Black ELk

We know much of this period, and of Native American mysticism in general, thanks to the research of the American writer John Neihardt in the 1930s. He studied and spoke with one of the last great mystics, Nicholas Black Elk.

Born in 1863 among the Sioux (Dakota) people, Black Elk experienced his first vision at the age of five. Four years later, after an illness, his great visions returned. The World Forefathers descended from the clouds and took him to the center of the universe, showing him a sacred circlet representing the collective soul of his people. The Forefathers told him that problems arose when the circlet was broken. Becoming a healer, Black Elk also learned animal language and had a vision of the Little Bighorn before a battle. Trying to show white people that his views were not wrong, he joined Buffalo Bill's "Wild West Show," even performing for Queen Victoria herself. But in 1889, his illusions were shattered.