As I said last week, I am so appreciative of your telling Black Elks story. Always praying for his canonization. I love him so much and am so grateful for the chance at another Native Saint.
I found it so interesting about how the Jesuits kept certain practices of the American Indian tribes that did not conflict with Christianity. It reminded me of a story my father often told us. During WWII, he was in the Navy and one day, the ship stopped at a small island which had a priest there. Most of the population were Catholics and my dad and others on the ship went to Mass. They noticed that at the point where we would kneel, the people sat cross legged. The reason was, in the native culture you could not have your head above the head of the chief. When you talked to him, you sat. So you could not have your head above the head of God and when you prayed, you sat.
This episode (and channel) is "diversity and inclusion" at its best. From Harriet Tubman to Nicholas Black Elk, great and fascinating (and holy) men and women are present in all races, nationalities, occupations (including military!), etc., as the Catholic Church has always recognized, whether in evangelizing all nations or canonizing saints. Catholicism has never been merely "a white man's religion," despite the schisms of the 1st millennium that did separate the Church somewhat geographically and ethnically, though progress has been made in restoring communion and recognizing different rites. And thank you for correctly identifying and condemning the un-Catholic politically correct pacifism that should not deprive any saint of the honor they deserve in the Church!
Thanks! We're all God's children, and we all have stories to tell and mysteries to solve! The show would be even more diverse except for the fact that I need to get good information on mysteries in English. I'm always looking for mysteries in diverse parts of the world, but I'm limited to English for the primary research, and it can be hard to get enough high-quality information on a mystery in English to do the analysis and write a script on it.
His life as a catechist sounds amazing, the kind of “fastings and vigils and prayers” on behalf of the Church that the apostles and their successors have always done. God bless him
I read “Black Elk Speaks” a number of years ago, so I was surprised to hear he was Catholic. What a great surprise to hear he was being considered for sainthood!! Thank you so much for this video!
My husband grew up in SD, and remembers hearing about pre/post conversion Black Elk. Where his house was, he said there was a boundary of either the Crow or the Lakota reservation right there against the back fence line. He and his brother would cross the fence often, and they were encouraged to come back, so long as they went back home before sundown.
Grandfather! Great Spirit! Behold us, who stand before you, singing our song of thanksgiving, for your servant, Nicholas Black Elk. Faithfully he walked the Sacred Red Road and generously witnessed the Good News of Our Lord Jesus Christ among Native people. Grandfather, we humbly ask you to hear the prayers we plead through his intercession. We ask Holy Mother Church to recognize his sanctity, by acknowledging his presence among the company of the Saints and as one to imitate in his zeal for the gospel. Open our hearts to also recognize the Risen Christ in other cultures and people’s, to the glory and honor of God the Father. Amen
Thank you so much for this pair of episodes. I love, love, love them both! I was fascinated (or to be more honest, obsessed) with Native American culture as a little girl and read everything I could get my hands on about the various tribes. I especially loved Sacagawea of the Shoshone and Cynthia Ann Parker and her son Quanah of the Comanche. But before I became Catholic, I was very upset at my own lack of context or hope for salvation for any non-Christians, including the many natives who followed their traditional beliefs from time immemorial. I can remember praying rather guiltily for the soul of Quanah Parker, wondering if it was even possible to do so (I grew up Protestant). Now I'm glad to have not only a stronger hope for the salvation of religiously traditional natives, but also more knowledge about the existence of both historical and modern Christian Native Americans. I'm so glad Jimmy highlighted one such individual, as I think there are powerful cultural forces that would very much like to write indigenous American Christians out of history altogether--or treat them all as insincere in their conversion. Their existence doesn't fit popular narratives and seems to make many people uncomfortable. Also, it doesn't surprise me given the US government's track record with regard to the tribes, but isn't it a violation of the 1st Amendment to insist that each reservation can have only one Christian denomination present? Did the 1st Amendment not apply because they weren't citizens at the time? Or because they were being dealt with as independent sovereign nations that the US had conquered? The whole line of reasoning seems a bit hypocritical and unAmerican to me. An episode on the Chinese Rites controversy would be awesome!
Really really wonderful presentation. I remember early 70’s, a big group of friends were reading Black Elk Speaks, like it was the Holy Bible. They were all Non-Natives; my family lineage is Chippewa but I never read the book, only I liked to see Black Elk quotes sometimes. I haven’t watched your Part 1 but I am so happy to come across this life of Nicholas Black Elk. Very Happy. Thank You! I look forward to sharing it with my blonde, blue-eyed Sister who has been very involved with her new age Indian ideas (including burning tobacco but not smoking it) * but not a practicing Catholic for 50yrs. Thank you, again …and for all the links to more❣️🙏
Great episode, as always. What a fascinating person Black Elk seems to have been! (Tangentially, I'd love to see an episode on the Chinese Rites controversy - it ended so sadly for the Church and China.)
Apparently the 4 Winds has great significance for Lakota culture. Several references to the 4 winds in the Bible, usually with themes of judgment/apocalypse. "After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree." Rev 7:1 (see also Jeremiah 49:36; Matthew 24:31) Also came a across an interesting thesis/dissertation by a Damien Castello at least touching on the similarities between Lakota culture and Christianity/Catholicism.
This one gave me chills at the open of his canonization!! Another awesome story with twist turns and interesting details, even about Pawpaw (my grandfather’s name to). Thanks Jimmy and Don.
Great episode! It was especially neat to see my diocesan bishop as part of the episode. Bishop Gruss was assigned to my local diocese in 2019 (the Diocese of Saginaw, MI) and is no longer the Rapid City bishop, but none the less please pray for him as he now guides my local diocese!
