Charles Alexander Eastman

A never-before-published book by famed Native American author Charles Eastman recounts the stories of the Dakota creation cycle as they were told a century and a half ago. In the 1860s and 1870s, the boy who would become known as Charles Eastman was growing up in a Dakota community in Canada. On long winter evenings, he listened to elder Smoky Day tell the twelve legends of the Dakota creation cycle. They include stories of the marriage of the Sun and the Earth, the parents of all living things; the animal tribes and their councils; the misdeeds of the trickster Unktomi; the education of the first human, Waceheska; the war that Unktomi fomented between Waceheska and the animals; and much more. These stories describe how humans earned the right to use the bodies of animals for their needs, but only if they respect the animals' spirits and do not destroy them wantonly. In the 1880s, as a young man at college, Eastman wrote down the twelve stories. Shortly before his death in 1939, he revised the text for publication, but no book was ever released. For more than 80 years, this manuscript--written by one of the best-known and most prolific Native American writers of the early twentieth century--remained unpublished. In this new publication, descendants of Charles and his brothers John and David Eastman have come together to present this extraordinary work, more than eight decades after its completion. Gail Johnsen, Charles's great-granddaughter, describes finding this manuscript in the family papers she inherited and turning to her relatives in Minnesota to learn more. Sydney D. Beane, great-grandson of John, outlines Eastman's career and the history of the Dakota community at Flandrau, South Dakota. Yvonne Wynde, great-granddaughter of David, recounts her early memories of Charles's many relatives and identifies current Dakota practices that reflect the teachings in the legends. Yvonne's daughter Gabrielle Tateyuskanskan offers new perspectives on Charles's work as an Indigenous artist and writer. And Kate Beane, daughter of Sydney, discusses the power and beauty of these teachings for Dakota people today.

This book has been considered by academicians and scholars of great significance and value to literature. This forms a part of the knowledge base for future generations. So that the book is never forgotten we have represented this book in a print format as the same form as it was originally first published. Hence any marks or annotations seen are left intentionally to preserve its true nature.

Charles Alexander Eastman (1858-1939) was a Santee Dakota writer, physician, lecturer, and reformer. Educated at Boston University, he became one of the leading authors and speakers on Sioux history and American Indian affairs. He is the first Native American author to write history from a Native American viewpoint and also helped found the Boy Scouts of America. First published in 1911, "The Soul of an Indian - An Interpretation" represents Eastman's attempt to examine and explain Native American history and spirituality as it was before European settlement. Contents include: "The Great Mystery", "The Family Altar", "Ceremonial and Symbolic Worship", "Barbarism and the Moral Code", "The Unwritten Scriptures", and "On the Border-Land of Spirits". Read & Co. Books is proudly republishing this classic work now in a new edition complete with Eastman's essay "The Sioux Mythology".

Indian Child Life By Charles Alexander Eastman

Old Indian Days By Charles Alexander Eastman

"And who is the grandfather of these silent people? Is it not the Great Mystery? For they know the laws of their life so well They must have for their Maker our Maker. Then they are our brothers " Thus spoke one of the philosophers and orators of the Red men. It is no wonder that the Indian held the animals to be his brothers. In his simple mind he regards the killing of certain of them for his sustenance to be an institution of the "Great Mystery." Therefore he kills them only as necessity and the exigencies of life demand, and not wantonly. He regards the spirit of the animal as a mystery belonging to the "Great Mystery," and very often after taking its life he pays due homage to its spirit. In many of the Dakota legends it appeared that such and such an animal came and offered itself as a sacrifice to save the Red man from starvation. It was formerly held by him that the spirits of animals may communicate important messages to man.

Indian Heroes and Great Chieftains By Charles Alexander Eastman

Indian Boyhood By Charles Alexander Eastman

Upon a hanging precipice atop of the Eagle Scout Butte there appeared a motionless and solitary figure-almost eagle-like he perched The people in the camp below saw him, but none looked at him long. They turned their heads quickly away with a nervous tingling, for the height above the plains was great. Almost spirit-like among the upper clouds the young warrior sat immovable. It was Antelope. He was fasting and seeking a sign from the "Great Mystery," for such was the first step of the young and ambitious Sioux who wished to be a noted warrior among his people]. He is a princely youth, among the wild Sioux, who hunts for his tribe and not for himself His voice is soft and low at the campfire of his nation, but terror-giving in the field of battle. Such was Antelope's reputation. The more he sought the "Great Mystery" in solitude, the more gentle and retiring he became, and in the same proportion his courage and manliness grew. None could say that he was not a kind son and a good hunter, for he had already passed the "two-arrow-to-kill," his buffalo examination. On a hot midsummer morning a few weeks later, while most of the inmates of the teepees were breakfasting in the open air, the powerful voice of the herald resounded among the pine-clad heights and green valleys. "Hear ye, hear ye, warriors " he chanted loudly. "The council has decreed that four brave young men must scout the country to the sunsetward of the camp, for the peace and protection of our people "

In The Soul of the Indian, Eastman brings to life the rich spirituality and morality of the Native Americans as they existed before contact with missionaries and other whites. This is a rare firsthand expression of native religion, without the filters imposed by translators or anthropologists. Rather than a scientific treatise, Eastman has written a book, "as true as I can make it to my childhood teaching and ancestral ideals, but from the human, not the ethnological standpoint." His discussions of the forms of ceremonial and symbolic worship, the unwritten scriptures, and the spirit world emphasize the universal quality and personal appeal of Native American religion. Charles Alexander Eastman (born Hakadah and later named Oh ye S'a; February 19, 1858 - January 8, 1939) was a Santee Dakota physician educated at Boston University, writer, national lecturer, and reformer. In the early 20th century, he was "one of the most prolific authors and speakers on Sioux ethnohistory and American Indian affairs." 1] Eastman was of Santee Dakota, English and French ancestry. After working as a physician on reservations in South Dakota, he became increasingly active in politics and issues on Native American rights, he worked to improve the lives of youths, and founded thirty-two Native American chapters of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA). He also helped found the Boy Scouts of America. He is considered the first Native American author to write American history from the Native American point of view.