John G. Neihardt taught English at the University of Missouri from 1949 to the early 1960s. One of his courses titled Epic America was immensely popular and always had a waiting list for admittance to the course. In the early 60s, the course was video-taped so it could be offered after his retirement from the […]
In this lecture, Larry Hutchins, producer and director of the Epic America series, interviews John Neihardt on the American history surrounding the Cycle of the West and covers Neihardt’s reasons for writing the Cycle. This introduction was filmed in 1962.
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In this Lecture, John Neihardt gives a traditional account of the origin of the Sioux and a fascinating view into the time-honored way of the Hoop of the People as told to him by his spiritual father, Black Elk. In the lecture, drawing heavily on Black Elk’s teachings, Neihardt goes into detail about the Origin […]
The Song of the Indian Wars deals with the last great fight for the bison pastures of the Plains between the westering white men and the prairie tribes—the struggle for the right of way between the Missouri River and the Pacific Ocean. Since the period was of of crucial importance in the process of our […]
His meeting with the Sioux holy man Black Elk, John G. Neihardt once said, was the most memorable experience of his life. In 1930, while working on the concluding poem of his Cycle Of The West, Neihardt had gone to the Pine Ridge Reservation hoping to find “some old medicine man who had been active […]
The Song of the Messiah is the final Song of A Cycle of the West, by John G. Neihardt. This Song deals with the ghost dance movement of the Native Americans in the late 1800s. The series is seven lectures. Each lecture, designed to fit a college course schedule is approximately 42 to 45 minutes […]
During the talks Neihardt had with Black Elk, and later with Eagle Voice, there were many stories and tales of the lives of the people that were told to Neihardt by both men. They had been handed down from story teller to listener for generations and Neihardt took them and put the stories to pen […]
In this Lecture, John Neihardt faithfully retells the story of Eagle Voice’s Vision Quest he experienced in his youth. The information presented comes directly from Eagle Voice, who told it to Neihardt in great detail in 1944 when Eagle Voice was 93. Much attention is paid to each detail of the Vision Quest that was […]
In this Lecture, John Neihardt faithfully retells the story of Eagle Voice’s participation in the Sun Dance. The information presented comes directly from Eagle Voice, who told it to Neihardt in great detail in 1944 when Eagle Voice was 93. Much attention is paid to each detail of the great event of the Sun Dance, […]
