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Avis Little Eagle
Standing Rock Tribal Member Avis Little Eagle, has served as Councilwoman, Vice Chairwoman and Councilwoman-at-large for the Standing Rock Sioux tribe.

She is a 1987 graduate of Sitting Bull College and attended Black Hills State University where she majored in Mass Communications with a minor in Native Studies.

She began her career as a journalist in 1990, working at The Lakota Times Newspaper. She eventually worked her way from newspaper reporter to managing editor at the newspaper, which later became Indian Country Today. She reside's in McLaughlin, S.D., where she also is the publisher of the Teton Times, a newspaper covering the Standing Rock Sioux and Cheyenne River Sioux Reservations.

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[By] Historian 2008/07/29 07:21 AM
I read all of the 10-part series that Avis Little Eagle wrote back in 1991 and 1992 titled Exposing The Fake Medicine Men And Women, for Indian Country Today newspaper. The following is an example of one of those articles in the series I happened to have in my files, which talks about Wallace Black Elk, Sicangu Lakota, born 1921 - died 2004.

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"Sacred Pipe Keeper Fears Feds Will Step In"
by Avis Little Eagle
Indian Country Today (The Lakota Times)
7 July 1991

Rapid City, SD -- Putting a price tag on Native American spirituality has become a way of life for many pseudo-medicine men and women who make a highly profitable living. Several magazines and fliers are circulated around the country, promoting Native American ceremonies and workshops that charge a fee to participants. Many others are more subtle, asking for contributions. It is getting hard to discern which tribe's rites are being promoted. Ceremonies are crossing tribal boundaries and mixing until it is hard to tell which rituals are authentic and which ones are made up.

The Lakota Times has a formidable collection of these fliers. Among them is one from Wapaha Canku Luta, Inc., (Red Road Society). It asks for con- tributions to perform a Sun Dance ceremony and offers national and overseas workshops on: Lakota Language, Understanding the Vision Quest, Understanding the Sun Dance, and the Sacred Pipe.

One 'New Age' man is Sun Bear, who claims to be a sacred teacher of the Chippewa. One of his advertisement reads, 'Sun Bear is looking for Spiritual Warriors. Become an apprentice.' According to these advertisements, he is an expert on crystals and 'The Path Of Power.' He has conducted the Sun Dance and charged non-Indians to participate in this sacred rite of the Sioux. It is not native to the Chippewa tribe. Mr. Sun Bear founded the Bear Tribe Medicine Society, which claims to be a group of people striving to re-learn their proper relationship with the earth. He has written several books, 'At Home in the Wilderness,' 'Buffalo Hearts,' 'The Bear Tribe's Self Reliance Book' and 'The Medicine Wheel: Earth Astrology.' Mr. Sun Bear writes a lot about mystic power, shamanism, and crystal healing. A Lakota man, who lived in Albuquerque, N.M. for several years, said Mr. Sun Bear uses a pipe studded with crystals which he claims 'could be wiser than man.' Mr. Sun Bear claims to have founded the first new tribe of this century. Because he is geared to 'New Age' people, it is hard to say which ceremonies are actually Chippewa, pan-Indian, or totally fabricated. The worst thing is that there are people out there who will pay large sums of money to seek ties to the earth and to fill a spiritual void within themselves. They never know when they encounter a true medicine man or are being taken in, for their money.

Another 'medicine woman' who is bilking the public out of its money is Marilyn Youngbird, an Arikara, from For Berthold, N.D. She advertises ceremonies to help people learn about themselves and to test their endurance, entitling them a 'Vision Quest.' Tim Giago, founder and publisher of the Lakota Times, heard of one such quest and joined a group of 38 people near Telluride, Colorado, to investigate the ceremony. Non- Indians were running the sweat and were preparing tobacco ties. Mr. Giago said participants had the most modern equipment and camping gear. A Japanese gentleman was out on the hill for his second day of a vision quest, the longest most people in this operation stayed out. The vision seeker was provided a dry, sleeping bag, because of the weeping skies, and a cup of water. In Mr. Giago's Pine Ridge Reservation experience, such a quest might last four days, but it was something agreed upon by the seeker and the holy man. The seeker went naked, except for his buffalo robe. And he consumed neither food nor water. Mr. Giago was appalled that this woman was performing ceremones in the wrong way and for the wrong reason -- money. She claimed it was her call in life to spread the spirituality of the Indian people -- for a price.

