Charles Alexander Eastman
written by: Raymond Wilson
revised by: April Smith
revised by: April Smith
Ohiyesa (Charles Alexander Eastman) was born in a buffalo hide tipi near Redwood Falls, Minnesota, in the winter of 1858. His father, “Many Lightnings” (Tawakanhdeota), was a full-blood Sioux. His mother was the granddaughter of the Sioux Chief “Cloud Man” and the daughter of Stands Sacred (Wakan inajin win) and a well-known army officer, Seth Eastman. His name at birth was “Hakadah,” the pitiful last, because he became the last of his three brothers and one sister when his mother died shortly after his birth. In his early youth he received the name Ohiyesa (The Winner).
The baby was initially raised in his homeland of Minnesota by his grandmother. At the age of four, the so-called “Sioux Uprising of 1862” occurred and he became separated from his father, elder brothers and only sister, whom the tribe thought had been killed by the whites. Eastman fled into exile in Manitoba with the remaining members of his band of Santee Sioux. For the next eleven years he lived the original nomadic life of his people in the care of his uncle and his grandmother. His uncle was a well known hunter and warrior and gave him all the training necessary to carry on the nomadic tribal heritage. Both his uncle and grandmother instilled in him the spiritual philosophy of the Indian. Eastman always regarded this period of his life as his most important education.
At fifteen, Ohiyesa had just entered Indian manhood and was preparing to embark on his first war-path to avenge the death of his father. Before he could do this, he learned that his father had not been killed but had adopted the religion and customs of the white race. His father had come for him to take Eastman back home with him.
His father was part of a small group of progressive Indians who earned a living with a combination of farming and ranching on homesteads in Flandreau, Dakota Territory. After Eastman’s first experience with a mission day school, he wanted to leave his new log home to return to the wild and his native ways. However after a long discussion with his father, he cut his long hair, began to wear white man’s clothing and applied himself to his new school life. He was not completely happy with his new world. Two years later Eastman walked 150 miles to attend a better school at Santee, Nebraska. In this larger school he made rapid progress and upon the recommendation of his teacher, the renowned missionary educator, Dr. Alfred L. Riggs, Eastman was accepted to the preparatory department of Beloit College, Wisconsin. His father had adopted the English name of his wife’s father, Eastman, so the boy now named himself Charles Alexander Eastman.
Eastman spent two years at Beloit College before successively going to Knox College in New Hampshire. Then he went on to Dartmouth College. He graduated from Dartmouth in 1887, and then studied medicine at Boston University, where he graduated in 1890 as orator of his class. He spent a total of seventeen years in primary, preparatory, undergraduate college, and professional education, which is significantly less time than is required by a typical student.
During his studies in the East he met many prominent people who would later help him further his career. With their help his first position was as Government Physician for the Sioux at the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota. He was at Pine Ridge before, during and after the “Ghost dance” rebellion of 1890-1891, and he cared for the wounded Indians after the massacre at Wounded Knee. In 1891 he married a white woman who was also working at the Pine Ridge reservation, Miss Elaine Goodale of Berkshire County, Massachusetts. Shortly after returning from his wedding in the East, a corrupt Indian agent forced Eastman to resign his job at the agency as revenge for Eastman’s attempt to help the Sioux prove crimes against the agent and the agent’s white friends. In 1893 he, his wife and their new baby moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, where he started a medical practice. Shortly thereafter he accepted a position as field secretary for the International Committee of the YMCA, and for three years traveled extensively throughout the United States and Canada visiting many Indian tribes in an attempt to start new YMCA’s in those areas.
In 1897 Dr. Eastman went to Washington as the legal representative and lobbyist for the Sioux tribe. From 1899 to 1902 he again served as a Government physician to the Sioux at Crow Creek Agency, South Dakota. Starting in 1903, as an employee of the Indian Bureau, he spent over six years giving permanent English family names to the Sioux. In the process of creating both English names and family lineage records he met and interviewed almost every living member of the Sioux tribe.
His first book, Indian Boyhood, was published in 1902. It is the story of his own early life in the wilds of Canada, and it was an immediate public success. He ended up writing a total of eleven books. All of his books were successful, some were used in school editions, and many were translated into French, German, Danish, and Czech languages. He also contributed numerous articles to magazines, reviews, and encyclopedias.
In 1910 Eastman began his long association with the Boy Scouts. It was also at about this time that he started to become a popular public speaker, traveling all over the U.S. and abroad. Eastman was chosen to represent the American Indian at the Universal Races Congress in London in 1911. His public speaking continued for the remainder of his life.
Beginning in 1910 and for the rest of his life, Eastman also became involved with many progressive organizations attempting to improve the circumstances of the various Indian tribes. At one time he was president of the Society of American Indians. From 1915 to 1920 the Eastman family created and operated a summer camp for girls, Oahe, at Granite Lake, New Hampshire. He and his wife separated in August 1921. No one knows the real reason why, but it is believed that the couple disagreed on the best future for the Native American Peoplen. Elaine Goodale Eastman wanted total assimilation of Native Americans into the white society. Eastman wanted to combine the cultures. He wanted to teach them how to act in white society but wanted them to keep their own cultures at home. Eastman believed that the Great Spirit and God were the same being. This belief was controversial to many Christians.
In 1928 Eastman purchased land on the north shore of Lake Huron. For the remainder of his life, when he was not traveling and lecturing, he lived there. In his last years he spent only the coldest winter months with his son in Detroit, where he died on January 8, 1939, at the age of eighty. For several years toward the end of his life he worked on a major study on the Sioux, but the project was never completed.
