Neihardt’s Black Elk Speaks. Neihardt claims to authentically give voice to Black Elk of the Oglala Sioux. However, as Martin reveals, the work actually “gives a highly selective and romantic vision of the man and his religious life” (679). DeMaillie’s annotations in the Premier Edition of Neihardt’s work show that the poetic descriptions of Black Elk’s speech are framed by the author’s biased desire to present an image of the poor, deprived Indian. This is evident when Neihardt includes Black Elk’s discourse as, “you see me now a pitiful old man who has done nothing, for the nation’s hoop is broken and scattered,” for which Demallie reveals is “Neihardt’s summary” (218). Such distorted interpretations of the deprived Native American spread throughout the United States in the 1960s and 1970s when “the book exploded into surprising popularity” (Preface to the 1972 Edition). Therefore, the biases of an author writing history have the potential to influence society on a great scale, reinforcing false images that erode difference and erase agency of diverse groups of
Neihardt’s Black Elk Speaks. Neihardt claims to authentically give voice to Black Elk of the Oglala Sioux. However, as Martin reveals, the work actually “gives a highly selective and romantic vision of the man and his religious life” (679). DeMaillie’s annotations in the Premier Edition of Neihardt’s work show that the poetic descriptions of Black Elk’s speech are framed by the author’s biased desire to present an image of the poor, deprived Indian. This is evident when Neihardt includes Black Elk’s discourse as, “you see me now a pitiful old man who has done nothing, for the nation’s hoop is broken and scattered,” for which Demallie reveals is “Neihardt’s summary” (218). Such distorted interpretations of the deprived Native American spread throughout the United States in the 1960s and 1970s when “the book exploded into surprising popularity” (Preface to the 1972 Edition). Therefore, the biases of an author writing history have the potential to influence society on a great scale, reinforcing false images that erode difference and erase agency of diverse groups of