In Chapter 17, Black Elk tells about how there “…power is not in us [them] anymore.” Black Elk is expressing his concern for the loss of the power that can only be found in circles. He recalls the many ways in which circles influence the Power of the World, and now the Wasichus (the term for the White man) have put them in the square houses thus taking their power away. “We made these little gray houses of logs that you see, and they are square. It is a bad way to live, for there can be no power in a square.”

As is expressed in much of the novel, Black Elk describes the loss that his people are being forced to accept.

Now that the Wasichus have broken the essential loop, according to Black Elk, “Our [their] power is gone and we [they] are dying, for the power is not in us [them] any more”. The power of the circle is diminishing, and this causes Black Elk’s people feel to as though they are dying as a whole. Things are changing far too rapidly for them to and eventually this will result in their demise.

Black Elk speaks of various “circles” that embody the Power of the World. He discusses the sky, the earth, the stars, the sun and moon, seasons, and life itself. Perhaps the most poignant description is that of the tepees, “Our [their] tepees were round like the nests of birds, and these were always set in a circle, the nation’s hoop, a nest of many nests, where the Great Spirit meant for us [them] to hatch our [their] children”. Black Elk is comparing their tepees to the nest of a bird. For both are circular and each fosters their own youth. This explanation is all encompassing, as it describes the “nation’s hoop”, the world, as a “nest of many nests”. The world is the home of many homes, and this is where the “Great Spirit” intended us to hatch our descendents.

Black Elk speaks for himself, his way of life, and his people, to a world that has moved on, seeking to forget what has happened over the last five hundred years. The book challenges us to open our eyes, and our ears. It gives no quarter and asks for none in return. And perhaps, in doing so, Black Elk does not fail his mighty vision. Perhaps in relating h

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