[Eagle Voice Remembers] is John Neihardt’s mature and reflective interpretation of the old Sioux way of life. He served as a translator of the Sioux past, whose audience has proved
not to be limited by space or time. Through his writings, Black Elk, Eagle Elk, and other old men who were of that last generation of Sioux to have participated in the old buffalo-hunting
life and the disorienting period of strife with the U.S. Army found a literary voice. What they said chronicles a dramatic transition in the life of the Plains Indians; the record of their
thoughts, interpreted by Neihardt, is a legacy preserved for the future. It transcends the specifics of this one tragic case of cultural misunderstanding and conflict and speaks to universal
human concerns. It is a story worth contemplating both for itself and for the lessons it teaches all humanity.”Raymond J. DeMallie
In her foreword to Eagle Voice Remembers, Coralie Hughes discusses Neihardt’s intention that this book, formerly titled When the Tree Flowered, be understood as a prequel to his
classic Black Elk Speaks.
