marina- Black Elk

Black Elk was born in 1863 in today's Wyoming. When he was five, he had to step it up and do all the hunting in his family. His father was wounded from the Fetterman Battle. Many battles kept ovvcuring one after the other and during this time, Black Elk grew very sick. During his illness, he got a vision that took him to Heaven where he got to see the spiriy of man. Black Elk was blessed with knowing when things would go bad. For example he felt something very bad was going to happen and then the goverment basiclly kicked the reservations out and ordered them to move to Canada. The conversion occured when Black Elk healed a sick child. Eventually his name became Nick which was assumed that he was Christian. He traveled and preached. He grew very sick again, this time with tuberculosis. This did not stop his preaching this just dstrengthened his desire to "be ready." Throughout all this He did not lose faith. He lived a life ddevoted to preaching, God, and learning new cultures and languages. Many obstacles were thrown in his way but God got him through it. Black Elk lived the experience from the time the white people entered his world to the victory at the massacre at Wounded Knee. He had personal involvement. For example, when his father returned wounded from the Fetterman Battle. In the middle of all this, Black Elk, as a nine-year old, had a visoion that would change his life and many people's lives. It later became the center of Native American religion.