ow and arrows, a white wing of cleansing, an herb to heal, a sacred pipe a flowering stick and the power to make live and to destroy were the tools that were given to him. Then, the Grandfathers showed Black Elk what was to become of his people. He was shown a holy tree which once had been flowering and was now gone. The people he was supposed to lead were thin and starving, and Black Elk cried as he saw the fate of his people.Once he was placed back in the world of his family he was enlightened yet confused. He was unable to do anything with the powers he was given until he was older. As he came to be a man, he was blessed with a gift of helping people. He worked curing illnesses until he felt it was time that his life should take another turn.In 1883, the last of the bison herds were killed. Black Elk could not understand why the Wasichus would kill animals without using everything it had to offer. That year Black Elk said, "All our people now were settling down in square gray houses, scattered here and there across this hungry land, and around them the Wasichus had drawn a line to keep them in. The nation's hoop was broken, and there was no center any longer for the flowering tree. The people were in despair. (BES, p. 213-214) In 1886, as part of a show, Black Elk traveled to London to study the Wasichus and their way of life. By studying the Wasichu, Black Elk thought he could bring the sacred hoop together and the tree would bloom at the center of it again. During his time in England, Black Elk had another vision. He was floating on a cloud that took him back to his home. He was looking down on his people and could see how they were doing. When he saw his parents, his mother looked up and he felt that she had seen him then the cloud took him back to England. This experience made him realize that he was ready to go back to his people.Black Elk went home to the exact place that he was taken to in his recent vision. When...
