Return to Center

Tokala Two Elk was born in a chicken coop on the Pine Ridge Reservation, home of the Oglala Lakota Nation . . From his humble beginnings, Tokala became a man whose life would be shaped by Spirit, ceremonies, teachings, and traditions of his people, the Oceti Sakowin.

His journey was not easy. After years of unrest fueled by his struggle with alcoholism, he was finally able to find and embrace a path to sobriety that opened his world to education, community, and teaching-all of which drew him back to the foundation of Lakota values of Wo (the spiritual world), Wa (the mental world of the Animal Nation), Wi (the sun), and We (our blood), all of which are essential to the Hocoka, the Circle of Life, the core of Lakota beliefs. Startling, sad, funny, and profoundly moving, Return to the Center is a gripping exploration of the history of the tribe and the centuries of injustices that its people have withstood.

From the influx of Europeans who saw them-and treated them-not as people but as savages, to the influx of missionaries who insisted on converting them to Christianity, to the original Reservations that were actually called Prisoner of War Camps, and to many other prejudices, the Lakota, as other Indigenous people, were victimized in countless ways. But in this book, Tokala Two Elk shows how their strength of Spirit and hope can enable the survival of his people if they reconnect to the deeply spiritual foundation of their ancestors.