![]() ![]() He said he will talk about the ways Black Elk learned to live a life of hope by using stories and teachings but also how native people consciously adopted different parts of European society as a means of surviving. In Dover, Costello plans to discuss the biography of Black Elk and what it means to inhabit the land as settlers. "The Vermont Humanities Council has been a great way to bring my work to vibrant learning communities like the Dover Public Library." "That kind of got me back to that work, got me back to Pine Ridge for a number of projects and jobs, and teaching about him in places like the Humanities Council venues for the last couple of years," he said. Suddenly, Costello found himself a global authority on Black Elk's life and relevance. "But that really put him in the news again." "That was kind of a multi-year, contentious process," he said. He participated in Lakota Sun Dance ceremonies and when he was moving back to Vermont, efforts were underway to rename the highest peak of South Dakota, formerly Harney Peak, to Black Elk Peak. ![]() →īlack Elk investigated the white world and tried to bring the best of it to his people for the sake of survival, said Costello, who saw himself doing the same but in reverse. He described feeling a little insecure about having written his book during graduate school without such experience. While training to become a professor, Costello sought to immerse himself in the culture. The couple stayed out west for five years. "You can't fathom it even when you're out there," he said. They ended up on the Navajo Reservation, which he described as four times the size of Vermont. While living in Boston, the couple was deciding where they would live next.Įven though Costello yearned to return to the Green Mountain State, his wife wanted to go to the West Coast to work for the federal Indian Health Service. "You know, his world literally ended and I think a lot of us are thinking about what's happening now and we're worried about that," he said, citing environmental issues such as pollution.īlack Elk, he said, found a way to live a life of hope despite all the tragedy happening around him and his people.Ĭostello married a doctor who also was from Vermont. He said "Black Elk Speaks" captures many questions coming up in the current age. The book changed Costello's life, as he went on to study Black Elk in college and graduate school. "Native culture and history was sort of just in the area, especially at that time in the 90s," he said, referring to when he discovered Black Elk's most famous book, "Black Elk Speaks," while wandering around the college library when he should have been doing schoolwork. To RSVP, call 80.Ĭostello lives in Montpelier and grew up in Vermont. The event will be held outdoors but if it rains, the presentation will be limited to 50 people inside Town Hall next door. Desserts are expected to be distributed differently this year due to the pandemic. ![]()
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