The Soul of the Indian

by Charles Alexander Eastman

Book Overview

Raised among the Sioux until the age of 15, Charles Alexander Eastman (1858-1939) resolved to become a physician in order to be of the greatest service to his people. Upon completing his education at Boston University School of Medicine, he accepted an appointment to a South Dakota Indian reservation, where he was the only doctor available to the victims of the 1890 massacre at Wounded Knee. With the encouragement of his wife, he further distinguished...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0486430898
• ISBN13: 9780486430898
• Release Date: July 2003
• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Length: 64 Pages
• Weight: 0.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 6.4" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

The Soul of the Indian

This book will give you information about the way Indian's feel and think. Great Book.

MUST READ!!

This book outlines the Lakota spirituality before the "white man" came. Excellent read although it puts some of it in a rose-colored light.

Excellent

Very profound words of wisdom written over 100 years ago. An excellent read and reference to timeless knowledge that crosses over all cultures. I would recommend this book for one's private library or for a great gift.

Spiritual matters conveyed in simple language

Ohiyesa wrote this book in 1911, and did a masterful job at conveying spiritual truths in simple language that anyone can understand.Ohiyesa tries to impart that this form of spirituality is more about a state of mind and heart instead of performing ceremonies by rote.There are many little gems of wisdom in this book, and it would be a great place to start if you wish to explore the American Indian (Sioux) form of spirituality.Here are a few of those gems I mentioned above.Page XII "My little book does not pretend to be a scientific treatise. It is as true as I can nake it to my childhood teaching and ancestral ideals"Page XIII "We know that the God of the lettered and the unlettered, of the Greek and the barbarian is after all the same God;"Page 4 "Our faith might not be formulated in creeds, nor forced on any who were unwilling to receive it; hence there was no preaching, proselyting, nor persecution"Page 4 "He (the indian) would deem it sacriledge to build a house for Him (the Great Spirit) who may be met face to face in the mysterious , shadowy aisles of the primeval forest"Page 13 "The Indian no more worships the Sun than the Christian adores the Cross"Page 14 "We believed that the spirit pervades all creation and that every creature posesses a soul in some degree, though not necessarily a soul conscious of itself."Page 15 "He (The indian) paid homage to the spirits in prescribed prayers and offerings) Page 45 "In the life of the indian there was only one inevitable duty,--the duty of prayer--the daily recognition of the Unseen and Eternal. His daily devotions were more necessary to him than daily food."Much wisdom for a book more than 90 years old!I encourage questions and comments about my reviews; Two Bears.Wah doh Ogedoda (We give thanks Great Spirit)

The Soul of an Indian (C.A.Eastman)

If one wants to know what it is "really" like to have the problems of a drug addict, one doesn't ask the therapist (sorry), but rather the addict. Only a true Native American can explain the life, in its many aspects, of a Native American----and, although we have many examples of the wisdom of Native American chiefs, few attain the level, from a philosophical/religious view, as does Ohiyesa (C. Eastman). He is truly a poet in the simplicity of the words he uses, while simultaneously imparting a veritable glimpse of the meaning behind his words. For this reason alone, he, I believe, will be time-honored, when one wants to get a view of Native American life in the future. Sadly, but perhaps necessarily, Ohiyesa was torn between two worlds---the white (education and profession, as well as residence in the East) and his heritage, which he felt bound to,as the atrocities continued to unfold in his lifetime, some of which he experienced firsthand. For persons of "a certain ilk", I believe that the many people who respect the wisdom of "The Prophet" (Khalil Gibran)will equally respect this writing.