Charles Alexander Eastman - Santee Sioux
It was our belief that the love of possessions is a weakness to
be overcome. Its appeal is to the material part, and if allowed
its way, it will in time disturb one's spiritual balance. Therefore,
children must early learn the beauty of generosity. They are taught
to give what they prize most, that they may taste the happiness
of giving.
If a child is inclined to be grasping, or to cling to any of his
or her little possessions, legends are related about contempt and
disgrace falling upon the ungenerous and mean person ...
The Indians in theor simplicity literally give away all that they
have - to relatives, to guests of other tribes or clans, but above
all to the poor and the aged, from whom they can hope for no return.
Charles Alexander Eastman (Ohiyesa)
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The Indians were religious
from the first moments of life. From the moment of the mother's
recognition that she had conceived to the end of the child's second
year of life, which was the ordinary duration of lactation, it was
supposed by us that the mother's spiritual influence was supremely
important.
Her attitude and secret meditations must be such as to install
into receptive soul of the unborn child the love of the Great Mystery
and a sense of connectedness will all creation. Silence and isolation
are the rule of life for the expectant mother.
She wanders prayerful in the stillness of great woods, or on the
bosom of the untrodden prairie, and to her poetic mind the imminent
birth of her child prefigures the advent of a hero - a thought conceived
in the virgin breast of primeval nature, and dreamed out in a hush
that is broken only by the sighing of the pine tree or the thrilling
orchestra of a distant waterfall.
And when the day of days in her life dawns - the day in which there
is to be a new life, the miracle of whose making has been entrusted
to her - she seeks no human aid. She has been trained and prepared
in body and mind for this, her holiest duty, ever since she can
remember.
Childbirth is best met alone, where no
curious embarrass her, where all nature says to her spirit: "It's
love ! It's love! The fulfilling of life!" When a sacred voice
comes over to her out of the silence, and a pair of eyes open upon
her wilderness, she knows with joy that she is borne well her part
in the great song of creation.
Presently she returns to the camp, carrying the mysterious, the
holy, the dearest bundle ! She feels the endearing warmth of it
and hears its soft breathing. It is still a part of herself, since
both are nourished by the same mouthful, and no look of a lover
could be sweeter than its deep, trusting daze. She continues her
spiritual teaching, at first silently - a mere pointing of the index
finger to nature - then in whispered songs, bird-like, at the morning
and evening. To her and to the child the birds are real people,
who live very close to the Great Mystery; the murmuring trees breathe
its presence; the falling waters chants its praise.
If the child should chance to be fretful, the mother raises her
hand. "Hush! Hush!" she cautions it tenderly, "The
spirits may be disturbed!" She bids it be still and listen
- listen to the silver voice of the aspen, or the clashing cymbals
of the birch; and at night she points to the heavenly blazed trail
through nature's galaxy of splendor to nature's God. Silence, love,
reverence - this is the trinity of first lessons, and to these she
later adds generosity, courage, and chastity.
Charles Alexander Eastman (Ohiyesa)
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What boy would not be an Indian for
a while when he thinks of the freest life in the world ? We were
close students of nature. We studied the habits of animals just
as you study your books. We watched the men of our people and acted
like them in our play, then learned to emulate them in our lives.
No people have better use of their five senses than the children
of the wilderness. We could smell as well as hear and see. We could
feel and taste as well as we could see and hear. Nowhere has the
memory been more fully developed than in the wild life.
As a little child, it was instilled into me to be silent and reticent.
This was one of the most important traits to form in the character
of the Indian. As a hunter and warrior, it was considered absolutely
necessary to him, and was thought to lay the foundations of patience
and self-control. There are times when boisterous mirth is indulged
in our people, but the rule is gravity and decorum.
I wished to be a brave man as much as the white boy desires to
be a great lawyer or even president of the United States.