I figured last week when Jimmy Akin left off on such a harsh note about the book and popular accounts being wrong that this episode would be a treat. And it was! I’ve always been fascinated by other cultures, especially in regards to how they incorporate their elements into the Catholic faith. There’s a lot of loud voices nowadays who seem adamant on disregarding and even demonizing other cultures’ practices with the Catholic faith because it “looks” suspect. But, the Jesuits are a wonderful example of Jesus’s ministry of meeting people where they are at and working with them on a personal level to bring them close to the Truth. I actually remember discussing a bit of the Church’s outreach in Japan to my Lutheran friend once and how it was great that the Church could form a connection to the Japanese through honor of one’s ancestors and the dead in general. At some point, he commented, “Yeah, the Church really messed up in Japan with that.” I asked how, and he said, “Well, they shouldn’t have let them keep focusing on the dead because that’s not Biblical.” Needless to say, it crushed me a bit and made me much sadder for souls who don’t have people praying for them and the whole thing in general. And not gonna lie, my blood was boiling as y’all read off the quotes alleged by Hilden, especially the ironic line about revealing ‘truths’ to others! I felt bad for Lucy, who knew the truth about what kind of man her father was and wasn’t able to clear the lie up before it took off. Glad to see though that she and others didn’t give up, though. Nicholas Black Elk sounds like he was a funny, interesting, faithful human being. Hope his cause continues forward 😇🙏 along with the causes for other souls who are unfortunately getting caught in the cross fires of political and social forces. A saint is a saint, and we on earth do a great disrespect to them and God by not giving them proper honor 😢
Great episode, as usual! Will definitely be praying for his beatification. Loved it also because our family has a connection to the Lakota. My great-grandparents had a ranch near Plum Creek, and my grandfather's family went to Mass on the Cheyenne River Reservation at St Joseph Church in Cherry Creek, SD. He always had a great respect for the Lakota and sadness over injustices against them. After Grandpa died, my family and I toured the area and went to Mass there too. Later I took my kids to St Joseph's Indian School in Chamberlain, where we toured the fascinating Akta Lakota Museum and Cultural Center. It was so neat to hear references in this episode to a lot of the places my grandfather spoke about.
Really enjoyed these two Episodes. I am a Texas transplant to Wisconsin. One of the towns north of the Madison area where my wife's family has roots is "Waunakee". The town slogan is "The only Waunakee in the world". According to Wikipedia: The name "Waunakee" has a Native American origin meaning "fair and pleasant valley.". I thought the resemblance to the Lakota word for Savior was very intersting. Keep up the great work!
This is amazing, st Nicholas is one of our household’s favourite Saints and my son took Nicholas as he’s confirmation name. Definitely will be adding Nicholas Black Elk to my prayers.
Thanks for sharing your family story. I also called my father's father "Pawpaw" and helped to get him a priest for his sacrament of the Anointing, for which I was the only other person present, before he died. Memories I will never forget. And yes, firearms safety is something worth being semi-neurotic about; the consequences are just too grave.
Thank you so much for sharing this amazing story. I discovered my non Native American great grandparents were married in a Catholic mission on an Indian reservation. I have no idea how that came about so I guess it's a personal mystery to unravel.
As part of a group from the Albany, NY Diocese where St Kateri was born, I was at her canonization in Rome in 2012. The next day there was a Mass of thanksgiving in St Peters and the celebrant Archbishop Chaput who is at least part native American began the ceremony with a short prayer and dance to the 4 directions.
"After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree." Rev 7:1
Great 2 episodes, Jimmy. I’d never heard of Black Elk. What a fascinating man & seems to be very holy. I pray his cause for canonization continues all the way to Saint.🙏❤️
Not only did the release of this episode happen to coincide with the Memorial of St. Kateri Tekakwitha (as previous commentators pointed out), but it also coincides with the publication of an article about the Australian Smoking Ceremony in The Pillar (July 12). The article includes quotes from Archbishop Chaput (a member of the Potawatomi Nation) about Native American smoke ceremonies.
Love this episode!! So excited to hear about holy people who we can look to for example. More stories about the Saints please (and potential Saints). One about Father Kapaun would be awesome!
I have always been fascinated with Native American culture, especially those of the plains natives. Thank you for sharing this with us and showing how Catholicism was out there and I had no clue..
No! That was an act of divine providence! I did not realize that July 14th was St. Kateri Tekakwitha's feast day in the United States when I schedule this episode! Wow! What a blessing to have the Christian Black Elk episode come out on this day! Thanks so much for pointing it out!
Jimmy and Dom, I liked hearing about Annie Oakley. I live about 5 miles away from her grave in Darke County, Ohio, just south of the tiny "town" of Brock. Today (July 26) is the Annie Oakley Days festival. You should come out to see it sometime and call a square dance while you're at it, we do plenty of that here!
After an evening at the Eagle & Child respectfully peppering the two famous dons with questions, the eager undergraduate asked, "Prof. Tolkien, in your opinion, which religion holds the key to happiness?" With a wry smile and a twinkle in his eye, the author of The Hobbit and The Lord of Rings lit the last of his tobacco and replied, "Personally, I've always held to the religion of the pipe." [source: apocryphal]
I found his story to be inspiring. I find it fitting that you released it on the Feast of St. Kateri Tekakwitha as well. I hope he becomes canonized one day. As for the peace pipe, I'm not sure all of what that ritual would necessarily involve, but I can see how smoking a pipe can be a kind of prayer. I enjoy a good pipe every once in awhile and I usually take time to meditate and contemplate while doing so, because it's quiet and I find it to be relaxing, same with cigars.
🌹I have smoked the sacred pipe, and been in many sacred sweat lodge rituals. My first sweat lodge was very sacred and the water pourer/medicine man was Catholic, and it was very apparent by his praying during the very long, very hot sermonies. It was an amazing, Spiritual experience! I shall pray for his canonization. Thank you for this program.🙏
One good thing about Catholicism is using all sorts of investigating tools like science, medicine, logic, philosophy, … and you name it, to determine the truth regardless of cost, in-order to know, follow and do God’s will. Many Protestants instead follow their own personal choices, preferences to set up their own congregations and later dominations. King Henry VIII is one of the many examples. My Evangelical friend sometimes liked playing God and said “You go to hell! He goes to hell!” I had to remind him that’s God business and not his.
I FIND THIS SO AMAZING AND I DO BELIEVE THAT THE INDIANS WERE VERY STRONG PEOPLE IN THEIR SPIRITUAL WAYS SO IF THIS MAN BLACK ELK FOUND THE TRUE FAITH HE WAS DEFINITELY VERY STRONG IN THE FAITH 🙏 I HAVE TWO CHILDREN THEIR MOTHER IS PURE NATIVE AMERICAN NAVHO AND IIVE BROUGHT THEM UP IN THE FAITH MY SON WHICH IS ONLY 6 HAS SEEN JESUS AND THE BLESSED MOTHER !🙏🙏
As I native from both northern and southern First Nations , we respect all ways of peaceful life, that’s not to say we lose “our” way of life(culture). i.e. our deeper understanding of the life force and spirit of this fabric(Mother Earth) of space.
My uncle is a barber, and I have a childhood memory of him doing this to another uncle's beard. They let the family take some photos before cutting the other half.
