The Price of a Gift: A Lakota Healer's Story

A humble man with an extraordinary gift. The gift to which I'm referring is his way of walking through this world - truly respecting all of our relatives and helping in whatever way might be needed without a thought for what he needed. Very honest and open about difficulties in his past, situations where he realized too late that he could have done things better. The healing stories you'll read in other books about men of his time - that humility is unique in my experience.The writing is very accessible - as if you are sitting around a fire hearing Joe's words. It has been truly educational for me as well - made me recognize some of the things I need to learn, but also helped me realize some of what has already been given to me. My thanks to Gerald Mohatt and to Joseph Eagle Elk for this story.I wish I could buy dozens of copies of this - seems like every time I turn around I meet someone I think could benefit from it. I'm on my fifth copy as it is.

I bought this book as a gift, and cracked it open to see what it was like. I couldn't put it down. This is a powerful look into American Indigenous culture and practice that isn't sanitized for the comfort of settler colonial descendants. That said, it remains approachable and compelling.

Although written as a compilation, some of Eagle Elk's actual words, and views of him from others, it's written with respect for these ways, the teachings, and Spirit. Gives a glimpse into ceremony and one man's journey.

This is a remarkable work that honors the true voice of a Lakota medicine man and the voices of his people. Mohatt's labor is not to analyze or interpret so much as present an experience which can only begin to be appreciated or understood when the suffering, missteps, fears, and clowning of the healer are shown along with their transcendence. Eagle Elk was an ordinary man who resisted but finally gave himself over to his calling. There are many books that romanticize tokens of Native cultures or presume to make use of them; this is not that sort of book. Like Fadiman's, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, this is a work of great reverence.

Lovely book!

Beautiful book

An excellent first-person account of coming to accept a calling. An honest portrait of Native American life that will enrich anyone who wants to better understand the delicacy and beauty of this culture.

Excellent insights in how the Spirits work in the Lakota way with someone, even if they are not "perfect". Good insights into Lakota thought and culture.