Reviews for A Retreat With Black Elk: Living in the Sacred Hoop

The average rating for A Retreat With Black Elk: Living in the Sacred Hoop based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2010-10-19 00:00:00 John Piegay An unusual work, both in content and genre, this is a short devotional book intended to be used during a spiritual retreat (or as a guide in individual mediation). Is part of a series of such books. Each one is based on the life and thought of some particular spiritual leader - with the emphasis on his spiritual practices. The intent is that by following a similar discipline, the attendee or reader will revive his religious feeling, deepen it, feel closer to God. I do not often read devotional literature - certainly have no desire to "do" a retreat. My purpose in buying this book was simply to learn more about Black Elk, a Oglala Sioux holy man. I had read his "The Sacred Pipe" - a book in which he describes the seven religious rites of the Lakota (e.g. the Sun Dance, Vision Quest), describes the complete ritual for each of them - explains their spiritual significance, their importance in the life of his people. He did this at the end of his life - told it all through a translator (his son) to Joseph E. Brown, who then published this material basically as it was presented to him - with scant commentary and with only a few words about Black Elk's life. I wanted to know more. Luckily, I found and read this short book by Marie There Archaubault, herself a Lakota and totally sympathetic to Native American spirituality while also a Franciscan nun, a faithful Catholic. As was Black Elk - a fact never hinted at by Brown. Not only was Black Elk baptized in 1904 but he worked for many years as a catechist teaching to the young Lakota Catholic doctrine. And he died in 1950, a faithful Catholic - received the Last Rites. Died just two years after providing Brown with what is the best primary source for understanding Lakota religion, the most complete description of it. Black Elk did so as a "wicasa waken" - a Sioux holy man - did so with more than just respect for the tradition - he presented it as being true - as being his own belief. Archaubault attempts a resolve these seemingly contradictory facts. Maintains that Black Elk's Catholicism was authentic, and that his faith was simply supplemented, deepened, enriched by Native American spirituality - by, for example, Native respect for the environment, for the oneness of Nature, of all living things. She highlights the positive values of Lakota spirituality - emphasizes whatever beliefs and practices resemble those of Catholicism (e.g. compares Lakota feasts with the Eucharist, the Sun Dance with the Passion). But these comparisons are strained - unconvincing. The religions are very different - (e.g., a triune conception of God to a pantheistic one). Archaubault, like Black Elk, is caught between two traditions. Respects both - but fails to reconcile the cognitive dissonance -fails to create a credible synthesis. So in the end what can be said about Black Elk's faith? Was his Catholicism genuine? or did he remain true to his ancestral beliefs - as seems self-evident to anyone reading "Sacred Pipe"? Or was he faithful to both? Illogically as it may seem, I believe it was the latter - believe that he was a "spirit person" - a man with a powerful, experiential awareness of the Transcendent - a man who knew "God" at a mystical level - one far too deep to be expressed in words or creeds or ritual. These cultural artifacts, conventions, were unimportant to him - were variable, inadequate, a poor attempt to express the ineffable, and, as such, had little to do with the heart of his spirituality, his inner feeling of closeness to, connection, to the ultimate reality, to all that is. So, rather than Archaubault's vague synthesis of native religion and Catholicism, the heart of Black Elk's spirituality, its integrity, lies in his openness to both belief systems, to the transcendence underlying both. He was a holy man, a "spirit person" in both traditions.

Review # 2 was written on 2020-03-21 00:00:00 Lori Shiffman I read this book in a small group setting. Although I found a lot of parts not applicable for someone in my age group it had a lot of practical life application exercises for living life in a more meaningful and relevant way.