Abstract:
This paper aims at exploring man's relation to nature in John Neihardt's Black Elk Speaks. It contrasts the European Americans' and the American Indians' attitudes towards nature that may justify their historical conflict. The Native Americans' love for nature is reflected by their language, daily practices, and belief in the community which includes not only human beings but also all nonhumans. Nature, for Native Americans, is the source of their lives in the sense that they depend on it for their physical as well as their spiritual growth. Their love and reverence for nature are inspired by their spiritual beliefs as an essential way to secure their lives and the lives of the generations to come. Actually, their religion has its roots in nature and also their visions and myths depend on environmental phenomena. For American Indians, nature has an intrinsic value
which means that they appreciate nature for its own sake. As a result, they consume according to their needs without destroying nature or wasting its resources. On the other hand, European
Americans do not show special interest in nature outside their materialistic benefits. Their negative conception of nature is inspired by the tenets of Puritanism. Moreover, their relation to
nature is affected by their capitalist desires. Therefore, they believe in the ownership of the land and treat its creatures as commodities which serve to satisfy their greed for more wealth and power. Thus, their lack of ecological conservation demonstrates how they dismiss
the intrinsic value of nature and focus on its monetary value in their relation to it. Since some white writers oppose the idea of "the ecological Indian" and blame Indians for the extermination of the
buffalo herds, the values and practices of both groups still need more research to be conducted by unbiased historians to verify their claims.