What does the afterlife of an American Indian look like? Is it different from what you and I can expect?
Black Elk (1863-1950) was a shaman and visionary who twice visited the land of his ancestors.
His second trip was induced by an exhausting, ecstatic “ghost dance” ritual in the Lakota homelands of what is today South Dakota. He was 24 at the time and in good health.
Copilot summarizes the vision: “Black Elk is taken by spirit guides (into the spirit world). He travels upward, away from the earth. The world below becomes small and distant. A soft, glowing light surrounds him. This marks the boundary between the living world and the world of spirits.
“He enters a beautiful, green, sunlit land.
The land itself is alive. The grass is tall and shining. Flowers bloom everywhere. The people live in tipis that glow with light. There is no hunger, no fear, no sorrow.
“The air feels alive, gentle, and peaceful. (It is not a land of) punishment. He sees many people who had died, including relatives. They are healthy, joyful, and young again. No one is sick, wounded, or suffering. They greet him with warmth, as if welcoming him home. The dead are not lost; they are alive in a better world.”
Here are Black Elk’s exact words: “I saw a beautiful land where many, many people were camping in a great circle. I could see that they were happy and had plenty. Everywhere there were drying racks full of meat. The air was clear and beautiful with a living light that was everywhere. All around the circle, feeding on the green, green grass, were fat and happy horses; and animals of all kinds were scattered all over the green hills, and singing hunters were returning with their meat.”
Tipis, drying racks full of meat, singing hunters, fat and happy horses—these are details we don’t meet in the descriptions of “Summerland” by people like me, and most of you, who come from a different culture.
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