CliffsNotes on

Black Elk Speaks

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Book Summary

John G. Neihardt Biography

Early Years and Education
Family and Early Career
Career Highlights
Later Years

About Black Elk Speaks

Introduction
Historical Timeline

Summary and Analysis by Chapter

Chapter 1: The Offering of the Pipe
Chapter 2: Early Boyhood
Chapter 3: The Great Vision
Chapter 4: The Bison Hunt
Chapter 5: At the Soldiers' Town
Chapter 6: High Horse's Courting
Chapter 7: Wasichus in the Hills
Chapter 8: The Fight With Three Stars
Chapter 9: The Rubbing Out of Long Hair
Chapter 10: Walking the Black Road
Chapter 11: The Killing of Crazy Horse
Chapter 12: Grandmother's Land
Chapter 13: The Compelling Fear
Chapter 14: The Horse Dance
Chapter 15: The Dog Vision
Chapter 16: Heyoka Ceremony
Chapter 17: The First Cure
Chapter 18: The Powers of the Bison and the Elk
Chapter 19: Across the Big Water
Chapter 20: The Spirit Journey
Chapter 21: The Messiah
Chapter 22: Visions of the Other World
Chapter 23: Bad Trouble Coming
Chapter 24: The Butchering at Wounded Knee
Chapter 25: The End of the Dream
Author's Postscript

Character List

Character Analysis

Black Elk
Black Elk's Father
White Cow Sees
Standing Bear
Red Cloud
Crazy Horse
Sitting Bull
Whirlwind Chaser

Critical Essays

The Quest Journey of the Hero
Cultural Displacement in Black Elk Speaks
Relationship with Nature in Black Elk Speaks
Neihardt's Authorship

Study and Homework Help

Full Glossary for Black Elk Speaks
Quiz
Essay Questions
Practice Projects

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Study and Homework Help

Practice Projects

1. Draw or paint Black Elk's great vision as it is described in Chapter 3.

2. Examine the accounts of the settlement of the American West given in high school or college history textbooks. Compare them to Black Elk's story.

3. Examine newspapers from the 1880s and 1890s to see how the U.S. Government's war against the Sioux was described. Compare them to Black Elk's account.

4. Watch videotaped movies that depict the settlement of the American West. Compare their stereotypes of Indians and whites to Black Elk and the Indians that he describes.

5. Create a Web site for the Sioux Nation and/or Black Elk.

6. Create a collage that reflects Black Elk's experiences as recorded in Black Elk Speaks.

7. Draw a map of North America that shows Indian tribal boundaries.

8. Draw a map of the United States that shows the pattern of westward migration and the annexing of Indian territory.

9. Research any of the following topics:

a. The construction of the Transcontinental Railroad

b. The hunting practices of the Sioux Indians

c. The healing practices of the Sioux Indians

d. The westward migration of settlers onto the Plains

e. London and Paris, 1887–88: What would Black Elk have seen there as a member of the Wild West Show?

f. The ghost dance religion

g. The life of General George Armstrong Custer

h. The life of Sitting Bull

i. The life of Crazy Horse

j. The life of Buffalo Bill Cody


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