Who Was Ben Black Elk?

Ben Black Elk (1899-1973) was born at Manderson on the Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota USA. He played a pivotal role as a translator for his father, Nicholas Black Elk, a revered Oglala Lakota medicine man, and subject of the best-seller Black Elk Speaks (1932). As the sixth in line to the Black Elk name, Ben Black Elk too emerged as a prominent figure. He became an activist, and educator, and dabbled in acting. Yet, it was his renowned 27-year tenure as the “unofficial greeter” at Mount Rushmore National Memorial that truly solidified his legacy.

Benjamin Black Elk, or Ben, as he liked to be known, entered the world in 1889 on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota. As a child, he briefly attended Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania, before returning to Pine Ridge. He finished his education at the Holy Rosary Mission, a Jesuit-run boarding school near the village of Pine Ridge.

In alignment with US Government policy, indigenous religious practices were banned on Pine Ridge. To assimilate  – and ultimately “civilize” – Indian communities, federal policy directed that the natives be brought into Christianity and their “pagan” beliefs destroyed.  

In the case of Pine Ridge, this meant that Catholicism and Episcopalian Christianity were the only openly practiced religions. Ben’s father Nicholas Black Elk converted to Christianity in 1904 and assumed the role of a catechist (Catholic teacher).  Asked about his conversion to Catholicism in 1931, Nicholas Black Elk replied only that: “my children have to live in this world.”

Translator: Black Elk Speaks

Ben father’s Nicholas Black Elk had participated in the Battle of Little Bighorn (1876) and was present at the US Army massacre at Wounded Knee (1890). He was a revered elder and respected holy man. 

In 1932, a book containing his life history and spiritual teachings, Black Elk Speaks, was published to considerable fanfare. Ben Black Elk served as the translator between his father and the ethnologist behind its publication, John Neihardt. 

Neihardt’s research on Native American ghost dance ceremonies led him to Pine Ridge in the summer of 1930. The result was an in-depth account of Black Elk’s life, significant events in the history of the Lakota people, and vivid recollections of his religious visions. 

Today the book is controversial, with some questioning Neihardt’s fidelity to Black Elk’s views and words. Perhaps as a consequence, after serving as translator, Ben Black Elk decided to embark on his own mission to preserve and promote the history and culture of the Lakota. 

In 1968, Ben Black Elk testified before the US Senate hearing on Indian Education. Appearing alongside Father John Bryde, superintendent of the Holly Rosary Mission in Pine Ridge, they conveyed the sense of great disillusionment and bitterness among Pine Ridge Indians regarding educational standards and opportunities. 

When questioned by Senator Robert Kennedy of New York about his perspectives on Indian education, Ben Black Elk highlighted what he saw to be the detrimental effects of a non-Indian education system on Indian children. 

American education was about individual competition and teaching children to “compete, get ahead, [and] beat the other man down.” Accordingly, while Indian children were taught to respect the group at home, they faced pressure at school to excel and surpass others. 

On this basis, Ben Black Elk passionately argued for the inclusion of native American history and culture into the educational curriculum and urged the incorporation of traditional wisdom and guidance into the pedagogy of Indian education.

The Fifth Face of Mount Rushmore

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Ben Black Elk earned the nickname “The Fifth Face of Mount Rushmore” on account of his persistent presence on the grounds of the monument, dressed in traditional Lakota regalia, posing for photos, and championing Lakota culture. 

For more than 27 years he served as the “unofficial greater” at Mount Rushmore, carrying forth his father’s legacy by imparting his teachings – and the history of his people – through stories about Lakota folklore, culture, and spirituality. 

Over the years, Ben Black Elk’s image was captured in countless tourist photographs and gift shop postcards. His faded image is preserved in photo albums across the world. 

He leveraged his recognition to great effect to become an in-demand public speaker, his greatest triumph being his power testimony before the US Senate. Above all, he played a pivotal role in raising awareness about the plight – and heritage – of the Lakota people at a time when public interest in their fate was limited.