Hi jimmy Akin i just happen to see your program when giong through my ipad looking at the stories and so on i like stories about the North American indians and occasionally something catches my eye and so i switched your channel on anyway it was very interesting indeed and when iv got a bit more patience I’ll listen to it again one thing though I’d like to say that although its a wonderfull thing if papa black elk gets the title saint its only for his earthly recocnition because where he is in the heavenly realms he doesnt need to be recognised by anyone god knows who he is and thats all that matters I mean i hope he does get the saint hood but actually like i said its only an earthly thing i love the catholic saints but im not catholic ilove all saints from wherever or whatever genuine religioun personally i feel if we feel a closeness to an Saintly person recocnised or not its all good we all know in our hearts whether thats true or not and doesnt need approval by a group of men who like to knit pick according to their own beliefs or the beliefs of the church but i suppose the approval and especially by the pope is important but in my view their is no such thing in the heavenly realms there is no need for that it doesnt excist in the highest heavenly realms god knows who you are and there is only love ❤️ only love ❤️ only love ❤️ human concepts do not excist in the realms of love all pervasive joy and happiness without boundaries otherwise it wouldnt be god would it if there are conditions and boundaries its none excistent anyway its only for our own attachments and a kind of comforter for our limited mind set thats all anyway thankyou for the very interesting account of black elks life story and like you said theres a lot more to his life that can be told thankyou again ☮️☮️☮️💟💟💟🕉️🕉️🕉️☸️☸️🛐🛐✝️🌈🌈🌈☔️☔️☔️🍀🌷💐🌹❤️🥰😍💐🌷🌹🇳🇿🇳🇿🇲🇨🇲🇨🇺🇦🇺🇦🌎🌸peace and love to all without exception
Interesting. A priest at my parish mentioned something about how the "Indians" who had converted to Catholicism were treated poorly i.e. persecuted by Protestants (reservation system). I mean to look further into this when I have time. One doesn't hear too much about this, although there are some books on the topic.
Pope Benedict XVI is there observing, in the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral (Spain). It is the largest church “thurible” in the world, loved by all pilgrims that undertake the Camino pilgrimage. Only used for about 10 FeastDays in the year.
I listened as a podcast, but just popped over to say that you can't drop a bomb like "a.k.a. Flaming Rainbow" and expect people not to want to know the story behind that name that aged like fine milk.
Couldn’t the second quote about only believing in the pipe also be a joke? I could see someone when asked by someone close about his beliefs make a joke saying “the only thing I believe in is the pipe” with the joke being he really really liked to smoke.
Jimmy. Can one publicly ask for intersessions from a "servant of God" like we would any other saint, or must we instead pray to God that the dearly departed cause advance to sainthood?
What happened at Wounded Knee was a massacre not a battle. The people were dancing and praying when the soldiers rode up and started shooting, mostly unarmed participants. They were men, women and children, including elderly. Takeri Tekawitha (notice the "w") is the name of the Mohawk saint. The "i" is pronounced like long "e".
Any person who ever watched Aurther Penns little big man and has read Black Elk Speaks can tell the writer obviously red this book and used much of it for his book little big man. Grandfather in little big man was taken after Black Elk some of his visions they scene on Harney Peak where Geandfather goes to die and it rained etc run parallel to the book black elk speaks. So many things in the book little big man are the same . I have watched the movie little big man hundreds of time read Black Elk speaks Dozens of time to compare these these events and historical contexts and events in Black Elks early life.
There are stories of a “Great White God” from Alaska down to South America . God is no respecter of persons. The Book of Mormon in 3Nephi chapters 11-26 is one account of the resurrected Christ’s ministry among a group of indigenous people who had survived a series of volcanoes, earthquakes and whirlwinds, causing darkness for 3 days. He taught them the way to live truth💞
In hindsight, the holy state of humility or beyond the common definition of humble that a true Saint would embody, they most likely would be horrified to be canonized and sainted while in this first realm body so to speak.
I wonder if st.Lucie was crucified on Lakota land or which native American tribes land? Not sure why that would be pertinent but the horror of her execution at the hand of her demented bio father might have left a innocent saints mark so to speak.
It can give one pause for the cause that post mortem is the prerequisite to Saint in catholic. Perhaps it's God's plan and a form of work which shouldn't be harmful while on earth. Yet how rare to have such a job when most probably work 65 hours a week to pay rent and utilities let alone sustenance.
Interesting. So Jimmy, when you’re talking and telling us the stones, you’re kind of looking through the audience! Your eyes I guess or reading stuff but I don’t feel personally that you’re talking to me. I’ve seen this on other ones of your shows and that’s fine but it’s not making you enjoy it very much because you are not speaking to me directly you are reading something and I get it but maybe you could be more personalized? This is interesting stuff but it’s kind of weird maybe that’s why I should because it is weird but anyway I’m just telling you that because you would have a bigger audience I think if you were more endearing. Thank you for what you do give us some consideration please
I do have a question though. I imagine that Christianity is important to share with those who are not Christian because Jesus Christ is the son of God. But my question is why does it have to be Catholic? I’m Catholic but I find that the Catholic faith did a lot of forcing of people. I don’t know if the Protestant missionaries did the same I don’t know. But I always feel like the native people had to do what the Catholic way said. I think that Jesus Christ is who we try to share people with, but the Catholic faith is always push their religion and I don’t like that. It seems that the missionaries that weren’t Catholic maybe had a better way of doing it I don’t know? So the fact that they made Blackhawk succumb to all the Catholic practices is I guess OK but I find that a little annoying. I don’t know if I’m wrong or right but I guess that’s all they knew to do. I’m glad they became lovers of Jesus Christ, of course. But there is this Catholic pride that I don’t like. She just likes and loves everybody and you don’t have to be Catholic for him to love you. Anyway, it’s interesting for sure.
Because the Catholic Church is the only church established by the Lord Jesus Christ, and the only one to which He gave His Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Holy Eucharistic. That's why.
Some of the methods members have used during the years were not aligned with the Church's teaching about charity. Speaking truth with love. One of the greatest scandals is when her members do not act what they supposedly believe and many are turned off. Whether by sinful behavior or just bad example, they truly do not represent Holy Mother Church, especially when her Spouse called her members to love even their enemies.
