In the great vision he received when still a small boy, Black Elk saw himself
as the "sixth grandfather," the spiritual representative of the earth and of
mankind. In Lakota religion the six grandfathers symbolized Wakan
Tanka, the Great Mysteriousness, the powers of the six directions of the
universe: west, north, cast, south, above, and below. Understood as
grandfathers, these spirits were represented as kind and loving, full of
years and wisdom, like revered human grandfathers. They symbolized the
six directions; but for Lakotas symbols were not merely empty signs. They
expressed identity: the symbol and the symbolized were one. Thus the six
grandfathers were the six directions. Black Elk became the sixth grand-
father, the spirit of the "below" direction, the earth, the place where
mankind lives, the source of human life. By becoming the sixth grand-
father through the vision experience, Black Elk was identified as the spirit
of all mankind. And the vision foreshadowed his life as a holy man -- as
thinker, healer, teacher.

In two important books, Black Elk Speaks ( 1932) and When the Tree
Flowered ( 1951), John G. Neihardt immortalized Black Elk's teachings,
preserving them as a legacy, for future generations. ¹ Neihardt's books are
literary interpretations of what he learned from Black Elk. They preserve
the details of Lakota culture and yet transcend them, securing a place for

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