Posted by Rich on July 14, 2001 at 06:15:17:
Following up on a tip from Theresa, I had the good fortune to watch a 3 hour presentaion on Black Elk last night (preceeded by an interview with his great-grandaughter, Charlotte Black Elk).
The show, originally airing live this past Tuesday from Little Bighorn National Battlefield, featured personnel from the Battlefield, including curator, Kitty Deernose, & superintendent/historian, Neil Mangum. Done in a viewer call-in format, it also included writer/historian/professor, Paul Hutton ("Boone & Crocket: The Hunter Heroes") & an American Indian professor from the University of Kansas, the name of whom I cannot recall at the moment.
Besides showing some excellent panoramic shots of the Montana countryside where the battle was fought (Black Elk, age 13, was there), re-enactment footage, etc., etc., the show was one of the most honest, balanced, and fair presentations on the subject I have ever seen. It was fabulous. My only criticism would be of some of the assinine phone calls ... Here we had two scholars & other knowledgeable featured guests, really attempting (and suceeding, I might add) at presenting a factual & unbiased story of events, and the same old worn-out cliches & misstruths were being thrown out there by some of the callers. I really have to wonder about their "search for the truth." I found that extremely annoying, and was yelling at my TV set!
Thankfully, the show's experts handled it all very well. Catch it, if you can ... don't know if it'll be re-airing.
Though the show (The American Author series) was supposed to focus on the book "Black Elk Speaks," it really covered all tangents, with a heavy dose of Little Bighorn. "Black Elk Speaks" is a remarkable book ... one that caused me to sob uncontrollably for a good 15 minutes after completing the reading of it many years ago ... A must read!
Thank you, Theresa, for letting me know of this wonderful treat!