There have not been many times when the Catholic Faith was forced on anyone, and I'm not talking about parents rearing their children. In the first part of this pair of episodes, Jimmy mentioned that Black Elk was baptized Episcopalian when he joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, because all the performers were required to be Episcopalian. That's coercion. Some years ago I saw a documentary of non-Catholic Christian missionaries in South America encountering a tribe that lived very primitively, going naked except for a thin belt. The missionaries didn't try to get to know the people, they just immediately started trying to put shirts and pants on the children. While it's good to teach them modesty, you don't just go around putting clothes on people in their homeland. That's coercion. Maybe there have been priests, nuns, and Catholic laymen who have done things like that, but that's not exactly official policy of the Catholic Church as a whole. If you had seen this entire video, you would have heard about how Chief Red Cloud begged the US government to permit his people to be Catholic. The government refused to allow them to be Catholic because only one religious denomination was permitted on each Indian reservation, and Chief Red Cloud's reservation was assigned _by the US government_ to be Episcopalian. That's coercion. Eventually Chief Red Cloud's people were allowed to freely practice their Catholic Faith.
"Real religion is the transformation of anxiety into laughter." Alan Watts "A life is either all spiritual or not spiritual at all. No man can serve two masters. Your life is shaped by the end you live for. You are made in the image of what you desire." Thomas Merton “Those we call saints rebelled against an outmoded and inadequate form of God on the basis of their new insights into divinity.” Rollo May “Many of the insights of the saint stem from his experience as a sinner.” Eric Hoffer "Love is the essence of all religion, mysticism, and philosophy, and for the one who has learned this, love fulfills the purpose of religion, ethics, and philosophy, and the lover is raised above all diversities of faiths and beliefs." Hazrat Inayat Khan "The most amazing fact about Jesus, unlike almost any other religious founder, is that he found God in disorder and imperfection-and told us that we must do the same or we would never be content on this earth." Richard Rohr
The christian view is this; the eyes of a newborn baby have not seen God. Their soul has been created by God at the very moment of conception, so they are completely new to life. It is a pagan, and not a christian view, to say that a soul comes from Wakan Tanka. It is also a pagan view to say that it is a manifestation of the sacred (or the divine). We are creatures. We have been created in the image of God, and we are not manifestations of God. There is an important difference. When the Church says we have been created in the image of God, it means, we have an eternal soul, that is created at some point in time, but will never cease to be, she will live eternally, just like God. The soul has intelligence, love and a free will, just like God Himself, she has all the faculties to become a child of God and a Saint. God has created us for Himself, with the purpose to love and enjoy Him eternally. That is the reason why no pleasures of the world can ever completely satisfy us. The soul will be happy, when it enjoys the beatific Vision of God in Heaven.
People were with God before birth. They are of the first earth age when satan rebelled. Do we could be born innocent and make a clear decision. Of course we dont remember that.
@joni3503 -- the Church does teach that at the moment of conception there is eternal life in the womb. She doesn't teach anything about what that tiny little living being is aware of. It may very well be that at the moment of conception, the little one saw her Creator, but we don't know because He hasn't told us, and the Church hasn't defined it for us. Especially not when Nicholas Black Elk lived! He never saw an ultrasound! Personally, because I'm free to think of these things and even believe what seems right to me in regards to the awareness of very young souls, I don't think it's likely that they see God the Father, because at the moment of conception each soul is under the devil's jurisdiction, and remains so until baptism. But I do think it's possible that they may behold the Word of God, Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of Man, the Word made flesh. And Nicholas Black Elk was free to believe this if it made sense to him, because the Church hasn't defined it. It might seem pagan to you, and you're free to believe that, but the Church hasn't said that. Even Saint and Doctor of the Church Thomas Aquinas refused to write any more after he was rewarded with being shown the full truth of the things he only speculated about. It's said that he fell to the floor in amazement, and declared, "All I have written is straw!" That's humbling. It means it's not possible to know everything unless God reveals it to us, whether individually or to many.
@@kimfleury I say the eyes/soul of a small new child in the womb of mother, have not seen God because the soul is not capable of perceiving God, unless baptised. The Church does teach that, she says the child is affected by original sin. And no soul on this earth may see God, with the exception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Black Hawk is already a saint who has returned to the Creator. Why does he need canonization from the Catholic church? Why do Catholics waist sooo much time on this nonsense?
Of course Heȟáka Sápa is as Saintly as any Saint need be. He is a Saint to me, and our little Orthodox community. He is continually čhékiye for inspiration and strength to walk the Čhaŋkú Lúta. It is sad to see the Romans be sooo slow to move forward on some one so deserving, and for a people so needing. Wakȟáŋ Tȟáŋka ničhiuŋpi
Having never heard of Black Elk, I thank you for bringing his history to life. I will be praying for and following his cause for canonization.
As I said last week, I am so appreciative of your telling Black Elks story. Always praying for his canonization. I love him so much and am so grateful for the chance at another Native Saint.
I found it so interesting about how the Jesuits kept certain practices of the American Indian tribes that did not conflict with Christianity. It reminded me of a story my father often told us. During WWII, he was in the Navy and one day, the ship stopped at a small island which had a priest there. Most of the population were Catholics and my dad and others on the ship went to Mass. They noticed that at the point where we would kneel, the people sat cross legged. The reason was, in the native culture you could not have your head above the head of the chief. When you talked to him, you sat. So you could not have your head above the head of God and when you prayed, you sat.
This episode (and channel) is "diversity and inclusion" at its best. From Harriet Tubman to Nicholas Black Elk, great and fascinating (and holy) men and women are present in all races, nationalities, occupations (including military!), etc., as the Catholic Church has always recognized, whether in evangelizing all nations or canonizing saints. Catholicism has never been merely "a white man's religion," despite the schisms of the 1st millennium that did separate the Church somewhat geographically and ethnically, though progress has been made in restoring communion and recognizing different rites. And thank you for correctly identifying and condemning the un-Catholic politically correct pacifism that should not deprive any saint of the honor they deserve in the Church!
Thanks! We're all God's children, and we all have stories to tell and mysteries to solve! The show would be even more diverse except for the fact that I need to get good information on mysteries in English. I'm always looking for mysteries in diverse parts of the world, but I'm limited to English for the primary research, and it can be hard to get enough high-quality information on a mystery in English to do the analysis and write a script on it.
We are more than a billion, from every continent on the planet. The Holy Spirit moves where he pleases.
I hope that Nicolas Black Elk gets canonized. His sense of humor reminds me of a good friend of mine.
