Metaphor for Defeat
Black Elk, after having gone through so many battles and after seeing the horrible crimes committed against his people eventually comes to realize the bitter truth: the US government is hell-bent on making sure that his—and by extension all Native Americans—way of life is completely obliterated through various means. The US government, because of its participation in the destruction of a people and culture, become a metaphor for defeat. Not just their literal defeat in combat but also their defeat as a culture, and on a more personal level, Black Elk’s defeat as a leader to his people.
Metaphor for Hope
Black Elk participates in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show for some time and here he is able to practice his people’s shamanic rituals. This exotic way of life draws a dedicated group of curious participants, which eventually grows into a sizable following. Although his shamanic practices are really nothing more than a side show attraction and his role as a medicine man taken largely for entertainment and esoteric value he is still able to draw mainstream interest to his and his people’s way of life; in addition he is able to establish himself again as a medicine man. Despite the nature of Buffalo Bill’s traveling show, it is, at least for a brief moment, a metaphor of hope as it gives him a platform to draw attention and create interest for his people and his culture.
Metaphor for the Death of a Culture
While participating in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show Black Elk is able to once again don the traditional garb of the tribal medicine man and practice the ancient rituals of his people. In doing this he is able to, at least in his own personal capacity, fight against the death of his way of life. The US government has been hard at work denying the Native Americans of their traditional ancestral lands and herding them into reservations. This dehumanizing act of removing his people from their homes and, in effect, their entire way of life, is metaphorical for the death of a culture.
Metaphor for Idealism
Black Elk’s visions fill his mind with ideas of grandeur, but more than that, the visions fill his mind with a great idealism. This idealism born from his visions and supposed spiritual experiences cause him to believe, with a near fanaticism, in the best possible outcomes of battles they participate in. He believes these visions wholeheartedly as these dreams are supposed to lead up to the manifestation of his and his people’s greater destiny; that is, that they would prevail against those that oppose them. Unfortunately, things turn out very differently from his visions: key leaders are killed in battle and his people are unceremoniously hauled away to reservations, their ancestral lands confiscated.
Metaphor for Power
Even at a young age Black Elk had envisioned himself as destined for greatness. He had experienced a vivid dream full of symbolic meaning as young boy and in a culture that places great value upon such dreams he is immediately groomed to participate in tribal affairs from a position of influence. The title of tribal chief is more than just an honorary designation as the chief’s authority stems not just from ability and lineage but also upon the perceived supernatural favor he receives from his so-called spiritual experiences, and by extension the spiritual value placed upon him by the members of his community. Despite the complex role and set of expectations that the title of tribal chief carries one thing is clear: it is a definite metaphor for power.
