Crazyhorse is an beithíoch

Publication Instance Details #469

Publication Overview

Translation	Is Multilingual	Explicit Irish Context?	Ekphrasis	Has Paratext?	Reference to News, Media or Technology
No	Yes	No	No	Yes	No

Details

Human Rights Issues	Indigenous Rights (incl. culture & language) HR & Colonisation/Colonial Legacies Genocide
War / Genocide Referenced	Genocide: Genocide of indigenous people in USA (pre 20th century)
Languages	Irish
Genre	Short Lyric
Medium	Print Collection
Paratext Text	The nation's hoops is broken and scattered. There is no centre any longer, and the sacred tree is dead. Black Elk - Sioux medicine man
Notes	This poem is centred around 'Crazyhorse', a Lakota war hero and leader who took up arms against the United States government in the 19th Century, in order to preserve the traditional Lakota way of life. Crazyhorse was also a spiritual man who received visions and trances. The paratext of this poem is also significant, and gives background information to the poem: Heȟáka Sápa, commonly known as Black Elk (December 1, 1863 – August 19, 1950), was a wičháša wakȟáŋ ("medicine man, holy man") and heyoka of the Oglala Lakota people. He was a second cousin of the war leader Crazy Horse. The speaker of the poem describes a 'beast' in the mist - could this be a metaphor for the settler race, coming to destroy the nations of the Native peoples of America? Or could it represent the untamed nature of the Native Americans themselves? The penultimate also verse describes the burning of traditions and ages upon a dream sacrifice fire.