His life as a catechist sounds amazing, the kind of “fastings and vigils and prayers” on behalf of the Church that the apostles and their successors have always done. God bless him
I read “Black Elk Speaks” a number of years ago, so I was surprised to hear he was Catholic. What a great surprise to hear he was being considered for sainthood!! Thank you so much for this video!
Thank you for this Mr. Akin.
My husband grew up in SD, and remembers hearing about pre/post conversion Black Elk. Where his house was, he said there was a boundary of either the Crow or the Lakota reservation right there against the back fence line. He and his brother would cross the fence often, and they were encouraged to come back, so long as they went back home before sundown.
I am from this diocese and appreciate your work!
He had humility simplicity and a just heart. The making of a Saint.
YEAH ! The real wealth is the spiritual one and the wealth of the HEART !
Love these two episodes. I’m originally from So. Dak and I am so happy to hear of our Native Lakota helo Black Elk being a Catholic. Deo Gratias!!!
Grandfather! Great Spirit! Behold us, who stand before you, singing our song of thanksgiving, for your servant, Nicholas Black Elk.
Faithfully he walked the Sacred Red Road and generously witnessed the Good News of Our Lord Jesus Christ among Native people.
Grandfather, we humbly ask you to hear the prayers we plead through his intercession.
We ask Holy Mother Church to recognize his sanctity, by acknowledging his presence among the company of the Saints and as one to imitate in his zeal for the gospel.
Open our hearts to also recognize the Risen Christ in other cultures and people’s, to the glory and honor of God the Father. Amen
Amen
Amen. We are ALL made in his image and likeness.
Thank you so much for this pair of episodes. I love, love, love them both! I was fascinated (or to be more honest, obsessed) with Native American culture as a little girl and read everything I could get my hands on about the various tribes. I especially loved Sacagawea of the Shoshone and Cynthia Ann Parker and her son Quanah of the Comanche. But before I became Catholic, I was very upset at my own lack of context or hope for salvation for any non-Christians, including the many natives who followed their traditional beliefs from time immemorial. I can remember praying rather guiltily for the soul of Quanah Parker, wondering if it was even possible to do so (I grew up Protestant). Now I'm glad to have not only a stronger hope for the salvation of religiously traditional natives, but also more knowledge about the existence of both historical and modern Christian Native Americans. I'm so glad Jimmy highlighted one such individual, as I think there are powerful cultural forces that would very much like to write indigenous American Christians out of history altogether--or treat them all as insincere in their conversion. Their existence doesn't fit popular narratives and seems to make many people uncomfortable.
Also, it doesn't surprise me given the US government's track record with regard to the tribes, but isn't it a violation of the 1st Amendment to insist that each reservation can have only one Christian denomination present? Did the 1st Amendment not apply because they weren't citizens at the time? Or because they were being dealt with as independent sovereign nations that the US had conquered? The whole line of reasoning seems a bit hypocritical and unAmerican to me.
An episode on the Chinese Rites controversy would be awesome!
Really really wonderful presentation. I remember early 70’s, a big group of friends were reading Black Elk Speaks, like it was the Holy Bible. They were all Non-Natives; my family lineage is Chippewa but I never read the book, only I liked to see Black Elk quotes sometimes. I haven’t watched your Part 1 but I am so happy to come across this life of Nicholas Black Elk. Very Happy. Thank You! I look forward to sharing it with my blonde, blue-eyed Sister who has been very involved with her new age Indian ideas (including burning tobacco but not smoking it) * but not a practicing Catholic for 50yrs.
Thank you, again …and for all the links to more❣️🙏
This is one of my favorite episodes yet! I also have a Friend who is a Catholic Lokota! I'll send it his way!
Great episode, as always. What a fascinating person Black Elk seems to have been! (Tangentially, I'd love to see an episode on the Chinese Rites controversy - it ended so sadly for the Church and China.)
I agree about how interesting it would be to see a vid about the Chinese Rites
Apparently the 4 Winds has great significance for Lakota culture. Several references to the 4 winds in the Bible, usually with themes of judgment/apocalypse.
"After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree." Rev 7:1 (see also Jeremiah 49:36; Matthew 24:31)
Also came a across an interesting thesis/dissertation by a Damien Castello at least touching on the similarities between Lakota culture and Christianity/Catholicism.
This one gave me chills at the open of his canonization!!
Another awesome story with twist turns and interesting details, even about Pawpaw (my grandfather’s name to).
Thanks Jimmy and Don.
Great episode! It was especially neat to see my diocesan bishop as part of the episode. Bishop Gruss was assigned to my local diocese in 2019 (the Diocese of Saginaw, MI) and is no longer the Rapid City bishop, but none the less please pray for him as he now guides my local diocese!
Both episodes were just excellent.
I figured last week when Jimmy Akin left off on such a harsh note about the book and popular accounts being wrong that this episode would be a treat. And it was!
I’ve always been fascinated by other cultures, especially in regards to how they incorporate their elements into the Catholic faith. There’s a lot of loud voices nowadays who seem adamant on disregarding and even demonizing other cultures’ practices with the Catholic faith because it “looks” suspect. But, the Jesuits are a wonderful example of Jesus’s ministry of meeting people where they are at and working with them on a personal level to bring them close to the Truth.
I actually remember discussing a bit of the Church’s outreach in Japan to my Lutheran friend once and how it was great that the Church could form a connection to the Japanese through honor of one’s ancestors and the dead in general.
At some point, he commented, “Yeah, the Church really messed up in Japan with that.” I asked how, and he said, “Well, they shouldn’t have let them keep focusing on the dead because that’s not Biblical.”
Needless to say, it crushed me a bit and made me much sadder for souls who don’t have people praying for them and the whole thing in general.
And not gonna lie, my blood was boiling as y’all read off the quotes alleged by Hilden, especially the ironic line about revealing ‘truths’ to others! I felt bad for Lucy, who knew the truth about what kind of man her father was and wasn’t able to clear the lie up before it took off. Glad to see though that she and others didn’t give up, though.
Nicholas Black Elk sounds like he was a funny, interesting, faithful human being. Hope his cause continues forward 😇🙏 along with the causes for other souls who are unfortunately getting caught in the cross fires of political and social forces. A saint is a saint, and we on earth do a great disrespect to them and God by not giving them proper honor 😢
Great episode, as usual! Will definitely be praying for his beatification.
