Black Elk
Black Elk
Heȟáka Sápa was a famous wičháša wakȟáŋand heyoka of the Oglala Lakotawho lived in the present-day United States, primarily South Dakota. He was a second cousin of the war chief Crazy Horse...
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native-american world sacred
Everywhere is the center of the world. Everything is sacred.
thinking glowing fog
Also, as I lay there thinking of my vision, I could see it all again and feel the meaning with a part of me like a strange power glowing in my body; but when the part of me that talks would try to make words for the meaning, it would be like fog and get away from me.
voice grandfather earth
Grandfather, Great Spirit, once more behold me on earth and lean to hear my feeble voice.
inspirational life inspirational-life
Behold this day. It is yours to make.
lightning breaths
And when I breathed, my breath was lightning.
inspirational life land
The Holy Land is everywhere.
may walks
May you always walk in Beauty.
country lying dirty
Once we were happy in our own country and we were seldom hungry, for then the two-leggeds and the four-leggeds lived together like relatives, and there was plenty for them and for us. But the Wasichus came, and they have made little islands for us and other little islands for the four-leggeds, and always these islands are becoming smaller, for around them surges the gnawing flood of the Wasichu; and it is dirty with lies and greed.
inspirational wisdom peace
The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the souls of people when they realize their relationship, their oneness with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize that at the center of the universe dwells the Great Spirit, and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us.
calling voices
Now and then the voices would come back when I was out alone, like someone calling me, but what they wanted me to do I did not know.
knew men saw sixth spirit
Now I knew the sixth Grandfather was about to speak, he who was the Spirit of the Earth, and I saw that he was very old, but more as men are old.
appeared came clouds fear glad relatives thunder visit
The fear that was on me so long was gone, and when thunder clouds appeared I was always glad to see them, for they came as relatives now to visit me.
across black eagle feather forehead lightning painted red single wore
I was painted red all over with black lightning on my limbs. I wore a black mask, and across my forehead a single eagle feather hung.
bears calf carved eagle earth feathers feeds gave grass hanging mean pipe side sky stem tied twelve
Then she gave something to the chief, and it was a pipe with a bison calf carved on one side to mean the earth that bears and feeds us, and with twelve eagle feathers hanging from the stem to mean the sky and the twelve moons, and these were tied with a grass that never breaks,