Dakota Philosopher: Charles Eastman and American Indian Thought

"Being an Indian in the world is the loneliest kind of existence. At least, such is the case when one leaves behind the comfort and security of family and tribe for the wider world of modern societies..."

Thus begins Dr. David Martinez's study of the writings of Ohiyesa, Dr. Charles Alexander Eastman. I want to offer him public thanks for this insightful, serious exploration. It is the book that I, as an Eastman biographer not of Dakota or Native American origin, had been hoping for, an in-depth philosophical and literary investigation into the many themes woven into Eastman's writings.

The Eastman Martinez illuminates is the same one I had come to know through his writings and his life but one not often found in other commentary about him. Martinez does not dismiss Eastman's works as those of his wife, or as simplistic children's entertainment in the case of Indian Boyhood, or as assimilation rationalization, or as romanticized nostalgia or commercial ventures. Nor does Martinez deny that some aspects of these qualities creep in.

Instead Martinez honors the works as significant acts of reconnection and duty by Eastman to overcome that lonely alienation within the white world, bringing forth his Dakota heritage and that of other American Indians into the light of the larger culture to educate Americans and Native Americans; to preserve the values, skills, culture, stories, and history for generations to come; to inspire individuals and communities; and to establish the rightful place of American Indians as positive contributors to America's past and future. Martinez places Eastman in his rightful place as a historic American philosopher, worthy of greater attention and respect.

Through his book Dakota Philosopher, Martinez also integrates the history and writings of other significant Native Americans of Eastman's time and the Society of American Indians (SAI), connecting their issues to issues of contemporary Native Americans.

Dr. Martinez, though not of Dakota descent, is a Native American studies professor and scholar of Pima heritage and an enrolled member of the Gila River Indian Community. Thank you!

Birchbark Books & Martinez's Book on Eastman

Yesterday I visited Louise Erdrich's lovely family-community bookstore, Birchbark Books in Minneapolis. It's a sunny yet breezy day, and the door is wide open, letting in the wind with all its good spirits and allowing the good spirits that reside inside to welcome you at the door. Many do.

Susan White greets visitors like the perfect hostess at a party, delighted and warm with each new guest, but instead of offering each a drink, she presents something better, the perfect book with stories to accompany it. Complementing her at the counter is the more reserved Prudence Johnson, with an equally welcoming demeanor and gentle jazz-singer tones. Incredible harmonies they orchestrate together.

After drawing out my interest in Ohiyesa, Susan led me to my must-read, the just released Dakota Philosopher: Charles Eastman and American Indian Thought. (Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2009) by David Martinez, an enrolled member of the Gila River Indian Community and assistant professor in American Indian Studies at the Arizona State University, Tempe.

Delighted but also slightly apprehensive, I opened the pages. Would this new research send me off in different directions just as I am ready to send my book to a publisher?

No -- instead this fine, groundbreaking work resonated with the same tones. He, too, had found in Eastman not a boxed-in assimilationist but a man of education, philosophy and subversion, transforming old paradigms to fit his Dakota values and ideals -- a cultural warrior of peace and respect, always advocating for a better place for all Indians and indigenous people in a new world of limited choices. The book jacket states "While Eastman's contemporaries viewed him as 'a great American and true philosopher,' Indian scholars have long dismissed Eastman's work as assimilationist. Now, for the first time, his philosophy as manifested in his writing is examined in detail.....claiming for him a long overdue place in America's intellectual pantheon."

Amen!!!
And thanks to Birchbark Books -- where such invigorating connections are made daily, weaving communities and the world together more closely and creatively -- always leaving openings to let good spirits flow in and out.

For more on Martinez's book: http://www.americantaino.blogspot.com/2009/03/dakota-philosopher-charles-eastman-and.html

And for Birchbark Books: http://birchbarkbooks.com/
http://birchbarkbooks.com/_blog/Birchbark_Blog