BLACK ELK'S VISION: A Lakota Story, by S.D. Nelson

Quick Facts:
- 56 pages
- Illustrated by author, S.D. Nelson

"Black Elk's Vision: A Lakota Story" is a narrative biography of the life of Black Elk, a Lakota Sioux leader who lived from 1863-1950. Black Elk witnessed and survived the forced relocation of his people, and became well-known to the American public upon the 1932 release of Black Elk Speaks: being the life story of a holy man of the Oglala Sioux, by John Neihardt. 

S.D. Nelson, who authored and illustrated "Black Elk's Vision: A Lakota Story", is a well-respected Lakota Sioux artist and writer. He describes Black Elk's vision (which becomes a metaphor for the man's life) as, "uniquely Native American, filled with images of painted horses, rabbits, deer and rumbling Thunder Beings." However, Nelson then counters this with an observation into how, "what he witnesses speaks to something fundamental in the human experience- the universal quest to connect with the all-encompassing force that is the Great Mystery."

Thus this is a story told by a voice authentic to its topic, and which strives to be at once distinctly Native American and also universal in the applicability of the questions it asks. I believe it succeeds.

Nelson's illustrations are done with careful attention to traditional Lakota Sioux artwork. Compare the following artwork:

Traditional Lakota Sioux pictorial muslin.

Illustration from "Black Elk's Vision: A Lakota Story", by S.D. Nelson

Notice how Nelson draws on the same colors used in the traditional art: reds, blues, browns and goldens. He draws the horses long, legs outstretched, with warriors on their backs at near ninety-degree angles. The background of the image is the same light, brownish-tan it would be if it were on muslin or animal hide.

And yet, Nelson also brings a more intimate, and more contemporary feel to his illustration. The images are larger, and closer together, so that much less of the canvas is visible. The colors are brighter, more vibrant, and he adds detail that adds visual interest (like the painting of the horses). All of these contribute to making Nelson's heritage more accessible to the reader.

Additionally,  Nelson makes the decision to spell Lakota words phonetically. For example, the Lakota word "Wasichu" ("White Man") is spelled through out the book "Wha-shi-choo". Clarifying the three-syllable pronunciation in this way makes the word one that native English readers can say with confidence, and minimizes the cultural distance created when readers encounter language they are not sure how to navigate. 

Though Nelson created a great deal of artwork for this book, he made an excellent decision to include alongside his art photos of the times and of the people discussed in the book. This not only serves to remind the reader that despite the narrative form of the text and the gorgeous illustrations, the events Black Elk recounts were very real and had terrible repercussions. 

In terms of reader age, I believe this book is most appropriate for upper elementary and middle school, because of the themes addressed and the complexity of the writing, Younger students simply don't have the background knowledge or experience for the significance of events like Little Bighorn to register, or for the connection between Black Elk's vision and reality to resonate. Though the text is straightforward, with few tricky grammatical structures, there is a lot of it and it is dense with information:

"Black Elk's Vision: A Lakota Story" is a beautiful book that brings alive the experience of the Lakota Sioux at the turn of the century. Too, it is a Native American story told by an authentic Native American voice, and so is all the more valuable for its perspective.