Jon M. SWEENEY. Nicholas Black Hawk: Medicine Man, Catechist, Saint. Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2012, pp. 122. $16.95 pb. ISBN 978-0-8146-4416-4. Reviewed by Dolores L. CHRISTIE, Cleveland, OH

This is the most recent offering in the Liturgical Press series, People of God, Remarkable Lives, Heroes of Faith. The concise volumes vary in the quality of writing and in their depth of understanding their subjects. This one, a rich corrective history indigenous people in the United States, is sparse on the inner life of the subject. In fairness, the author notes that his work is a “simple biography, not a work of spirituality.”

Historically, the corpus of literature on Nicholas Black Elk and Native Americans has been communicated largely through the tainted lens of caricature. Today it can reflect the narrow agenda shaped by contemporary tribal interests. Sweeney does a heroic job of moving beyond this impediment. Quoting a recent work by Robert Utley on Sitting Bull, this author strives to leave aside the “works that are good literature but bad history.”

The early chapters of the book discard the romantic tales of God-sanctioned western expansion for the real story of the people who lived there for so many centuries. In Part I the author extracts the meat from the lobster of Nick Black Elk’s early life. He was born in the late 1800s, a period of deep hardship for endemic tribes. He was a member of the Dakota nations, people pushed from their historic lands by the expansion of white settlers. The push, of course, was aided by military might and abetted by narratives of bias.

The exigencies of tribal life saw this young Ogala, a young cousin of Crazy Horse, become a warrior against the expanding enemy. Was he brutal?  Yes. He actually did scalp a man? Yes. Did he prostitute himself to the White culture by performing in traveling Wild West shows? Yes.  Yet within him was the deeply rooted spirituality of a medicine man. Even as a child he had visions. His “Great Vision” resonated with Catholic belief in a heavenly reality.

Part II details Elk’s conversion to Catholicism and his life as a catechist in a bipolar world. For him there was congruence between his identity as a tribal medicine man and his new life as a Catholic. Yet there was a pragmatic side to his conversion: “[his] children have to live in this world,” the world of White dominance.

Part III moves to his contemporary case for sainthood in the Catholic Church. Although he embraced the church with enthusiasm, not everyone appreciated his now-baptized gifts in a new setting. His healing ministry was seen by some as satanic. Maybe that was what caused his ulcers. Maybe his additional baptism would wash away the barriers. For sure his life, a marriage of two religious traditions, anticipated the ecumenical vision of Vatican II.

Nicholas Black Hawk died in the middle of the twentieth century, after several years of poor health.  He was buried in the holy ground of two traditions, Jesuits in attendance.  He is credited with bringing many into the church and responsibility for miraculous healings. He awaits official ecclesial recognition for his life.

This book is a quick read, which gives a well-researched snapshot of both the real history and the personal story of a remarkable man. The author provides a chronology of Black Elk’s life in relation to historical events as well as end notes and an index—always handy for the curious reader.