Loved it also because our family has a connection to the Lakota. My great-grandparents had a ranch near Plum Creek, and my grandfather's family went to Mass on the Cheyenne River Reservation at St Joseph Church in Cherry Creek, SD. He always had a great respect for the Lakota and sadness over injustices against them. After Grandpa died, my family and I toured the area and went to Mass there too. Later I took my kids to St Joseph's Indian School in Chamberlain, where we toured the fascinating Akta Lakota Museum and Cultural Center. It was so neat to hear references in this episode to a lot of the places my grandfather spoke about.
Thank you for doing this particular episode!
Really enjoyed these two Episodes. I am a Texas transplant to Wisconsin. One of the towns north of the Madison area where my wife's family has roots is "Waunakee". The town slogan is "The only Waunakee in the world". According to Wikipedia: The name "Waunakee" has a Native American origin meaning "fair and pleasant valley.". I thought the resemblance to the Lakota word for Savior was very intersting. Keep up the great work!
@Jimmy Akin. Definitely one of my very favorite episodes.
This is amazing, st Nicholas is one of our household’s favourite Saints and my son took Nicholas as he’s confirmation name. Definitely will be adding Nicholas Black Elk to my prayers.
Thanks for sharing your family story. I also called my father's father "Pawpaw" and helped to get him a priest for his sacrament of the Anointing, for which I was the only other person present, before he died. Memories I will never forget. And yes, firearms safety is something worth being semi-neurotic about; the consequences are just too grave.
I just love your channel, the way you tell the story is just perfection and the way you analyze it .
I never heard of Black Elk ,thank you for this.
This is one of my favorite episodes, Jimmy. Thanks for all the time and work put into this. I'm going to read the book by Father Michael.
Thank you so much for sharing this amazing story. I discovered my non Native American great grandparents were married in a Catholic mission on an Indian reservation. I have no idea how that came about so I guess it's a personal mystery to unravel.
As part of a group from the Albany, NY Diocese where St Kateri was born, I was at her canonization in Rome in 2012. The next day there was a Mass of thanksgiving in St Peters and the celebrant Archbishop Chaput who is at least part native American began the ceremony with a short prayer and dance to the 4 directions.
"After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree." Rev 7:1
Great 2 episodes, Jimmy. I’d never heard of Black Elk. What a fascinating man & seems to be very holy. I pray his cause for canonization continues all the way to Saint.🙏❤️
Not only did the release of this episode happen to coincide with the Memorial of St. Kateri Tekakwitha (as previous commentators pointed out), but it also coincides with the publication of an article about the Australian Smoking Ceremony in The Pillar (July 12). The article includes quotes from Archbishop Chaput (a member of the Potawatomi Nation) about Native American smoke ceremonies.
Wonderful 2 part series! Loved it! God bless!
Love this episode!! So excited to hear about holy people who we can look to for example. More stories about the Saints please (and potential Saints). One about Father Kapaun would be awesome!
I have always been fascinated with Native American culture, especially those of the plains natives. Thank you for sharing this with us and showing how Catholicism was out there and I had no clue..
Jimmy does this episode purposefully correspond with St. Kateri’s feast day?
No! That was an act of divine providence! I did not realize that July 14th was St. Kateri Tekakwitha's feast day in the United States when I schedule this episode! Wow! What a blessing to have the Christian Black Elk episode come out on this day! Thanks so much for pointing it out!
That's awesome.
Loved this episode! Thanks, Jimmy!
Great episodes! Watched the popular "Yellowstone 1923" series which painted a VERY different picture of the Lakota and Jesuit, sadly.
Such a fantastic presentation of critically important history. Consider me a new subscriber and fan of your channel!! God bless you, for real! 🙏❤️
Awesome! Thank you so much! God bless you, too!
Jimmy and Dom, I liked hearing about Annie Oakley. I live about 5 miles away from her grave in Darke County, Ohio, just south of the tiny "town" of Brock. Today (July 26) is the Annie Oakley Days festival. You should come out to see it sometime and call a square dance while you're at it, we do plenty of that here!
After an evening at the Eagle & Child respectfully peppering the two famous dons with questions, the eager undergraduate asked, "Prof. Tolkien, in your opinion, which religion holds the key to happiness?" With a wry smile and a twinkle in his eye, the author of The Hobbit and The Lord of Rings lit the last of his tobacco and replied, "Personally, I've always held to the religion of the pipe." [source: apocryphal]
So happy for you and your family Jimmy prayers of support
Thanks Jimmy and congratulations on the move home and God Bless.
I found his story to be inspiring. I find it fitting that you released it on the Feast of St. Kateri Tekakwitha as well. I hope he becomes canonized one day. As for the peace pipe, I'm not sure all of what that ritual would necessarily involve, but I can see how smoking a pipe can be a kind of prayer. I enjoy a good pipe every once in awhile and I usually take time to meditate and contemplate while doing so, because it's quiet and I find it to be relaxing, same with cigars.
🌹I have smoked the sacred pipe, and been in many sacred sweat lodge rituals. My first sweat lodge was very sacred and the water pourer/medicine man was Catholic, and it was very apparent by his praying during the very long, very hot sermonies. It was an amazing, Spiritual experience! I shall pray for his canonization. Thank you for this program.🙏
One good thing about Catholicism is using all sorts of investigating tools like science, medicine, logic, philosophy, … and you name it, to determine the truth regardless of cost, in-order to know, follow and do God’s will. Many Protestants instead follow their own personal choices, preferences to set up their own congregations and later dominations. King Henry VIII is one of the many examples.
My Evangelical friend sometimes liked playing God and said “You go to hell! He goes to hell!” I had to remind him that’s God business and not his.
I FIND THIS SO AMAZING AND I DO BELIEVE THAT THE INDIANS WERE VERY STRONG PEOPLE IN THEIR SPIRITUAL WAYS SO IF THIS MAN BLACK ELK FOUND THE TRUE FAITH HE WAS DEFINITELY VERY STRONG IN THE FAITH 🙏
I HAVE TWO CHILDREN THEIR MOTHER IS PURE NATIVE AMERICAN NAVHO AND IIVE BROUGHT THEM UP IN THE FAITH MY SON WHICH IS ONLY 6 HAS SEEN JESUS AND THE BLESSED MOTHER !🙏🙏
Thank you for sharing this well researched video. I enjoyed it very much.
As I native from both northern and southern First Nations , we respect all ways of peaceful life, that’s not to say we lose “our” way of life(culture). i.e. our deeper understanding of the life force and spirit of this fabric(Mother Earth) of space.
Remember how St. Philip Neri clowned around? Shaved off half his beard and behaved as if he hadn’t done anything strange, that sort of thing?
