They say that at one time we were civilized and educated. My grandfather told me that. They say we could talk to the trees and all the green. They say we could talk to the winged-people, the four-legged, creeping-crawlers, mammals and fish-people. They say that at one time we could all talk to each other. No matter how many countless languages, forms and shapes, and symbols there were, they say we all spoke the same mind. That is called civilized or educated.
Well, we kind of drifted away from there and drifted over here. Now we call ourselves the civilized, Christianized world, but we just formed a little world all of our own. Then we got ourselves caught over here without spirit, and we ended up with zero.

Wallace Black Elk, Oglala Sioux


A short interview with Wallace Black Elk