
He Sapa:
The Sacred Black Hills & hiking Hinhan Kaga Paha - Harney Peak

Where: Black Hills of South Dakota
Meeting Place: TBA
Tribes: Oglala Lakota
Activity level: Very easy
Duration: 9 am-4.30pm
Cost: $425

Overview
Into the sacred Black Hills, or He Sapa, with your guide where you will hear the story of the Lakota Creation, then later amid the vast pine forests and grassland scented with cedar and sage, where dragonflies and butterflies dart over purple Echinacea blooms, yellow sweet clover, blue spiderwort flowers, search for buffalo as you explore this most beautiful and spirited area of the Black Hills. Hear authentic Lakota cultural and historical explanations as they have been passed through families over generations, and relax and enjoy as your guide’s Native flute melodies float across the gentle He Sapa winds as they have for centuries.
About Your Day
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Seek out Tatanka, the buffalo - which was everything to the Lakota: the meat sustained the people, the hides clothed and sheltered them and the bones provided tools and arrowheads. But more importantly, the buffalo was, and remains, a direct spiritual link to the ancestors. And in the undulating grassland, encounter the descendants of the great buffalo herds that once roamed the plains.
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At The Place of the Thunders, hike Hinhan Kaja Paha, or Black Elk Peak, and appreciate the beauty of the highest point in the Black Hills upon which Black Elk experienced much of what embodied the story of his life as told in Black Elk Speaks. This hike starts at a gentle pace, but gets more energetic the higher you climb. You will need a reasonable level of fitness to enjoy this day.
