Image by 12019 on Pixabay · Pixabay License
Black Elk
Sign in to saveOglala Lakota leader (1863–1950)
Key facts
- Born
- ( 1863-12-01 ) 1 December 1863, Little Powder River , Wyoming , United States
- Died
- 19 August 1950 (1950-08-19) (aged 86), Pine Ridge , South Dakota , United States
- Major shrine
- Saint Agnes Catholic Cemetery, Manderson, South Dakota
- Patronage
- Native Americans (pending)
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Gender
- male
- Place of death
- Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
- Occupation
- healer
- Languages spoken
- Lakota
- Religion
- Catholic Church
- Field of work
- rite
- Image
- Black Elk.jpg
Show 6 more facts
- date of death
- 1950-08-19
- date of birth
- 1863-12-01
- ethnic group
- Lakota people
- Commons category
- Black Elk
- canonization status
- Servant of God
- place of burial
- Manderson-White Horse Creek
Sources (1)
via Wikidata · CC0
~12 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Heȟáka Sápa, commonly known as Black Elk (baptized Nicholas; December 1, 1863 – August 19, 1950 ), was a wičháša wakȟáŋ ("medicine man, holy man") and heyoka of the Oglala Lakota people. He was a second cousin of the war leader Crazy Horse and fought with him in the Battle of Little Bighorn. He survived the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890. He toured and performed in Europe as part of Buffalo Bill's Wild West.
Black Elk is best known for his interviews with poet John Neihardt, where he discussed his religious views, visions, and events from his life. Neihardt published these in his book Black Elk Speaks in 1932. This book has since been published in numerous editions, most recently in 2008. Near the end of his life, he also spoke to American ethnologist Joseph Epes Brown for his 1947 book The Sacred Pipe. There has been great interest in these works among diverse people interested in Native American religions, notably those in the pan-Indian movement.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Black Elk” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.