Black Elk Speaks DB#1

For me, this text seemed to connect very much with my reaction to Earthlings. I must say, it did not phase me as much as it did others, but it still had a significant impact on my outlook on the treatment of animals and just how ignorant we are. After watching, I made the decision to give up eating meat other than chicken and fish (red meat, if you will). To many, I understand that this may seem silly and somewhat contradictory. People argue that if I'm giving up something, then I should give up everything. However, I knew that it would be a little unreasonable to assume that after the lifestyle I've grown up in, I would be able to do the entire thing. I try to make a difference because of this effect that Earthlings had on me. Black Elk's vision reminds me of how I responded. He describes how he and the horses "walked together side by side, while the blacks, the whites, the sorrels, and buckskins followed..." (Anthology 362). I felt a connection with the animals as I watched the video and this caused me to feel similar to how Black Elk felt after his vision: how he "remembered that [he] was to be like a relative with the birds" (368).

I understand that it may confuse people that I would give up some forms of meat and not others. They claim that if it is a matter of cruelty then it shouldn't matter what animal it is. However, the connections I made fall under certain categories for me. Just like many people wouldn't eat certain types of meat such as dog, dolphin, or monkey, I draw my lines to include other animals. My reaction to Earthlings is much like Black Elk's to his dream in which "I liked to think about it, but I was afraid to tell it" (360). I still am for that matter. I don't like to let on my view of the whole thing because people are constantly judging and criticizing the way I see things. It's all a matter of perspective, however. Which is how Black Elk sees things after his vision.

The connection Black Elk makes with the horses in his vision can also parallel with racism. The way they “walked together side by side” and how “suddenly the dancing horses without number changed into animals of every kind and into all the fowls that are” reminded me of my dream of world unity—a world where all people and animals fall under one category. The unity amongst the living things in the text could go along with many people’s goal for unity amongst all people of the Earth. However, Black Elk still conveyed a sense of hostility toward other creatures, much like the characters of Avatar. The tribal nature in which they live does not seem wholly conducive to unity amongst all creatures. Having pride for a certain group in which you belong can be harmful to the peace that so many strive for. The vision in which “the trees and grasses were not withered any more and murmured happily together” seems silly (366). The balance of nature should not depend upon one group’s triumph over another, but more upon how all creatures live in harmony.