My uncle is a barber, and I have a childhood memory of him doing this to another uncle's beard. They let the family take some photos before cutting the other half.
Learning quite a lot from this, thank you so much.
I live very near Manderson. Does anyone know if one can go visit the grave and town?? Looks very rural. Great video
An episode on the Chinese rites controversy would be pretty interesting
Great story, interrupted by way too many commercials which required refreshing.
Great episode! Hopefully, the neihardts repented for their lies and slander before they died.
I'm always surprised "Joining me today is Jimmy Akin," on Jimmy Akin's Mysterious World 😋
Maybe he’ll retire one day and Dom will say “joining us today is Todd Jambon!”
@@ricdimarco1499 haha. There is only one Jimmy Akin. Giant shoes to fill.
Hi jimmy Akin i just happen to see your program when giong through my ipad looking at the stories and so on i like stories about the North American indians and occasionally something catches my eye and so i switched your channel on anyway it was very interesting indeed and when iv got a bit more patience I’ll listen to it again one thing though I’d like to say that although its a wonderfull thing if papa black elk gets the title saint its only for his earthly recocnition because where he is in the heavenly realms he doesnt need to be recognised by anyone god knows who he is and thats all that matters I mean i hope he does get the saint hood but actually like i said its only an earthly thing i love the catholic saints but im not catholic ilove all saints from wherever or whatever genuine religioun personally i feel if we feel a closeness to an Saintly person recocnised or not its all good we all know in our hearts whether thats true or not and doesnt need approval by a group of men who like to knit pick according to their own beliefs or the beliefs of the church but i suppose the approval and especially by the pope is important but in my view their is no such thing in the heavenly realms there is no need for that it doesnt excist in the highest heavenly realms god knows who you are and there is only love ❤️ only love ❤️ only love ❤️ human concepts do not excist in the realms of love all pervasive joy and happiness without boundaries otherwise it wouldnt be god would it if there are conditions and boundaries its none excistent anyway its only for our own attachments and a kind of comforter for our limited mind set thats all anyway thankyou for the very interesting account of black elks life story and like you said theres a lot more to his life that can be told thankyou again ☮️☮️☮️💟💟💟🕉️🕉️🕉️☸️☸️🛐🛐✝️🌈🌈🌈☔️☔️☔️🍀🌷💐🌹❤️🥰😍💐🌷🌹🇳🇿🇳🇿🇲🇨🇲🇨🇺🇦🇺🇦🌎🌸peace and love to all without exception
Great episode!
Jimmy, is there on Your list a case of Aimee Semple McPherson's disappearance?
Hey! December 6th is my son’s baptism day!
Tyvm
I hope he is canonized
Interesting. A priest at my parish mentioned something about how the "Indians" who had converted to Catholicism were treated poorly i.e. persecuted by Protestants (reservation system). I mean to look further into this when I have time. One doesn't hear too much about this, although there are some books on the topic.
If I have questions about the faith, is this TH-cam comment section a good place to ask (for both Jimmy and/or Catholic viewers) ?
Thank you. Fascinating. Do you think Buffalo Calf woman may have been the Blessed Mother?
Around 1:32 mark: That is a HUGE censer!
Pope Benedict XVI is there observing, in the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral (Spain). It is the largest church “thurible” in the world, loved by all pilgrims that undertake the Camino pilgrimage. Only used for about 10 FeastDays in the year.
I listened as a podcast, but just popped over to say that you can't drop a bomb like "a.k.a. Flaming Rainbow" and expect people not to want to know the story behind that name that aged like fine milk.
Dom's wife has a good voice.
The sweat lodge ceremony sounds like a sauna.
Couldn’t the second quote about only believing in the pipe also be a joke? I could see someone when asked by someone close about his beliefs make a joke saying “the only thing I believe in is the pipe” with the joke being he really really liked to smoke.
Jimmy. Can one publicly ask for intersessions from a "servant of God" like we would any other saint, or must we instead pray to God that the dearly departed cause advance to sainthood?
What happened at Wounded Knee was a massacre not a battle. The people were dancing and praying when the soldiers rode up and started shooting, mostly unarmed participants. They were men, women and children, including elderly. Takeri Tekawitha (notice the "w") is the name of the Mohawk saint. The "i" is pronounced like long "e".
Was he a Christian Catholic?
When was he baptized?
December 1906
Any person who ever watched Aurther Penns little big man and has read Black Elk Speaks can tell the writer obviously red this book and used much of it for his book little big man.
Grandfather in little big man was taken after Black Elk some of his visions they scene on Harney Peak where Geandfather goes to die and it rained etc run parallel to the book black elk speaks.
So many things in the book little big man are the same .
I have watched the movie little big man hundreds of time read Black Elk speaks Dozens of time to compare these these events and historical contexts and events in Black Elks early life.
This was Black Elk the fourth
There are TH-cam videos where you can see and hear him speak first hand
What a tragic story.
Was really hoping you were coming to your OTHER home which is TEXAS! Oh well, best wishes anyway. Not too far away.
I want Blackrobes for my children…GOD BLESS REDCLOUD.
Have you ever heard about The Black Eagle?
There are stories of a “Great White God” from Alaska down to South America . God is no respecter of persons. The Book of Mormon in 3Nephi chapters 11-26 is one account of the resurrected Christ’s ministry among a group of indigenous people who had survived a series of volcanoes, earthquakes and whirlwinds, causing darkness for 3 days. He taught them the way to live truth💞
In hindsight, the holy state of humility or beyond the common definition of humble that a true Saint would embody, they most likely would be horrified to be canonized and sainted while in this first realm body so to speak.
I wonder if st.Lucie was crucified on Lakota land or which native American tribes land? Not sure why that would be pertinent but the horror of her execution at the hand of her demented bio father might have left a innocent saints mark so to speak.
Black Elk is my spirit guide. I'm serious
It can give one pause for the cause that post mortem is the prerequisite to Saint in catholic. Perhaps it's God's plan and a form of work which shouldn't be harmful while on earth. Yet how rare to have such a job when most probably work 65 hours a week to pay rent and utilities let alone sustenance.
Interesting. So Jimmy, when you’re talking and telling us the stones, you’re kind of looking through the audience! Your eyes I guess or reading stuff but I don’t feel personally that you’re talking to me. I’ve seen this on other ones of your shows and that’s fine but it’s not making you enjoy it very much because you are not speaking to me directly you are reading something and I get it but maybe you could be more personalized? This is interesting stuff but it’s kind of weird maybe that’s why I should because it is weird but anyway I’m just telling you that because you would have a bigger audience I think if you were more endearing.
