In June (the Moon of Making Fat), a sun dance takes place. In September (the Moon When the Calves Grow Hair), there is a big meeting between the whites and the Indians, including Cheyenne and Arapahoe as well as Lakota. Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull do not attend. Black Elk's father tells him that the "Grandfather at Washington" (U. S. President Ulysses Grant) wants to lease the Black Hills in order to mine for gold, and the white men say that if the Indians do not consent, they will take the hills anyway. Hearing that many white men are coming into the hills and establishing towns, the Indians decide to join Crazy Horse. They move to where he is on the Powder River, making several camps along the way. Black Elk, saddened, tries to regain some of his vision, but cannot. Winning some coffee in a pony race with an Indian named Fat cheers him. He thinks hard about his vision, and that the white wing of the wind that the Second Grandfather gave him empowered his pony.
Black Elk's people meet some of Red Cloud's people, who soon leave for the safety of the whites when they discover that the others are going to meet Crazy Horse. As they continue on their way, they find a dead Lakota, who seems to have died of old age as he was going to visit his relatives.
Black Elk grows eager to meet his relative Crazy Horse, whom he has seen often and about whom he has heard many stories. He relates a tale of Crazy Horse's bravery in rescuing his brother from the Crows. He says that Crazy Horse was always with Hump, the greatest warrior of their people up until then, and that he must have learned from him. Crazy Horse was the first chief to come from Black Elk's family, which had a tradition of holy men, and Crazy Horse became a chief because of the power he received from a vision when he entered the spirit world. Crazy Horse can easily re-enter the spirit world and his behavior is sometimes odd. He doesn't have much to do with other people except children. He has been friendly to Black Elk, calling him into his tepee. Wounded only twice, he is a powerful warrior. Black Elk states that if the whites had not murdered Crazy Horse, the Indians would still own the Black Hills. The whites did not kill Crazy Horse in battle, but lied to entrap him.
