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Black Elk
Crazy Horse is a Lakota chief, holy man, warrior, and Black Elk’s second cousin. Black Elk admires Crazy Horse and grows up hearing stories of his bravery. According to Black Elk, Crazy Horse became a chief after he had a vision as a boy, and it is Crazy Horse’s sacred, visionary power that makes him such a powerful warrior and protects him from harm. He is a prolific warrior, having fought in the Fetterman Fight, the Fight with Three Stars (the Battle of the Rosebud), and the Battle of Little Bighorn. Everyone respects Crazy Horse, though he behaves somewhat reclusively when not in battle, rarely talking to anyone and never singing and dancing with the other Lakota, except with small children. Crazy Horse repeatedly fights on behalf of his people and their land, refusing to surrender to the Wasichus (white people) and relocate his people to government agencies. In 1877, Crazy Horse is murdered while resisting arrest at the Red Cloud Agency. His death greatly affects the Lakota. Black Elk sees Crazy Horse’s death as contributing significantly to his people’s decline, and he wonders whether his people would still have control of the Black Hills if Crazy Horse hadn’t died.
Crazy Horse Quotes in Black Elk Speaks
The Black Elk Speaks quotes below are all either spoken by Crazy Horse or refer to Crazy Horse. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 7
Quotes
He was a queer man. Maybe he was always part way into that world of his vision. He was a very great man, and I think if the Wasichus had not murdered him down there, maybe we should still have the Black Hills and be happy. They could not have killed him in battle. They had to lie to him and murder him.
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Chapter 10
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But only crazy or very foolish men would sell their Mother Earth. Sometimes I think it might have been better if we had stayed together and made them kill us all.
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How could men get fat by being bad, and starve by being good? I thought and thought about my vision, and it made me very sad; for I wondered if maybe it was only a queer dream after all.
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Chapter 11
Quotes
It does not matter where his body lies, for it is grass; but where his spirit is, it will be good to be.
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Chapter 12
Quotes
I was fifteen years old that winter, and I thought of my vision and wondered when my duty was to come; for the Grandfathers had shown me my people walking on the black road and how the nation’s hoop would be broken and the flowering tree be withered, before I should bring the hoop together with the power that was given me, and make the holy tree to flower in the center and find the red road again. Part of this had happened already, and I wondered when my power would grow, so that the rest might be as I had seen it in my vision.
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Crazy Horse Quotes in Black Elk Speaks
The Black Elk Speaks quotes below are all either spoken by Crazy Horse or refer to Crazy Horse. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 7
Quotes
He was a queer man. Maybe he was always part way into that world of his vision. He was a very great man, and I think if the Wasichus had not murdered him down there, maybe we should still have the Black Hills and be happy. They could not have killed him in battle. They had to lie to him and murder him.
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Chapter 10
Quotes
But only crazy or very foolish men would sell their Mother Earth. Sometimes I think it might have been better if we had stayed together and made them kill us all.
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How could men get fat by being bad, and starve by being good? I thought and thought about my vision, and it made me very sad; for I wondered if maybe it was only a queer dream after all.
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Chapter 11
Quotes
It does not matter where his body lies, for it is grass; but where his spirit is, it will be good to be.
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Chapter 12
Quotes
I was fifteen years old that winter, and I thought of my vision and wondered when my duty was to come; for the Grandfathers had shown me my people walking on the black road and how the nation’s hoop would be broken and the flowering tree be withered, before I should bring the hoop together with the power that was given me, and make the holy tree to flower in the center and find the red road again. Part of this had happened already, and I wondered when my power would grow, so that the rest might be as I had seen it in my vision.
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