Ben Black Elk

Benjamin Black Elk (17 May 1899 – 22 February 1973)[3][2] of the Oglala Lakota people was an actor and educator known as the "fifth face" of Mount Rushmore. The son of Black Elk and Kate Black Elk, Benjamin played an uncredited role in the 1962 film How the West Was Won.[2]

Ben Black Elk
Born(1899-05-17)May 17, 1899
Manderson, South Dakota
DiedFebruary 22, 1973(1973-02-22) (aged 73)[1]
Manderson, South Dakota[2]
Known for"The Fifth Face of Mount Rushmore"
Parents
RelativesCrazy Horse

Early life

Benjamin was the sixth in line to carry the name "Black Elk".[1] Born in Manderson, South Dakota, Benjamin's early life was itinerant, and he was moved to Ivyland, Pennsylvania and lived with farmer Russell K. Edwards, attending the Carlisle Indian Industrial School from 10 October 1914 to 10 July 1917.[4] His mother Kate Black Elk had already died in 1903.[5] His father Black Elk, "practically blind" asked for his son's help in farming and in "care of his stock" in May 1917, but the younger Black Elk was not sent home until after his father died, due to lack of funds. In the 1930s he served as an interpreter for the interviews with his father that became John G. Neihardt's book "Black Elk Speaks".[2] Baptized Catholic, he has said of himself, "I have lead two lives–one as a Christian and one as a believer of the Indian religion."[3]

Life and career

In 1967 he testified before the United States Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare, Special Subcommittee on Indian Education, saying "We have good schools all right, but they are getting away from our culture so fast it isn't funny."[6] He also contributed a whitepaper on the "Educational Needs of Pine Ridge Reservation".[7] At the time, Senator George McGovern of South Dakota found it "notable" that the subcommittee had "chosen to hear from a number of Indian spokesmen" in its first hearings. [7]

Death and legacy

To honor the "unofficial greeter" at Mount Rushmore for 27 years, South Dakota's Tourism Bureau has awarded the Ben Black Elk Award for lifetime achievement in tourism annually since 1980.[8] He is remembered as the most photographed indigenous person in the U.S.[9]

References
  1. "Ben Black Elk Is Dead; 'Fifth Rushmore Face'". New York Times. 24 February 1973. p. 32. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  2. Kilen Ode, Jeanne (25 March 1984). "Dakota Images" (PDF). South Dakota History. South Dakota State Historical Society. 14 (1). Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  3. DeSersa, Esther Black Elk; Pourier, Olivia Black Elk; DeSersa Jr., Aaron; DeSersa, Clifton (1 March 2003). Black Elk Lives: Conversations with the Black Elk Family. U of Nebraska Press. p. Part I, Page 4. ISBN 978-0-8032-6207-2. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  4. "Benjamin Black Elk Student File". carlisleindian.dickinson.edu. Carlisle Indian School Digital Resource Center. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  5. "Black Elk". www.nps.gov. U.S. National Park Service. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  6. Bigart, Homer (15 December 1967). "TRIBAL LEADERS ASSAIL SCHOOLS; Tell Senate Panel Indian Children Are Alienated". New York Times. p. 11. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  7. Hearings before the special subcommittee on Indian education of the Committee on Labor and Public Welfare, United States Senate, Ninetieth Congress, First and Second Sessions on the Study of the Education of Indian Children, Part I. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1969. pp. 40–43. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  8. "History of the Ben Black Elk Award". sdvisit.com. South Dakota Department of Tourism. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  9. "Ben Black Elk Most Pictured Indian in U.S." cdnc.ucr.edu. The Desert Sun. 19 July 1963. Retrieved 10 July 2022.

Further reading
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