elk to help his people in a very trying time in their history and those times really are still here for the Natives and all peoples of the world. This book is for both Natives and westerners because it shows the reality of the supernatural and the kingdom of God that Jesus demonstrated in the bible, its the same thing that Black Elk is talking about here but with different symbolism and a different culture. The old Native way was about honoring, praying to, following, believing and living out life in the spirit to a higher being (God or the Great Spirit). If westerners and the Natives worked together they both would find what they are looking for. If westerners would drop their traditions and seek Jesus in the fashion that the old Native way knew (some still do) which this book displays all could find life around the tree of life (The Great Spirit or God) and all would be united and at peace, this was Black Elk's goal and should everyones goal. Black Elk shows that to be in touch with the creator and to make a difference you have to seek Him and separate some from an ordinary life (this is what the bible shows also), if you do this The Great Spirit or God will invade your life and you will be in touch with why you were created. Sometimes God, The Great Spirit raises up a forerunner like Black Elk to restore the old ways that were lost and just like Black Elk says, his purpose was so all could do what he was doing and to revive things back to life. A very important book for all. Enjoy!
    16 people found this helpful
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  • Meghan Gray
    5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely impressed with the quality
    Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Although this book was published April 1972 fifth printing, it’s in excellent shape minus the two little nicks at the bottom of the books cover. Other than that, I don’t think this book was ever read. Great quality! Extremely impressed.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • L. G. Cullens
    5.0 out of 5 stars Beyond expectations
    Reviewed in the United States on October 25, 2020
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    <i>Black Elk Speaks: The Complete Edition</i> by John G. Neihardt

    <i>Black Elk Speaks</i> is arguably the single most widely read book in the literature relating to North American Native history. To better understand ourselves, it is a book that everyone with a modicum of conscience should read. It is also a treasure trove for research.

    I'm at the point in life where there is little else to linger for save yesterday. This book took me there in spades.

    "It is the story of all life that is holy and is good to tell, and of us two-leggeds sharing in it with the four-leggeds and the wings of the air and all green things; for these are children of one mother and their father is one Spirit." ~ Black Elk

    This is a story from the perspective of indigenous beliefs, born of how they perceived the natural world they had an intimate relationship with. A people with deep respect for the unknowable, that knew well the brightness and darkness inherent in the psyche of all life forms, and that understood the connectedness of all life. That in sharp contrast to so-called civilized peoples that plunder our little blue canoe, blindly driving nails in humankind's coffin.

    “A savage is not the one who lives in the forest but the one who destroys it.” ~ unknown

    Uppermost though, it is the story of a people that were self-sacrificing for the good of all, that only wanted to live with Nature as they always had, even on what little was left them in treaties. The obstacles were overwhelming though, with the greed of the weedy materialistic culture wanting all there was, and having no respect for the natural world. It is an age old story of avarice and genocide, this genocide the greatest by far in humankind's history [see <i>Genocide of indigenous peoples</i>, and <i>Genocides in history</i> articles on Wikipedia], estimated at upwards of ninety percent of the Indigenous population. According to geographers from University College London, the colonization of the Americas by Europeans killed so many people it resulted in climate change and global cooling.

    And yes, in the telling there is much bloodshed and many died, because the colonialists' materialistic culture was relentless in taking all they lusted for irregardless of treaties. How could there be any saving grace in what was done to Native Americans, with the colonialists employing massacres of women and children, biological warfare (intentionally spreading the infectious diseases they brought with them), starvation (the last survivors of the northern buffalo herds were killed off in 1881), slavery, and ethnocide (e.g. the resident school system). One abhorrent example of the massacres, is in a latter chapter where Black Elk recounts what he saw first hand at Wounded Knee.

    "Wherever we went, the soldiers came to kill us, and it was all our own country. It was ours already when the Wasichus [white people] made the treaty with Red Cloud, that said it would be ours as long as grass should grow and water flow." ~ Black Elk

    “Everyone believes in the atrocities of the enemy and disbelieves in those of his own side.” ~ George Orwell

    Notice in Black Elk's recounting that these peoples' rituals commonly included an element of giving to those that had the least. For example, in one instance in preparing for a ceremony a holy man would find a holy tree for the dance, and a warrior would strike the tree counting coup upon it. Then the warrior would give gifts to those who were most needy, and the braver he had been the more he gave away.

    This in contrast to what Black Elk observed later in the story when visiting major cities.

