"The true Indian sets no price upon either his property or his labor. His generosity is limited only by his strength and ability. He regards it as an honor to be selected for difficult or dangerous service and would think it shameful to ask for any reward, saying rather: "Let the person I serve express his thanks according to his own bringing up and his sense of honor. Each soul must meet the morning sun, the new sweet earth, and the Great Silence alone!. What is Silence? It is the Great Mystery! The Holy Silence is His voice!
Whenever, in the course of the daily hunt, the hunter comes upon a scene that is strikingly beautiful or sublime -- a black thundercloud with the rainbow's arch above the mountain, a white waterfall in the heart of a green gorge, a vast prairie tinged with the blood-red of the sunset -- he pauses for an instant in an attitude of worship and prayer.
He sees no need for setting apart one day in seven as a holy day, because to him everyday is gods day. Children must early learn the the beauty of generosity. They are taught to give what they prize most, that they may taste the happiness of giving"
-Charles Eastman was born in February 19, 1858 on reservation near Redwood and died in January 8, 1939.
-He is a Native American author, physician and activist.
-He was raised by his grandmother until the father he thought was dead came back and encouraged him to go to college and do something with his life.
Charles Eastman's Accomplishment
-Eastman was the recipient of the first Indian Achievement Award.
-He was the first Native American physician to serve on the Pine Ridge Reservation.
-He wrote about 11 books about the Native Americana and their histories. The first book he wrote is called "Indian Boyhood" which was published in 1902. It told the story of his own first years and upbringing and was an immediate success with the public.
-He worked as field secretary for the International Committee of the YMCA, and spent the three years traveling throughout the US and Canada visiting many Indian tribes to start new YMCAs in those areas.
Contribution to society:
-His used his training as a physician, to help people in the Pine Ridge Reservation.
-He worked in BIA project to re-name the Sioux, giving them legal names in order to protect their interests.
-He also began a lifelong association with the Boy Scouts of America, and from 1914 to 1925 he and Elaine operated a girls' camp near Munsonville.
-Charles Eastman's most important contribution to American letters is as a writer of autobiography and as a preserver of Sioux Indian legends, myths, and history.
List of books written by Charles Eastman
Red Hunters and the Animal People (1904),
Old Indian Days (1906),
Wigwam Evenings (1909),
Smoky Day’s Wigwam Evenings: Indian Stories Retold (1910),
The Soul of the Indian (1911),
Indian Child Life (1913),
Indian Scout Talks (1914),
The Indian Today: The Past and Future of the First American (1915),
From the Deep Woods to Civilization (1916), and
Indian Heroes and Great Chieftains (1918).
Pictures :
Sources:
http://www.indians.org/welker/ohiyesa.htm
http://www.worldwisdom.com/Public/Authors/Detail.asp?AuthorID=6&WhatType=1
http://www.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/eastman.htm