Thank you for what you do give us some consideration please
Rodriguez Betty Gonzalez Thomas Lee John
I do have a question though. I imagine that Christianity is important to share with those who are not Christian because Jesus Christ is the son of God.
But my question is why does it have to be Catholic? I’m Catholic but I find that the Catholic faith did a lot of forcing of people.
I don’t know if the Protestant missionaries did the same I don’t know.
But I always feel like the native people had to do what the Catholic way said.
I think that Jesus Christ is who we try to share people with, but the Catholic faith is always push their religion and I don’t like that.
It seems that the missionaries that weren’t Catholic maybe had a better way of doing it I don’t know?
So the fact that they made Blackhawk succumb to all the Catholic practices is I guess OK but I find that a little annoying.
I don’t know if I’m wrong or right but I guess that’s all they knew to do.
I’m glad they became lovers of Jesus Christ, of course. But there is this Catholic pride that I don’t like. She just likes and loves everybody and you don’t have to be Catholic for him to love you. Anyway, it’s interesting for sure.
Because the Catholic Church is the only church established by the Lord Jesus Christ, and the only one to which He gave His Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Holy Eucharistic. That's why.
Some of the methods members have used during the years were not aligned with the Church's teaching about charity. Speaking truth with love. One of the greatest scandals is when her members do not act what they supposedly believe and many are turned off. Whether by sinful behavior or just bad example, they truly do not represent Holy Mother Church, especially when her Spouse called her members to love even their enemies.
There have not been many times when the Catholic Faith was forced on anyone, and I'm not talking about parents rearing their children. In the first part of this pair of episodes, Jimmy mentioned that Black Elk was baptized Episcopalian when he joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, because all the performers were required to be Episcopalian. That's coercion. Some years ago I saw a documentary of non-Catholic Christian missionaries in South America encountering a tribe that lived very primitively, going naked except for a thin belt. The missionaries didn't try to get to know the people, they just immediately started trying to put shirts and pants on the children. While it's good to teach them modesty, you don't just go around putting clothes on people in their homeland. That's coercion. Maybe there have been priests, nuns, and Catholic laymen who have done things like that, but that's not exactly official policy of the Catholic Church as a whole. If you had seen this entire video, you would have heard about how Chief Red Cloud begged the US government to permit his people to be Catholic. The government refused to allow them to be Catholic because only one religious denomination was permitted on each Indian reservation, and Chief Red Cloud's reservation was assigned _by the US government_ to be Episcopalian. That's coercion. Eventually Chief Red Cloud's people were allowed to freely practice their Catholic Faith.
"Real religion is the transformation of anxiety into laughter."
Alan Watts
"A life is either all spiritual or not spiritual at all. No man can serve two masters. Your life is shaped by the end you live for. You are made in the image of what you desire."
Thomas Merton
“Those we call saints rebelled against an outmoded and inadequate form of God on the basis of their new insights into divinity.”
Rollo May
“Many of the insights of the saint stem from his experience as a sinner.”
Eric Hoffer
"Love is the essence of all religion, mysticism, and philosophy, and for the one who has learned this, love fulfills the purpose of religion, ethics, and philosophy, and the lover is raised above all diversities of faiths and beliefs."
Hazrat Inayat Khan
"The most amazing fact about Jesus, unlike almost any other religious founder, is that he found God in disorder and imperfection-and told us that we must do the same or we would never be content on this earth."
Richard Rohr
“Bull excrement” 😂
Only God is supernatural, Angels and Demons are Preternature.
The christian view is this; the eyes of a newborn baby have not seen God. Their soul has been created by God at the very moment of conception, so they are completely new to life. It is a pagan, and not a christian view, to say that a soul comes from Wakan Tanka. It is also a pagan view to say that it is a manifestation of the sacred (or the divine). We are creatures. We have been created in the image of God, and we are not manifestations of God. There is an important difference. When the Church says we have been created in the image of God, it means, we have an eternal soul, that is created at some point in time, but will never cease to be, she will live eternally, just like God. The soul has intelligence, love and a free will, just like God Himself, she has all the faculties to become a child of God and a Saint. God has created us for Himself, with the purpose to love and enjoy Him eternally. That is the reason why no pleasures of the world can ever completely satisfy us. The soul will be happy, when it enjoys the beatific Vision of God in Heaven.
People were with God before birth. They are of the first earth age when satan rebelled. Do we could be born innocent and make a clear decision. Of course we dont remember that.
@joni3503 -- the Church does teach that at the moment of conception there is eternal life in the womb. She doesn't teach anything about what that tiny little living being is aware of. It may very well be that at the moment of conception, the little one saw her Creator, but we don't know because He hasn't told us, and the Church hasn't defined it for us. Especially not when Nicholas Black Elk lived! He never saw an ultrasound! Personally, because I'm free to think of these things and even believe what seems right to me in regards to the awareness of very young souls, I don't think it's likely that they see God the Father, because at the moment of conception each soul is under the devil's jurisdiction, and remains so until baptism. But I do think it's possible that they may behold the Word of God, Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of Man, the Word made flesh. And Nicholas Black Elk was free to believe this if it made sense to him, because the Church hasn't defined it. It might seem pagan to you, and you're free to believe that, but the Church hasn't said that. Even Saint and Doctor of the Church Thomas Aquinas refused to write any more after he was rewarded with being shown the full truth of the things he only speculated about. It's said that he fell to the floor in amazement, and declared, "All I have written is straw!" That's humbling. It means it's not possible to know everything unless God reveals it to us, whether individually or to many.
@@kimfleury I say the eyes/soul of a small new child in the womb of mother, have not seen God because the soul is not capable of perceiving God, unless baptised. The Church does teach that, she says the child is affected by original sin. And no soul on this earth may see God, with the exception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Black Elk, YES. Catholic Church, NO.
Black Hawk is already a saint who has returned to the Creator. Why does he need canonization from the Catholic church? Why do Catholics waist sooo much time on this nonsense?
Of course Heȟáka Sápa is as Saintly as any Saint need be.
He is a Saint to me, and our little Orthodox community.
He is continually čhékiye for inspiration and strength to walk the Čhaŋkú Lúta.
It is sad to see the Romans be sooo slow to move forward on some one so deserving, and for a people so needing.
Wakȟáŋ Tȟáŋka ničhiuŋpi