    "I could see that the Wasichus did not care for each other the way our people did before the nation’s hoop was broken. They would take everything from each other if they could, and so there were some who had more of everything than they could use, while crowds of people had nothing at all and maybe were starving. They had forgotten that the earth was their mother. This could not be better than the old ways of my people." ~ Black Elk

    Hmm, sounds familiar.

    Black Elk's concept of community was as different as day and night.

    "The Six Grandfathers have placed in this world many things, all of which should be happy. Every little thing is sent for something, and in that thing there should be happiness and the power to make happy. Like the grasses showing tender faces to each other, thus we should do, for this was the wish of the Grandfathers of the World." ~ Black Elk

    Be aware in reading this book that what is conveyed is in part through metaphors and mystical symbolism in the ways the ancient ones enhanced the vividness of a telling. One example in Black Elk's vision is when he speaks of the fourth Grandfather, "he of the place where you are always facing (the south), whence comes the power to grow." The first association is that in numerous Native American beliefs, after death the soul travels south along the Milky Way. Thus, throughout life one is always facing south. The second association is of the power to grow. Restated in modern terms, the power is that of the natural world's closed loop system of life fueled by life, recycling the essential elements of physical being for a continuum of life.

    Other examples include the circle (hoop), which not only symbolizes life's cyclical journey, but also represents a way of life in interacting with each other in a circular fashion to negate power struggles. The number four also has special significance, as in the elements of Earth, fire, air, and water; the seasons of winter, spring, summer and fall; and the primary directions of North, South, East, and West. Symbols can also be used in combination, such as a circle divided into quarters with four arrows signifying wisdom, innocence, foresight, and soul-searching.

    The perspicacious reader will find more inclusive relevance in what Black Elk says, as parallels abound in the broader community and history of humankind. Something to think about is the circular aspect of life, where 'what goes around comes around.'
    67 people found this helpful
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  • Rex
    4.0 out of 5 stars Worth Reading but Disturbing
    Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2025
    Verified Purchase
    I have known about this book for years and just never got around to actually reading it. It's a powerful first-hand recitation of the horrors Native Americans faced in the 19th century. However, I found a bit of it difficult to read, not because of the emotional impact, but because it describes Black Elk's "dream" so many times and in such ponderous detail. Those sections of the book got a bit tedious and I don't feel they added much to the overall narrative.
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  • Chris Wissing
    5.0 out of 5 stars Black Elk and More
    Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2025
    Verified Purchase
    This not only contains Black Elk's vision, but gives background information about Black Elk and Niehardt.
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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars good book
    Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Finally got to read this book. It is a good account of what happened in his life- with his visions and the treatment of the Indians. It is sad, of course that he had to endure the cruelty of the white man and see so many people die. I am not Indian, but I try to do what I can for them- but it will never make up for how they have been treated- then and now.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • MIchael
    5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect
    Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2025
    Verified Purchase
    Don't understand why they labeled this book used? It sure looks to be new to me!
    Seller, "More than Words" says they are a non-profit social enterprise. They could have added a few more dollars to the cost and maybe make a profit. Just kidding, but I am
    more then happy with my purchase.
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  • Mike Cruz
    5.0 out of 5 stars Bought as a gift
    Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    I bought this as a gift for my mother. She is enjoying reading it.
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Maria de Lourdes Martino de Azevedo
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excelente
    Reviewed in Brazil on January 9, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Ha muitos anos queria ler esse livro e minha expectativa foi correspondida.
    Excelente para quem gosta de histórias sobre os povos nativos americanos
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  • little owl
    5.0 out of 5 stars delivered in time in good condition
    Reviewed in Australia on August 22, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    good service, accurate information, happy me
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  • maya
    5.0 out of 5 stars extraordinaire dans tous les sens du terme
    Reviewed in France on November 23, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    on en apprend a toutes les pages, fabuleux
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  • Olli Partanen
    5.0 out of 5 stars A history of the Lakota nation with a spiritual insight
    Reviewed in Germany on November 3, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Neihardt has captured the Lakota struggles of the nineteenth century in a touching documentary style. The book opens an insight to the Lakota spirituality and their close relationship with the nature. Black Elk's vision of maintaining the Lakota loop of the nation alive was sadly not realized during his lifetime. Nor is it realized in the greater level either in this world of chaos. Who knows if it ever will.
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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in Canada on June 23, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    splendid resource and photos!
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