White Eagle, an Oglala Sioux warrior in 1876, fought under He-Dog and Crazy Horse in the Battle of Little Big Horn. A cousin of Nicholas Black Elk, Sr., another veteran of the Custer fight whose portrait is included in this collection, White Eagle’s war honors included two coups counted and a scalp taken from one of Custer’s troopers whom he killed.

“In those days we never knew how Wiccans counted time. We used the sun and the darkness. Time did not matter to us- it does not now very often. We know you use clocks and watches, but we do not bother with them.” – Allen, SD 1941