Wapaha Canku Luta, Inc., is run by Gerald Ice and Wallace Black Elk. Both are Rosebud Sioux who are capitalizing on Lakota spiritual ceremonies and are using honorable Indian names to lend credibility to the spiritual scams. Adelle Allison Hedgecoke-Lopez of Kyle, said she is upset that Mr. Black Elk and Mr. Ice use the Indian name of Bill Ice, her late fiance, and accept donations to Cangleska Maza (Iron Hoop) Memorial Fund, when in fact the fund is just a means to fatten their wallets. The money is not going to any honorable cause. She said Wallace Black Elk's birth name is Wallace Running Horse and that he is the son of Arthur Running Horse. He is not related to the respected Oglala spiritual leader Black Elk, but perpetuates that belief to gain credibility, she said. Nor is he a medicine man as he claims. She said he started to act like one after the Wounded Knee occupation in 1973. Wallace is Gerald's mother's brother, Cangleska Maza was Gerald's brother's Indian name. He (Bill) was against what they were doing. They are using his name to get money from white people. To me it's disrespectful. He believed in the Indian way and walked that way. Gerald isn't a medicine man and neither is Wallace. It's called the Cangleska Maza Memorial Fund. They never had a memorial or anything. I had one for him (Bill) in December 1989, the year he died. They make a lot of money off of white people, thousands and thousands of dollars, but it don't go to nobody. There is no headstone on (Bill's) grave. I don't know what they do with the money but it doesn't go to where they say it is. They sell ceremonies and all the relatives get blamed for what these two guys are doing. They bought some land in Colorado. That is where they are going to have white people Sun Dance. My only concern is when Bill was still alive he tried to stop them from doing what they are doing. I want to protect Bill's relatives that aren't participating with them, so they won't be blamed for Wallace's and Gerald's behavior. I'm also concerned that they are using his name. In his last days, he tried to put a stop to what they were doing. I'm hurt they are using his name just to scam white people.

When Mr. Black Elk was associated with Ojai (California) Foundation, he was charging $1,200 for sweatlodge workshops, she said, and what they called a 'yuwipi' or spirit ceremony -- even though it wasn't a 'yuwipi.' They were also charging $350 to $700 for various other spiritual teaching. It's just crazy and sad too. My dad told me this is shaming all of us. Charlotte Black Elk of Wounded Knee, a granddaughter of the respected Oglala spiritual leader Black Elk, said Wallace Black Elk is disgracing her family name. She wants everyone to know he is in no way related to them and wishes he would stop perpetuating the myth that he is the grandson of the late spiritual leader. He's Rosebud and not no relation at all. I've never read his book but I was sent a photocopy of an introduction by Bill Lyons. It said Wallace isn't the blood grandson but the "spiritual grandson." This is a joke, she claims. No, he is not related to us. If people tell him, 'I read your grandfather's book [Black Elk Speaks],' he thanks them. He does everything to perpetuate that he is related. One of the things he did was to have a workshop and show one of the videos I did for Public TV. They said, 'Your daughter was great,' and he thanked them. Ms. Black Elk said she researched how Wallace came upon the name Black Elk. 'When I checked it out, it was a name they had in their family which used to be Black Cow Elk. Back then the Bureau (of Indian Affairs) wanted people to have two names or 10 letters in their name, so it was shortened to Black Elk.' Our name used to be Black Bull Elk. Wallace was one of the people censored by the Keeper of the Sacred Calf Pipe (Arvol Looking Horse of Green Grass). He had a whole list of people who were abusing the sacred pipe. He wanted people to know they were not medicine men.

