John G. Neihardt, 20th century mystic

In the early 1970s John G. Neihardt used to spend a great part of his days at the Bennet Martin Library, in downtown Lincoln. He was a very small man, not much over five feet tall, and perhaps 120 pounds. At that time he was in his 90s, his eyesight was bad and failing, and he seemed very frail. But he was friendly, and though people did not bother him while he worked, someone always seemed to engage him in conversation when he got ready to leave the building.

After a long and illustrious career as one of America's greatest poets, but comparatively unsung, as poets are usually treated, John G. Neihardt had become a heralded celebrity, not just in Nebraska, but nationwide, on the strength of an appearance on the Dick Cavett TV Show in 1971. On that occasion Mr. Neihardt had held his audience spellbound for the entire 90 minutes of the program, while he told Dick Cavett the story given him by the Sioux Holy Man, Black Elk in 1930. His story told the history of the Siouan people, the destruction of the buffalo, the Battle of Little Big Horn, and finally, the end of the Ghost Dance, and the Battle of Wounded Knee.

I think Mr. Neihardt appreciated the acclaim he got after the Cavett Show, but he complained that the many interview requests he was getting made it difficult to get his work done -- and it was plain to see that his writing was the most important thing to him. I learned that he was writing his autobiography, apparently in longhand, and was anxious to get it finished while he could still function. As we found out, he had a great deal to say.

John G. Neihardt, Poet Laureate of Nebraska and the Plains, in many ways was a man born into the wrong culture and the wrong century. Had he been born 100 years sooner and into the Indian Culture he surely would have been a tribal medicine man, whose visions would have been guiding lights for his tribe. As it was, Neihardt was still a mystic, and did the important work of preserving the culture of the Indian people through the written word, in his many book length poems, in which he described a way of life now gone from the American scene.

Neihardt was born in Illinois in 1881, a time that the western frontier was largely settled, but the allure of discovery, fortune, and adventure was still strong for that frontier. John's parents gave in to that allure and moved their family to a farm in Kansas in 1886, just in time to experience drought, famine, and fire on the Great Plains. Only a year later they gave up farming and moved to Kansas City. Here the father tried to support his family, working as a cable car operator, and as a night clerk at a questionable "hotel" -- which only introduced him to undesirable company.

The stay in Kansas was not without its benefits to young John. He learned the harsh nature of the plains, he fell in love with the Missouri River, and he was introduced to Homer's Illiad and Odyssey and other Greek classics from a neighbor's library, which he "devoured" (before age 7!). These experiences were important milestones leading to his life's work as America's Poet.

When John's father left the family in 1887, never to return, the family moved to Wayne, Neb. In later years Neihardt described his "hill of vision" at Wayne, where, in a fevered state, he received his vision -- that his calling was to be as a poet and writer.

Neihardt loved Wayne and the Normal School (now Wayne State College). He attended classes almost from the day they arrived in Wayne and at age 16 he became one of the youngest graduates of that school. For the next three years he taught school in country schools around Wayne -- which was quite an accomplishment, since as a 16-year old, many of the boys in his classes were bigger than he was.

In 1900 the Neihardt family moved to Bancroft Neb., near the Omaha Indian Reservation. There John took a job with trader who dealt with the Indians. In this capacity he met a number of the "Old Men" of the Omaha Sioux and learned their stories.

He also became co-owner of the Bancroft Blade, which allowed him to hone his writing skills. He continued to work on his books of poetry, and after a trip to the Black Hills he wrote the book, A Bundle of Myrrh, a romantic work of "free verse," which was well received by the critics, and perhaps more importantly, by one Mona Martinsen, who was studying sculpture in Paris. The two began a correspondence, which culminated in her moving to Nebraska, and their marriage, after one year, in 1908.

During this period Neihardt continued his love affair with the Missouri River when he completed a 2,000 mile journey in a canoe from Fort Benton, in Montana, to Sioux City, Iowa. That trip was the source for his popular travelogue, The River and I. It also led to his five volume poem epic, published at various times over the next 29 years, which was collectively known as A Cycle of the West. Then, there were still survivors of the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Neihardt interviewed as many as he could, and for this reason his descriptions of that battle and those times are considered very accurate.

In 1930 Neihardt met Black Elk, which led to the writing of his greatest work, Black Elk Speaks." Of that chance meeting, Neihardt wrote, "Within a half hour, after I met him, Black Elk had chosen me as his spiritual son. He seemed to know that I was coming, and had expected me for a long time." Black Elk, an Oglala Sioux holy man had been present at both The Battle of the Little Big Horn and The Battle of Wounded Knee. The two formed a deep friendship and Black Elk's stories were central to Neihardt's work from then on, most of which dealt with Indian Lore and History in some way.

Neihardt and Black Elk, spiritual brothers, seemed to be able to interpret each other's thoughts, without speaking. Neihardt, speaking of their discussions of Indian history, said that he evolved through time from the physical to the spiritual and strove for a higher understanding that promises to unite all mankind in common endeavor.

In later years Neihardt lived for some time in Branson Mo., and was a lecturer on poetry at the University of Missouri at Columbia. At times he was also on the faculty at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. He was also employed from time to time by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and these periods of employment kept him afloat financially. He received honorary degrees from Universities throughout the country and abroad. His list of honors fills an entire page, ranging from inclusion in Literary Halls of Fame, to a bust in the Nebraska State Capitol, to a Bronze highway marker near Bancroft.

Generous scholarships in Neihardt's name are offered each year at the University of Missouri, the University of Nebraska, Creighton University and Wayne State College, among others. Neihardt's home in Bancroft has been converted into a popular historic site, with an annual festival, which honors Neihardt and his writings.

Neihardt's wife, Mona, had died in 1958 as the result of an automobile accident. In 1973 Neihardt died at his home in Branson, Mo. At his request his ashes were comingled with those of his wife and an airplane pilot scattered those ashes over the Missouri River, on the date of their wedding anniversary.

"He is a word sender. The world is like a garden and over it go his words, like rain, and where they go they leave everything greener. After his words have passed, the memory of them shall stand long in the West like a flaming rainbow." -- Black Elk.

Source: Teachings Given to John G. Neihardt by Black Elk, Neihardt, Epic Poet of American West