Joe American Horse

Intercessor

Joe American Horse is a respected elder in the Oglala Lakota community and holds deep ancestral knowledge of our ceremonies and prayers. He is the grandson of the great Chief American Horse and acts as Intercessor of the Afraid of Bear – American Horse Sun Dance. Joe was unable to participate in vision quests and Sun Dances as a young man, as these practices were outlawed during his youth. He believes they would have benefited him greatly during his formative years, and he’s particularly focused on bringing young people into our ceremonies.

Joe has served multiple terms as Oglala Tribal President and Tribal Vice President and has also been a Supreme Court Judge on the Pine Ridge Reservation. He’s a board member of the Oglala Lakota College, which was founded by the Pine Ridge tribal government and remains the only college on Pine Ridge, and serves as a representative of the college’s Council of Elders.

Joe’s greatest wish is for the sacred Black Hills to be returned to the Lakota people, and he’s actively involved in our Tiospaye’s work toward this goal.