I was made to respect the adults,
especially the aged. I was not allowed to join in their discussions,
or even speak in their presence, unless requested to do so. Indian
etiquette was very strict, and among the requirements was that of
avoiding direct address. A term of relationship or some title of
courtesy was commonly used instead of the personal name by those
who wished to show respect.
We were taught generosity to the poor and reverence for the Great
Mystery. Religion was the basis of all Indian training.
Charles Alexander Eastman (Ohiyesa)
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The true Indian sets no
price upon either his property or his labor. His generosity is limited
only by the strength and ability. He regards it as an honor to be
selected for a difficult or dangerous service, and would rather
:"Let the person I serve express his thanks according to his
own bringing up and his sense of honor."
Charles Alexander Eastman (Ohiyesa)
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Friendship is held to be the severest test of character. It is
easy, we think, to be loyal to family and clan, whose blood is our
own veins. Love between man and woman is founded on the mating instinct
and is not free from desire and self-seeking. But to have a friend,
and to be true under any and all trials, is the mark of a man!
Charles Alexander Eastman (Ohiyesa)
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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 glowing 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 the attitude of worship.
He sees no need for a setting apart one day in seven as a holy
day, because to him all days are God's days.
Charles Alexander Eastman (Ohiyesa)
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Each soul must meet the morning sun, the new, sweet earth, and
the Great Silence alone!
Charles Alexander Eastman (Ohiyesa)
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As a child, I understood
how to give; I have forgotten that grace since I became civilized.
I lived the natural life, whereas now I now live the artificial.
Any pretty pebble was valuable then, every growing tree an object
of reverence.
Now I worship with the white man before a painted landscape whose
value is estimated in dollars! Thus the Indian is reconstructed,
as the natural rocks are ground to powder and made into artificial
blocks that may be built into the walls of modern society.
Charles Alexander Eastman (Ohiyesa)
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The first American mingled with his pride a singular humility.
Spiritual arrogance was foreign to his nature and teaching. He never
claimed that his power of articulate speech was proof of superiority
over "dumb creation" ; on the other hand, speech is to
him a perilous gift.
He believes profoundly in silence - the sign of a perfect equilibrium.
Silence is the absolute poise or balance of body, mind, and spirit.
The man who preserves his selfhood ever calm and unshaken by the
storms of existence - not a leaf, as it were, astir on the tree,
not a ripple upon the surface of the shining pool - his, in the
mind of the unlettered sage, is the ideal attitude and conduct of
life ..... Silence is the cornerstone of character.
Charles Alexander Eastman (Ohiyesa)
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They are a heartless nation, that
is certain. They have made some of their people servants - yes,
slaves! We have never believed in keeping slaves, but it seems that
the white people do! It is our belief that they painted their servants
black a long time ago, to tell them from the rest - and now the
slaves have children born to them of the same color!
The greatest object of their lives seems to be to acquire possessions
- to be rich. They desire to possess the whole world.
For thirty years they tried to entice us to sell our land to them.
Finally, their soldiers took it by force, and we have been driven
away from our beautiful country.
They are indeed an
extraordinary people. They have divided the day into hours, like
the moons of the year. In fact, they measure everything. Not one
of them would let so much as a turnip go from his field unless he
received full value for it. I understand that sometimes their great
men make a feast and invite many, but when it is over, the guests
are required to pay for what they have eaten before leaving the
house ...
I am also told, but this I hardly believe, that their Great Chief
compels every man to pay him for the land he lives upon and all
personal goods - even those he needs for his own existence - every
year. I am sure we could not live under such a law.
In war they have leaders and war-chiefs of different grades. The
common warriors are driven forward like a herd of antelopes to face
the foe. It is because of this manner of fighting - from compulsion
and not from personal bravery - that we count no coup on them. A
lone warrior can do much harm to a large army of them - especially
when they are in unfamiliar territory.
Charles Alexander Eastman's uncle - Santee Sioux
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Native American Legends A-B