Black Elk lives conversations with the Black Elk family (University of Nebraska Press, 2000)
Master and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002
Includes bibliographical references and index
List of Illustrations -- Editors' Preface -- Introduction -- Black Elk family: Legacy / Benjamin Black Elk -- Father and Grandfather / Benjamin Black Elk -- Growing up -- School days -- Mourning and teaching -- Life for the community / Esther Black Elk DeSersa -- Reclaiming the legacy / Olivia Black Elk Pourier -- Honor of a Pipe / Aaron DeSersa -- On the front lines / Clifton DeSersa -- Lakota past, present, and future -- Working -- Use and misuse of Lakota Religion -- Many paths -- Lakota legends and stories -- Women and men/men and women -- Grandfather Black Elk: We remember -- Grandfather's healing -- Caring for grandfather -- Afterword -- Appendix: Black Elk family tree -- Notes -- Index
I was at my grandfather's house, and he was sitting down, getting his pipe ready early in the morning, and here was Father Sialm knocking on the door. They opened the door, and he came in, and he saw my grandfather with the pipe. Father Sialm grabbed the pipe and said, "This is the work of the devil!" And he took it and threw it out the door on the ground. My grandfather didn't say a word. He got up and took the priest's prayer book and threw it out on the ground. Then they both looked at each other, and nobody said one word that whole time