"A clear insight into the heart and soul of the North American Indian...allows a reader to understand how the white man appears to the untutored savage." Courier-Journal (Louisville), Jan. 2, 1917
In the sequel to Indian Boyhood, Eastman tells of his departure from the reservation at age 15 to receive his education among whites, his experiences as a reservation physician at the Wounded Knee massacre, and of his time in Washington, D.C., where he held a succession of government positions.
Charles Alexander Eastman (February 19, 1858 – January 8, 1939) was a physician, writer, and social reformer. He was the first Native American to be certified in Western medicine and was "one of the most prolific authors and speakers on Sioux ethnohistory and American Indian affairs" in the early 20th century.
Eastman was of Santee Dakota, English and French ancestry. After working as a physician on reservations in South Dakota, he became increasingly active in politics and issues on Native American rights. He worked to improve the lives of youths, and founded thirty-two Native American chapters of the YMCA. He is considered the first Native American author to write American history from the Native American point of view. He also helped found the Boy Scouts of America.
