Ohiyesa

The far-ranging life and work of the popular Native American author

Charles Eastman, called Ohiyesa in Santee, came of age amidst increasing tensions and violence between Native and European colonizers. Though raised to be a hunter-warrior, Eastman was persuaded by his Christian father to enter white society. Eastman graduated from Dartmouth and the Boston University School of Medicine. His career included service as the government physician at the Pine Ridge Agency, where he tended casualties at Wounded Knee; as an Inspector for the Bureau of Indian Affairs; as Indian secretary for the YMCA; and as one of the cofounders of the Boy Scouts of America.

Raymond Wilson examines these accomplishments while also delving into the writings that expressed Eastman’s determination to hold onto his Santee roots. Popular works like Indian Boyhood, The Soul of the Indian, and Indian Heroes and Chieftains reconfirmed his heritage and aimed at making white society aware of Indigenous peoples’ contribution to American civilization.