Satellite images taken of H’e Sapa aka the Black Hills in South Dakota show that it is shaped like a human heart. For a very long time the Lakota have said that H’e Sapa is “wamakaognaka e’cantge” which means, “the heart of everything that is.” It is a sacred place. A well-known historical Lakota figure, Nicholas Black Elk, received a great vision when he was a boy. He saw a great flowering tree grow from H’e Sapa which symbolized the unity of the people. I sometimes wonder if this vision has more to do with the tree needing to grow from our own hearts.
