Description:
Startling, sad, and profoundly moving, Tokala Two Elk's Return to Center is a gripping exploration of the history of the Lakota tribe and the centuries of injustices that its people have withstood.
Brief description: Tokala Two Elk is a proud Lakota who returned to the center of tribal spirituality in 1985 when he "stopped drinking and never went back." Though his father had followed the ways of the ancestors, he'd lost his battle with alcoholism when Tokala was 13. His mother then sent Tokala to an Episcopal boarding school, where he felt oppression firsthand and was faced with a lifestyle contrary to the way that he'd been raised. He went on to finish high school and receive a bachelor's degree in human services from Dakota Wesleyan University and a master's degree in education administration from Oglala Lakota Tribal College. He has served his people in various positions, including as a teacher, a school consultant (focusing on cultural services for youth and families), a social worker, and a substance abuse and mental health educator, with a twofold goal of helping Indigenous people heal and sharing the importance of not taking the gifts of Mother Earth for granted.