“Up on the Madison Fork the Wasichus had found much of the yellow metal that they worship and that makes them crazy, and they wanted to have a road up through our country to the place where the yellow metal was; but my people did not want the road.”
Black Elk Speaks, pg 8
I enjoyed this passage because it was very different than what can be commonly read about. Instead of having texts that describe the somewhat “unusual” (basically foreign) worshipping that is practiced by Native Americans, white Americans were instead being viewed as the unusual worshippers. Even though technically, one wasn’t worshipping gold itself, it probably seemed like something worth a lot spiritually. The amount of time invested into the gold industry must have seemed almost crazy. Why would a collecting yellow metal drive people into harsh environments, with foreign people and lots of dangers? I think a lot of the time Americans today learn about the practices that were new to the white people, that the Native Americans did. This text highlights the fact that this trend went both ways. The white “Wasichus” also had weird practices, such as collecting yellow metal. In all, this book highlights more of the similarities all humans have. People are unique and different, and we all notice and react to these differences.
Another section I meant to also add that contained "gold" quotes were on pg. 62-63. "Later I learned too that Pahuska had found there much of the yellow metal taht makes the Wasichus crazy; and that is what made the bad trouble, just as it did before, when the hundred were rubbed out. Our people knew there was yellow metal in little chunks up there; but they did not bother with it, because it was not good for anything."
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