214 Black Elk
nities, Black Elk eventually realizes that the strength
and survival of his community resided in the coming
together of all Native American nations. In this way,
the notion of community broadens to incorporate all
the indigenous peoples of the North American con-
tinent. Thus, Black Elk Speaks serves as a testimony
for a collective consciousness of Native Americans
and, in many ways, as a sacred text that underscores
the process of these communities coming together
during their cultural crises.
Michael Moreno
OppressiOn in Black Elk Speaks
As with most of the members of his community,
Black Elk, a Lakota of the Oglala band, anticipated
with dread the eventual arrival of the Wasichus
(white men) to his lands. Fear of genocide and
cultural erasure was associated with the U.S. inva-
sion, and Black Elk Speaks underscores this collective
concern through the narrative voice of Black Elk
himself: “[E]very one was saying that the Wasichus
were coming and that they were going to take our
country and rub us all out and that we should all
have to die fighting.” The expectation is widely met
with feelings of helplessness and inevitability. This
is the first wave of societal oppression levied against
the Lakota communities in Black Elk’s time.
Changes to the land through the wholesale
slaughter of the bison, the feverish extraction of gold
from Lakota territories such as the Black Hills, and
the military occupation of ancestral lands are all fea-
tures that contribute to the widespread oppression
of Black Elk’s people. Indeed, Black Elk maintains
that men like General George Armstrong Custer,
whom he calls “Pahuska” (Long Hair), “had no right
to go [to the Black Hills], because all that country
was ours.” This disenfranchisement of land, customs,
and loss of sustenance is further augmented by
the battles and genocidal policies the U.S. govern-
ment authorizes and carries out against many of
the Native American nations throughout the 19th
century.
Through a calculated campaign of deception and
military strength, the American government ensures
that tribal nations, such as the Lakota, will no longer
pose a threat to the country’s designs on expansion
and settlement. Retelling a series of attacks aimed at
weakening the tribal community, Black Elk laments
that the treatment of his people and the betrayal on
the part of the Wasichus underscore the fact that
U.S. forces will not rest without ultimate victory
over the Lakota tribes. “Wherever we went,” Black
Elk states, “the soldiers came to kill us, and it was
all our own country.” Moreover, despite the treaties
the Lakota have signed with emissaries from Wash-
ington, D.C.—legal promises that the tribal com-
munities can keep their ancestral lands—the federal
government often reneges on its agreements and
later annexes the territories for their resources. “[T]
hey were chasing us... because we remembered [the
treaty] and they forgot,” according to Black Elk. To
further oppress the Lakota, the Wasichus disarm the
tribal members who bear guns and install political
puppet chiefs such as Spotted Tail, who serves at the
pleasure of the U.S. government. Deliberate acts of
oppression like these not only demoralize individual
tribal members but also break the very spirit of the
Lakota people.
Forcibly relocating the Lakota also aids the
U.S. government in not only containing Black Elk’s
people, but also in securing social and psychological
domination over dissenting members such as Crazy
Horse. Indeed, prophecies and ritual protests are
manifest throughout Black Elk’s chronicle, thus
emphasizing the deep impact the U.S. government
has on the tribal communities. The prophecies of
oppression are resonant narratives handed down by
the Lakota elders, and Black Elk Speaks relates how
Black Elk is aware of such messages. He recalls one
of these visions from a holy man who stated, “When
this happens [the arrival of the Wasichus], you shall
live in square gray houses, in a barren land, and
beside those square gray houses you shall starve.”
From the onset, the Lakota believe that the
Wasichus are the harbingers of death and destruc-
tion. However, the oppression that is in store is
portrayed in Black Elk Speaks as something that
cannot be prevented. Rituals like the Ghost Dance,
which was widely adopted by many oppressed
Native American nations during the 19th century,
are thought to be an antidote in restoring tradi-
tional life. The importance of “bring[ing] [Black
Elk’s] people back into the sacred hoop,” then, is an
integral feature of the Ghost Dance for the Lakota.