The gift of the sacred pipe

This book is an illustrated edition of Black Elk's account of the seven sacred rites of the Oglala Sioux. Vividly portraying the arrival of the White Buffalo Woman on the Plains, the paintings and charcoals by Vera Louise Drysdale highlight dramatic elements of the ancient rituals she imparted, and they show everyday objects that were sanctified in the Sioux cosmology. The sacred pipe is the central instrument in the holy rites of the Sioux people. The White Buffalo Woman appeared on the Plains to give the pipe to the Sioux so that they might "send their voices" to Wakan-Tanka, the Great Sp...