The 10th annual Neihardt-Black Elk Hike will take place on Saturday starting at the Sylvan Lake Trailhead beginning at 9:00.
At 7,244 feet Black Elk Peak is the tallest mountain in the Black Hills and the hike commemorates the trip John Neihardt made with Black Elk on May 30th, thirty decades ago.
The top of the peak is where Lakota medicine man Black Elk had his great vision that was made famous in the Neihardt book “Black Elk Speaks”.
The peak was originally named Harney Peak but was renamed Black Elk Peak in 2016. The hike is led by members of the John Neihardt Foundation and descendants of Black Elk.
Black Elk’s great-great grandson Myron Pourier says the importance of the hike is to reflect on a foundation of brotherhood that culminated in the greatest story ever.
The hike, which takes 4-5 hours to complete, will follow a program featuring Pourier and Walt Duda a long time leader of the Neihardt Foundation.