(Wallace) started acting like a spiritual leader in the late 1970's. I always got the feeling he awaited until my grandfather died. One time I got a flier that Wallace was having a Sun Dance in the Black Forest in Germany. It was $90 for sweat, $1,000 to Sun Dance, and $5,000 to be adopted into the 'Elk' tribe. He has all these groupies and I really feel bad that some of these people are really looking for something. They are on a real spiritual quest. They are being sucked in by him and he's just using them for money.

Every time you turn around in white society they pay. It's their culture, so they never question having to pay medicine men. Mr. Looking Horse is spiritual leader, saddened that spirituality is being used for monetary gain. He wants the people to know there are ways to tell if someone who claims tobe a spiritual leader is legitimate. First of all, you don't ask for money, for any spiritual teachings or assistance with ceremonies. Second of all, they have close ties with their reservations and they are respected and recognized as spiritual leaders by their people. He said the legitimate holy man will speak the native language. Sacred words are handed down and you cannot be a spiritual leader without knowing your own language, he said. He also has found that a legitimate medicine man will have a spouse of his own culture. It is pretty hard to practice your spiritual religion with a spouse who has other beliefs. Mr. Looking Horse said he knows Wallace Black Elk and Mr. Sun Bear and has no faith in the ways they conduct themselves. He said a longtime friend called him recently and told him she saw Wallace Black Elk and Mr. Sun Bear on a Caribbean cruise. They were doing sweat- lodge ceremonies for the voyagers. Mr. Looking Horse said he laughed when his friend told him there had been one point at which there was great fear the ship might sink. The friend described how Mr. Sun Bear practically climbed on top of women and children to get to the life boat, saying, 'I'm a medicine man I must be saved!'

Mr. Looking Horse said one of his main concerns is that the Lakota people became free to practice their spiritual beliefs only after the Freedom of Religion Act was passed. The government has tried to stifle freedom of religion by calling Indian beliefs paganistic. He fears that the government will use actions by people such as Mr. Sun Bear and Wallace Black Elk and Marilyn Youngbird, and other plastic medicine people, to put a stop to Native religious freedom. He urges people to look beneath the surface and examine the real motives of these so-called medicine men before being taken in by them.

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The other 9 articles in the series written by Avis Little Eagle and published in The Lakota Times edition of Indian Country Today were:

1991. After the Sweat: Caviar, Wine & Cheese.

1991. False Prophets Will Suffer.

1991. Lakota Rituals Being Sold.

1991. Medicine Men for Rent.

1991. 'Buck Ghosthorse': Lakota Impersonator.

1991. 'Oh Shinnah': Prophet for Profit.

1991. Paid Ads Call Her 'Medicine Woman'.

1992. Lakota Discuss Exploitation of Religion, Preserving Culture.

1992. 'Spiritual Orphans': Peddle Religion in Great Round.

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Note:

Black Elk (aka Nicholas Black Elk), Oglala Lakota from Pine Ridge, born 1863 - died 1950, was the subject of the following books...

Neihardt, John G.
"Black Elk Speaks: Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux", 1932, 1961, 1979, 1988, 2000.

Brown, Joseph E.
"The Sacred Pipe: Black Elk's Account of the Seven Rites of the Oglala Sioux", 1953, 1971, 1997.

DeMallie, Raymond J.
"The Sixth Grandfather: Black Elk's Teachings Given to John G. Neihardt", 1984.

Steltenkamp, Michael F.
"Black Elk: Holy Man of the Oglala", 1993.

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Note:

Wallace Black Elk (aka Wallace Running Horse), Sicangu Lakota from Rosebud, born 1921 - died 2004, was the subject of the following book...

Lyon, William S.
"Black Elk: The Sacred Ways of a Lakota", 1990.