Indian Boyhood

By Charles A. Eastman

The Memoirs of an Indian Boyhood is an autobiography by Charles Eastman. Eastman was a Native American physician, writer, national lecturer, and reformer. He was of Santee Sioux and Anglo-American ancestry. Active in politics and issues on American Indian rights, he worked to improve the lives of youths and founded 32 Native American chapters of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA). He also helped found the Boy Scouts of America. He is considered the first Native American author to write American history from the native point of view.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Start Publishing LLC
• Release date: Mar 8, 2013
• ISBN: 9781625587084

Charles A. Eastman

Charles Eastman (1858-1939) was a Santee Dakota physician, lecturer, activist, and writer. Born Hakadah in Minnesota, he was the last of five children of Mary Nancy Eastman, a woman of mixed racial heritage who died shortly after giving birth. Separated from his father and siblings during the Dakota War of 1862, Eastman—who later earned the name Ohíye S'a—was raised by his maternal grandmother in North Dakota and Manitoba. Fifteen years later, he was reunited with his father and oldest brother—who were presumed dead—in South Dakota. At his father’s encouragement, Ohíye S'a converted to Christianity and took the name Charles Alexander Eastman, which he would use for the rest of his life. Educated at Dartmouth College, Eastman enrolled in Boston University’s medical program after graduating in 1897. He completed his medical degree in 1890, making him one of the first Native Americans to do so. Eastman then moved back to South Dakota, where he worked as a physician for the Bureau of Indian Affairs at the Pine Ridge and Crow Creek Reservations. During a period of economic hardship, he used his wife Elaine Goodale’s encouragement to write stories about his childhood, a few of which found publication in St. Nicholas Magazine. In 1902, he published Memories of an Indian Boyhood, a memoir about his life among the Dakota Sioux. In addition to his writing, Eastman maintained a private medical practice, helped establish the Boy Scouts of America, worked as a spokesman for the YMCA and Carlisle Indian Industrial School, and acted as an advisor to several Presidential administrations.

Reviews for Indian Boyhood

[melodyreads · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

very simplified

[veragodley · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a first-hand experience story written many years ago by a Sioux Indian, Ohiyesa (Charles Alexander Eastman, his white man's world name) recounting his boyhood as he was raised in the traditional Sioux Indian way. It is fascinating to learn how this child grew thoroughly immersed in the Indian world and then went on into adulthood and assimilated into the white man's world as a highly educated doctor and published author.Originally published in 1902 by Charles Eastman recounting his traditional Dakota Sioux childhood. Mr. Eastman lived 1859 to 1939 so he was intrinsically involved.Indian Boyhood is the story of a disappearing culture even during this recounted childhood, and it is wonderful to see that today's publishers and editors see the value in a resurgence of this man's story and are adapting and publishing it for today's children to read and learn about original Americans.While the book doesn't have much "girl appeal," it is certainly a valuable source of information for any child. Targeted for age four and up, the text flows easily and simply states in a very simple form what transpires as the boy grows until he leaves with his re-discovered father for the white man's world. The illustrations are very well done and capture the essence of the Indian life the story details. I like that the book opens with pictures of the author in traditional Indian clothes as well as his white man's world clothes. At the end of the book, there is a list of explanations that helps to understand the illustrations.A very good book for simply learning about the young Indian boy's life. A must for school libraries. DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy from Wisdom Tales to facilitate this review. Opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

[nx74defiant · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Enjoyable book of a time and way of life that is gone. It has a great 1st line: What boy would not be an Indian for a while when he thinks of the freest life in the world?He tells of a childhood living outside. Playing at hunting. Learning how to leave out in nature.

[jennybeast · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is cool, but is strongly edited and presented in picture book format. It looks as though the original work, published in 1902, might be amazing? Or might be very confusing for modern readers. Cannot find a current publication, hope it gets reprinted. Seems like a powerful work for upper elementary could be in there. Love the own voices, and the poetic power of the story.

[melsmarsh · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This book just didn't grab me like many of the other type of books like this did. Also trigger warning on dog death/animal sacrifice.

[sheiladeeth_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Bracketed with background information about the author, illustrator, and supporters of this book, Indian Boyhood presents a very simply told story for young children, filled with tiny details of text and illustration that imply a much larger tale. The writing is smoothly edited from Charles Eastman’s original text by Michael Oren Fitzgerald, combining the sense of a children’s picture book with the depth of genuine cultural difference and experience—a difference born of time, location and history, and beautifully portrayed.Adults should read and enjoy the forward and preface—a wonderful introduction to the author and editor—while children will turn, of course, to the pictures first. But both should stop at the photographs that come before the story—two simple images that tell a tale of time and people lost, yet never gone.“What boy would not be an Indian for a while…?” asks the author as his story begins. An enticing image of horse and rider, plain and shining sun, invites the reader to turn the page. But even the images are filled with secrets in this book, making it a treasure for older children too, to search and find how a tipi is decorated, why a family would flee, how a child would be hidden in a tree…The story’s told in a pleasingly authentic voice, for all its simplicity, and rings gorgeously true. The Indian boy learns equally of hunting and herbs, an interesting background when history tells us he grew up to train as a doctor in the white man’s world. There’s beauty in knowing this changing world didn’t change him—just became a part of him.I really enjoyed this book and would love to share it with a child, growing, as all of us do, in a world that never stays still, and learning, as all of us should, to wait before leaping to judgement.Disclosure: I was given a copy by the publisher, Wisdom Tales, and I offer my honest review.