Black Elk and Flaming Rainbow: Personal Memories of the Lakota Holy Man and John Neihardt

by Hilda Martinsen Neihardt

In 1931 John Neihardt traveled to Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota to interview Lakota elders who had witnessed the Ghost Dance and the Wounded Knee Massacre. He met Black Elk, and their two weeks of intense talks became Black Elk Speaks , one of the most important biographies of an American Indian ever published. Accompanying John Neihardt to help him observe and to take notes were his two daughters, Enid and Hilda.

 

For the first time Hilda Neihardt presents her memories of those interviews. She celebrates the days and nights of storytelling, camping, feasting, and horseback riding with the fresh eyes of a bright fourteen year old. The volume includes never-before-published photographs and answers many questions about the collaboration between the Lakota holy man and her father, called Peta Wigamou-Gke, or Flaming Rainbow.

158 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

Reviews

[Antonia Litsinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm excited to read this book. I've corresponded with and actually met Hilda Neihardt. This is the story behind her father, Jim Neihardt's book "Black Elk Speaks" and tells of their travel to Nebraska to meet the holy man and his family and friends. I really regret not keeping in touch with Hilda, who passed away in 2004.

This was a very good read for me. I remember being invited to visit the Sacred Hoop Garden she speaks of in this book in Bancroft, NE, when I went to the Jim Neihardt Days celebration in 1994.

[Peggy Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful behind-the-scenes account of the visit to Black Elk with her father John Neihardt. Hilda was a young girl at the time, and the recount of the meeting was an easy read, one I totally enjoyed.

[Nicolina Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful companion book to Black Elk Speaks. A more personal memoir of the time that Black Elk and the author's father spent together during the storytelling that produced Black Elk Speaks. Just served to increase my personal respect and reverence for the holy man, if that were at all possible!