Charles Alexander Eastman was the foremost Indian spokesman of his day. He worked hard to help establish understanding and respect between Native Americans and whites. At the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair, Eastman was presented a special medal honoring the most distinguished achievements by an American Indian.
The baby was initially raised in his homeland of Minnesota by his grandmother. At the age of four, the so-called “Sioux Uprising of 1862” occurred and he became separated from his father, elder brothers and only sister, whom the tribe thought had been killed by the whites. Eastman fled into exile in Manitoba with the remaining members of his band of Santee Sioux. For the next eleven years he lived the original nomadic life of his people in the care of his uncle and his grandmother. His uncle was a well known hunter and warrior and gave him all the training necessary to carry on the nomadic tribal heritage. Both his uncle and grandmother instilled in him the spiritual philosophy of the Indian. Eastman always regarded this period of his life as his most important education.
At fifteen, Ohiyesa had just entered Indian manhood and was preparing to embark on his first war-path to avenge the death of his father. Before he could do this, he learned that his father had not been killed but had adopted the religion and customs of the white race. His father had come for him to take Eastman back home with him.
His father was part of a small group of progressive Indians who earned a living with a combination of farming and ranching on homesteads in Flandreau, Dakota Territory. After Eastman’s first experience with a mission day school, he wanted to leave his new log home to return to the wild and his native ways. However after a long discussion with his father, he cut his long hair, began to wear white man’s clothing and applied himself to his new school life. He was not completely happy with his new world. Two years later Eastman walked 150 miles to attend a better school at Santee, Nebraska. In this larger school he made rapid progress and upon the recommendation of his teacher, the renowned missionary educator, Dr. Alfred L. Riggs, Eastman was accepted to the preparatory department of Beloit College, Wisconsin. His father had adopted the English name of his wife’s father, Eastman, so the boy now named himself Charles Alexander Eastman.
Eastman spent two years at Beloit College before successively going to Knox College in New Hampshire. Then he went on to Dartmouth College. He graduated from Dartmouth in 1887, and then studied medicine at Boston University, where he graduated in 1890 as orator of his class. He spent a total of seventeen years in primary, preparatory, undergraduate college, and professional education, which is significantly less time than is required by a typical student.
During his studies in the East he met many prominent people who would later help him further his career. With their help his first position was as Government Physician for the Sioux at the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota. He was at Pine Ridge before, during and after the “Ghost dance” rebellion of 1890-1891, and he cared for the wounded Indians after the massacre at Wounded Knee. In 1891 he married a white woman who was also working at the Pine Ridge reservation, Miss Elaine Goodale of Berkshire County, Massachusetts. Shortly after returning from his wedding in the East, a corrupt Indian agent forced Eastman to resign his job at the agency as revenge for Eastman’s attempt to help the Sioux prove crimes against the agent and the agent’s white friends. In 1893 he, his wife and their new baby moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, where he started a medical practice. Shortly thereafter he accepted a position as field secretary for the International Committee of the YMCA, and for three years traveled extensively throughout the United States and Canada visiting many Indian tribes in an attempt to start new YMCA’s in those areas.
In 1897 Dr. Eastman went to Washington as the legal representative and lobbyist for the Sioux tribe. From 1899 to 1902 he again served as a Government physician to the Sioux at Crow Creek Agency, South Dakota. Starting in 1903, as an employee of the Indian Bureau, he spent over six years giving permanent English family names to the Sioux. In the process of creating both English names and family lineage records he met and interviewed almost every living member of the Sioux tribe.
His first book, Indian Boyhood, was published in 1902. It is the story of his own early life in the wilds of Canada, and it was an immediate public success. He ended up writing a total of eleven books. All of his books were successful, some were used in school editions, and many were translated into French, German, Danish, and Czech languages. He also contributed numerous articles to magazines, reviews, and encyclopedias.
In 1910 Eastman began his long association with the Boy Scouts. It was also at about this time that he started to become a popular public speaker, traveling all over the U.S. and abroad. Eastman was chosen to represent the American Indian at the Universal Races Congress in London in 1911. His public speaking continued for the remainder of his life.
Beginning in 1910 and for the rest of his life, Eastman also became involved with many progressive organizations attempting to improve the circumstances of the various Indian tribes. At one time he was president of the Society of American Indians. From 1915 to 1920 the Eastman family created and operated a summer camp for girls, Oahe, at Granite Lake, New Hampshire. He and his wife separated in August 1921. No one knows the real reason why, but it is believed that the couple disagreed on the best future for the Native American Peoplen. Elaine Goodale Eastman wanted total assimilation of Native Americans into the white society. Eastman wanted to combine the cultures. He wanted to teach them how to act in white society but wanted them to keep their own cultures at home. Eastman believed that the Great Spirit and God were the same being. This belief was controversial to many Christians.
In 1928 Eastman purchased land on the north shore of Lake Huron. For the remainder of his life, when he was not traveling and lecturing, he lived there. In his last years he spent only the coldest winter months with his son in Detroit, where he died on January 8, 1939, at the age of eighty. For several years toward the end of his life he worked on a major study on the Sioux, but the project was never completed.
Charles Alexander Eastman was the foremost Indian spokesman of his day. He worked hard to help establish understanding and respect between Native Americans and whites. At the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair, Eastman was presented a special medal honoring the most distinguished achievements by an American Indian.