Page 2 April 21, 1978
"Black Elk Speaks" Not Light Entertainment
Actors’ performances were
in a few cases inspiring, with
special cred it due to Clayton
Corbin’s elderly Black Elk
whose beautifully resonant voice
boomed from a stooped body
with a faltering step.
Henry “Kaimu” Bal’s ver
satility in portraying not only a
proud Red Cloud but an uncouth,
spitting bystander and a cold,
precise Colonel Chivington was
also noteworthy.
But too often acto rs relied
on shouting and melodramatic
gestures to convey anger and
fering. As one viewer comment
ed, he felt uncomfortable being
yelled at.
The desired effect was clear
enough. T here w as a shocking
story to tell and acto rs used
every bit of th eir energy and
emotion telling it. Horrified and
humiliated voices shrieked and
wept at the starvation and m ur
der of m en, women and child
ren.
For those unacquainted with
Black Elk (second from left) and an impressive array of Indian leaders and warriors retold the
the Indians’ story, “Black Elk”
history of Indians’ encounters with the white man in the Folger Theater Group’s presentation of “ Black
was enlightening. As they learn
Elk Speaks’’ at the Warm Springs Community Center April 14. C.O.C.C. sponsored the event. CDS Photo
ed, the “ Indian Wars” went far
beyond retaliation against “hos-
tile s” and into the realm of
enced by those who lost it,’ was
to rical figures as Christopher slaughter, with unprovoked at
War whoops accen ted the brought to the W arm Springs
Columbus, Andrew Jackson, tacks on peaceful cam ps a
applause when Black Elk’s nar Community Center April 14 by
M anuelito, L ittle Crow, Black common occurrence. The play
rative ended, but elsewhere in Central Oregon Community Col
Kettle and Crazy Horse.
was a te a rfu l and exhausting
the crow d th e re w ere te a rs, lege. For a rare cultural event of
experience for some.
this
kind,
it
did
not
draw
the
full
embarrassment,
exhaustion,
Their messages to modernity
Although th ere w ere both
house expected, but perhaps the
shock and even anxiety.
were dramatized in a simple set pathetic and heroic Indians with
The intensity of “Black Elk same qualities that made it dif
of wooden p latfo rm s and a whom to sympathize and iden
Speak s,” a tw o-hour history ficult to watch also made it easy
hanging buffalo skin. Costumes tify, th e re w ere only buffoons
lesson dramatized by the Folger for some to avoid.
w ere P lain s Indian style and sad ists and hypocrites among
Black Elk, an Oglala Sioux
T h eatre Group of W ashington
when the Anglo m ilita ry was the Anglo characters (with the
portrayed, a brass-buttoned coat exception of two very brief
D.C. left no one untouched. It whose visions and historical
was above all else, not an accounts were recorded by John
and military hat were thrown on appearances). This proved to be
evening of light entertainment. G. Neihardt in the book “Black
over the buckskin and braids, embarrassing for some viewers.
“Did you enjoy Black E lk?” has Elk S p eak s,” was assigned a
creating visual irony.
Such exaggerations on both
been an inappropriate question different role to play ip this new
The sound was also simple, sides were, of course, excusable
drama.
He
gave
a
guided
tour
of
consisting p rim a rily of flutes for the sake of d ra m a . But
to ask. “ Did you endure Black
and drums. Lighting, often sub perhaps in the long run subtlety
Elk?” might better be answer Sand C reek, L ittle Big Horn,
Bosque Redondo, Wounded Knee
ed.
dued but occasionally m ade was more powerful.
harsh for emphasis, cast bigger-
“ B lack E lk S p eak s,” a and other sites of the so-called
The m ore subtle m om ents
than-life shadows on the black When an Anglo was caught in a
‘short shattering history of the “Indian W ars” of the late 1800’s.
winning of the w est as ex p eri He acquainted us with such his backdrop.
flaw of logic, an irony of intent
or a backfired bit of deceit were
Loomis Honored With Health Award
An unsuspecting Lee Loo
m is, h ealth-educator a t W arm
Springs Indian Health Service,
went to a re g u la r W ednesday
staff meeting April 12 and was
su rp rised to find him self the
cen ter of atten tio n and the r e
cipient of a very special award.
Loomis, who has been with
the PHS h e re for the p a st five
y e a rs, w as honored with a
plaque from the U.S. Public
H ealth Service for “ sustained
h igher quality work p erfo rm
ance and dedication in the area
of h ealth education se rv ic e s”
here at Warm Springs.
Service unit director Garet
Soules, who p resented the a-
ward, has been here for 15 years
and cannot re c a ll any other
em ployee here being honored
with such an award during that
time.
Soules said that Loomis re
ceived the honor because of his
effectiveness and dedication in
performance of his duties. Soul-
les cited Loomis as the moving
force behind the development of
the Warm Springs Emergency
M edical T echnician Courses
which have been conducted in
cooperation with the fire depart
m ent, the trib a l police, and
m em bers of the reservation
community.
Loomis has also designed a
p atien t health education pro
gram specifically for the people
on the reservation. “An impor
tant component of this has been
the development of an extensive
library of health-related video
tapes to be used in small group
educational programs, accord
ing to Soules.
In the evenings, Loomis has
conducted training in the proper
use of fire -a rm s through the
establishm ent of rifle safety
clubs for youth on the reserva
tion.
In addition, Loomis has pro
vided classes in Defensive Driv
ing to 300 people, 200 of whom
have completed the course. This
has provided the T ribal Court
with an alternative to just hand
ing out fines. He has also con
ducted Medical Self-Help cour
ses, p a rtic ip a te d in the design
all too rare. We begged for more
understanding of how the “hoop”
of Black Elk’s vision was broken
by the confusion of a divided
people. We should have seen
both cultures through individu
als and not stereotypes.
What we got was a barrage
of bitter words and a parade of
good buys and bad guys.
When the play ended, the
m ore tim id non-Indians in the
audience reached up to check
for their scalps. Black Elk’s call
for peace tended to be lost
am idst the angry words that
preceded it.
The folks who were familiar
with the historical and contem
porary Indian felt som ewhat
cheated by the enormous detail
(straight out of Bury My Heart
at Wounded Knee) without the
benefit of increased' understand
ing.
(And in c id e n ta lly , kids
might have been better left with
a babysitter. The dialogue was
on an adult level and kids grew
restless and became disruptive.)
As an initial consciousness-
raising effort,
“ Black Elk
S peaks” was powerful and in
formative. It was an unforget
table experience for all. We need
to be shocked at least once, but
we also need to go beyond ill
feelings to real insight.
Producer Bob Handy refer
red to his play as a “ m ission”
and “ m edicine” . “ Black Elk
Speaks” might have performed
these functions more effectively
if it had been m ore faithful to
the spirit of the original Black
Elk. His keen observations of
the horror and irony of history,
his vision of a closed hoop and
his quiet eloquence commanded
attention and empathy.
D ram a in such a m anner
would lend dignity to the voices
of Indians and inspire respect
from those whose e a rs have
been closed to their words.
and prom otion of special d ia
betic clinics, prenatal classes,
and has been extrem ely effec
tive in the promotion of a school
health dental program a t the
W arm Springs e le m e n ta ry
school, says Soules.
“ F o r the p a st five years,
this Officer (Loomis) has effec
tively put into practice the prin
ciples of com m unity involve
m ent in the identification and
solution of health p roblem s,”
noted Soules at the award pre
sentation.
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(A Comment)
Garet Soules (left) presents PHS award to Lee Loomis.