A Note on the Heyoka Ceremony and the Ending of *Black Elk Speaks*

The ending to Black Elk seemed discontiguous. He initially ‘ends’ with the
seemingly definitive:  “There is no center any longer, and the sacred tree
is dead.” However, in the afterword the story continues and ends on a more
optimistic note. The two endings seem contradictory and there is little
reconciliation to be found between the two. The endings reminded me of a
passage found in the chapter called “Heyoka Ceremony” which I think
reflects the duality found in the last chapters of Black Elk. It says
“When a vision comes from the thunder beings of the west, it comes with
terror like a thunder storm; but when the storm of vision has passed, the
world is greener and happier.” Black Elk to me seems to be trying to say
that suffering and agony is followed by happiness and joy in the natural
order of things. “The world, you see, is happier after the terror of the
storm.” It seems to me that the ending of Black Elk is playing off the
fact that Black Elk’s visions are tied with the idea of a storm, as well
as the idea that suffering is inevitably followed by happiness. The vision
of suffering comes true in reality, but instead of ending with the circle
being broken and Black Elk’s personal failure, we see a light of hope. I
think this stems from said belief that troubles are inevitably followed by
their end. In Heyoka Ceremony, Black Elk compares suffering to a thunder
storm and I find it interesting that his visions seem to garner their
power from beings that are embodied in thunder and rain. The inclusion of
an afterword might also be playing off the idea that after a storm is over
greener pastures are sure to follow, the storm of course being the visions
seen by Black Elk. It seems like a bit of a stretch but I think this
interpretation could work.

~K. N.