American History

In John Neihardts work, Black Elk Speaks, one can see a most interesting use of primary source documentation to tell one of the most important stories in all of American history. The work centers on a native Sioux named Black Elk, who recalls his story to Neihardt and his daughter. Though the author does insert himself into the source by cleaning it up and editing it a bit, he is mostly just a vessel for telling the story of Black Elk and telling the story of the American Indian at large.

In assessing this particular primary source, it is important to understand the interaction between the author and the subject work, especially given the unique nature of this situation. Though Neihardt qualifies as the official author of Black Elk Speaks, Black Elk himself is truly the originator of the story. Some have questioned the validity and authenticity of the work, given that it is essentially a second hand account, but Black Elk does much to dispel those notions early in the work. He makes it very clear that Neihardt is the man that should be telling his story and that of the American Sioux, which helps to add legitimacy to the work. In the early part of the book, Neihardt writes Black Elks words, And our children do not sing. These children do not know the greatness and truth of our tradition. We must teach them. We will do it together  an Indian pictograph in which you finally see what else was killed at Wounded Knee. This document was written later, but it comes as a very real oral account of social and cultural history that must be added to the knowledge base about the treatment of certain American Indian tribes during the last couple of centuries. As Neihardt has been chosen as the man to do this job alongside Black Elk, he takes that role very seriously. He takes it so seriously, in fact, that he becomes something of an active participant in the work. In order to better frame and understand Black Elks words for editing and translation purposes, Neihardt smokes with Black Elk and seeks to gain an understand of the most basic aspects of Sioux culture. This helps add something to the legitimacy of the work, and makes it more authentic in nature.

As the quote above indicates, the core issue at the heart of this primary source is telling the story of Black Elk. More than that, Black Elk uses his own story to tell the larger story of his people, the Sioux Indians. There were many events that took place over the course of history for this group of people, and those events were key in the formation of American history. More importantly, Black Elk feels as if the story has not been told correctly by history. Since the majority of the story has to do with how these people were treated by Americans, it makes sense that history written by those individuals would be kinder to their side. In Black Elks view, the vision of history that has been created by those individuals is incomplete and does not tell what actually happened at places like Wounded Knee and the Battle of Little Bighorn. His story in itself is interesting enough that when combined with the overall story of the Sioux Indians, it makes for quite a primary source. More important than just that individual story, Black Elk attempts to tell the story of Native Americans everywhere. This is evidenced in his quote on page seventeen in Black Elk Speaks. The author writes Black Elks words when he says, Before these road signs were posted to our memory, these were people See them with me. See the great tribes of the East from where the light comes. See the Mohawk. The Pequot The Narragansett. This quote indicates Black Elks desire to be the mouthpiece for all of the forgotten American Indian tribes, and to use Neihardt for that purpose in this book.

The work speaks to the struggles of the Sioux tribe, as they are forced to fight off Americans in many different ways. It traces Black Elk and companys assent to Canada, where they are looking to stave off reservation life. It paints an overall history of what happened to American Indians at that time. In this, one can see the importance of this work in historical context. It provides a view from the other side, so to speak. While history has been kind about the way these tribes were treated, Black Elk tells a somewhat different story. He tells a story in which bloodshed and hideous acts were a part of the everyday life. He traces the steps of the tribe and describes how they were pushed off of their lands and essentially beaten into submission. The most influential of people were killed and no mercy was shown. The primary sources helps to complete the public knowledge of what might have happened between expanding America and the American Indian tribes that stood in the way. Though this larger historical significance is worth noting, it is also smart to consider the viewpoint from which the author comes.

If one considers Black Elk to be the true originator of this work, then it is clear that he approaches the document from a very biased viewpoint. Though it is probably true that his work is refuting a previously biased viewpoint, it should also be noted that he is not exactly balanced. That is why this work serves to just provide a more complete picture of what the actual events of that time were. With any primary source document retold years later, one is going to have to fight through certain biases to find the truth. Truly finding the truth might not even be a possibility, since all documents are written from a certain viewpoint, and with certain prejudices. Since Black Elk is attempting to show the other side, it is possible that he is coming from a more extreme stance than is necessary, and that could impact the validity of the document. Still, there is reason to believe that many of his accounts are true, and it most certainly adds something more to what is already known about the treatment of the Sioux and about the treatment of many American Indian tribes during that time period.

Overall, the document is something that should be trusted, but it should also be taken for what it is. Though Black Elk, and through and extension of him John Neihardt, meant to tell the true story on how American Indians were treated, it is easy for readers to understand that this probably is not the most unbiased portrayal. Even with its inherent faults, this particular primary source has plenty of worth, which is why it has become something of a historical classic. Even written after the fact, it takes a very telling and unique perspective on something that has previously been regarded differently by history. The author was well respected and his credentials were what allowed him to tell the story, which adds something to the validity of the work. Given all of the factors at play, one can conclude that Black Elk Speaks is a meaningful, but not authoritative picture of what American Indians at large were forced to go through over the course of the last two centuries.