Clifton DeSerca, a Sioux, lives and works in the
modern world but has strong ties to the last days of the free-roaming
horseback Native American of the plains. His great-grandfather was
Black Elk, a Sioux holy man whose autobiography is considered one of
the most important pieces of Native American literature. As a young
man, Black Elk participated in the battle of the Little Big Horn. In
his older years, he told his story to John G. Neihardt who translated
it into the classic Black Elk Speaks. DeSerca serves his people by
being involved in a reservation outreach program working with
alcoholics. He is portrayed here wearing a Sioux headdress and a
historic shirt from the trading-post period.