Synopses & Reviews
Since its publication in 1932, Black Elk Speaks has moved countless readers to appreciate the American Indian world that it described. John Neihardtandrsquo;s popular narrative addressed the youth and early adulthood of Black Elk, an Oglala Sioux religious elder. Michael F. Steltenkamp now provides the first full interpretive biography of Black Elk, distilling in one volume what is known of this American Indian wisdom keeper whose life has helped guide others.
Nicholas Black Elk: Medicine Man, Missionary, Mystic shows that the holy-man was not the dispirited traditionalist commonly depicted in literature, but a religious thinker whose outlook was positive and whose spirituality was not limited solely to traditional Lakota precepts. Combining in-depth biography with its cultural context, the author depicts a more complex Black Elk than has previously been known: a world traveler who participated in the Battle of the Little Bighorn yet lived through the beginning of the atomic age.
Steltenkamp draws on published and unpublished material to examine closely the last fifty years of Black Elkandrsquo;s lifeandmdash;the period often overlooked by those who write and think of him only as a nineteenth-century figure. In the process, the author details not just Black Elkandrsquo;s life but also the creation of his life story by earlier writers, and its influence on the Indian revitalization movement of the late twentieth century.
Nicholas Black Elk explores how a holy-manandrsquo;s diverse life experiences led to his synthesis of Native and Christian religious practice. The first book to follow Black Elkandrsquo;s lifelong spiritual journeyandmdash;from medicine man to missionary and mysticandmdash;Steltenkampandrsquo;s work provides a much-needed corrective to previous interpretations of this special manandrsquo;s life story. This biography will lead general readers and researchers alike to rediscover both the man and the rich cultural tradition of his people.
Review
andquot;A valuable contribution...that is both accessible to general readers and offers a consistent and insightful interpretation of [Black Elkandrsquo;s] religious life.andquot;andmdash;Raymond J. DeMallie, Indiana University, Western Historical Quarterly
Review
andquot;An excellent and detailed biography of Nicholas Black Elk, the famous Lakota Sioux visionary...a tremendous scholarly contribution that reveals a great deal that hitherto had not been known about the life of Nicholas Black Elk and the subtlety of his thought.andquot;andmdash;Ross Enochs, Marist College, American Catholic Studies
Review
andquot;Accessible and should be enjoyed by specialists and non-specialists alike...easily the best reference work on Black Elkandrsquo;s life to date.andquot;andmdash;Seth Schermerhorn, Arizona State University, Montana: The Magazine of Western History
Review
andquot;A significant contribution...The author is to be commended for the broad reach of history and his willingness to engage the complex conversation that unfolds between traditional spirituality and Christian theology.andquot;andmdash;
Wendy L. Fletcher, Dean, Vancouver School of Theology, British Columbia
Review
This is the first book-length biography to cover the life history of the famous Lakota holy man. It is based on published primary source material, interviews with Black Elkandrsquo;s family and friends, as well as Roman Catholic Church records from the
period when he was a lay catechist. The book brings together the extant historical record and tells Black Elkandrsquo;s story in an accessible narrative. Scholars and the general public alike will find this volume appealing. This is Michael Steltenkampandrsquo;s second book on Black Elk, the first being Black Elk: Holy Man of the Oglala (University of Oklahoma Press, 1993). Indeed, Steltenkamp, who himself is a Jesuit priest, has contributed greatly to our understanding of Black Elkandrsquo;s role as a catechist. Some have questioned the sincerity of Black Elkandrsquo;s conversion to Roman Catholicism, but not Steltenkamp, who believes firmly the sincerity of his subjectandrsquo;s faith. So much ink has been spilt about Black Elk that it begs the question of whether another book is really necessary. However, Steltenkampandrsquo;s contribution fills a niche not yet occupied. It is a well-written, critical, and scholarly work, yet eminently readable. I recommend it for all tribal colleges and universities. andmdash;Herman A. Peterson, D.Min., is the Dinandeacute; College librarian in Tsaile, Arizona.
Synopsis
The first full interpretive biography of the Lakota visionary
Synopsis
First published in 1932, John Neihardt's "Black Elk Speaks" addressed the youth and early adulthood of Black Elk, an Oglala Sioux religious elder. Steltenkamp now provides the first full interpretive biography of Black Elk during his final 50 years of life.
Synopsis
Since its publication in 1932, Black Elk Speaks has moved countless readers to appreciate the American Indian world that it described. John Neihardtandrsquo;s popular narrative addressed the youth and early adulthood of Black Elk, an Oglala Sioux religious elder. Michael F. Steltenkamp now provides the first full interpretive biography of Black Elk, distilling in one volume what is known of this American Indian wisdom keeper whose life has helped guide others.
About the Author
Jesuit Father Michael F. Steltenkamp is Professor of Religious Studies at Wheeling Jesuit University, Wheeling, West Virginia. He is the author of Black Elk: Holy Man of the Oglala and The Sacred Vision: Native American Religion and Its Practice Today. Ordained a deacon on the pow-wow grounds of Manderson (Black Elk's reservation town), Steltenkamp was ordained a priest in Chicago. His first assignment was as pastor of an Indian parish in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. After acquiring a Ph.D. in Anthropology at Michigan State University, he taught at Bay Mills Community College, an Indian college on the Bay Mills Reservation.