Neihardt's study was restored in 1967; in 1970, it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. In 1976, the John G. Neihardt State Historic Site was opened. Beside the studio, this includes a museum, a library, and the restored Sacred Hoop Prayer Garden. This was designed based on symbolism in Niehardt's "Black Elk Speaks" (1932). This has become his best-known work, based on the oral history and spiritual teachings of Black Elk, a prominent Oglala Lakota sachem or medicine man.