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Neihardt's good friend Eagle Elk
When the Tree Flowered, was drawn from materials gathered at Pine Ridge in the forties from Eagle Elk and other Indians. It draws delightful pictures of Sioux life, weaves in charming Indian folk tales and legends, and describes an enlightened society wherein generosity was the way to status, young men chosen to hunt for the poor were honored, and lying after smoking the peace pipe was unthinkable. The gently humorous wisdom that pervades the culture comes warmly to life.
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Neihardt's good friend Eagle Elk
| "....for the Great Mysterious One meant all things to be round--the sky and prarie, the sun and moon, the bodies of men and animals, trees and the nests of birds, and the hoop of the people. The days and the seasons come back in a circle, and so do the generations. The young grow old, and from the old young begin and grow. It is the sacred way." |
