The Soul of the Indian: An Interpretation (Dusza Indianina: interpretacja)

Wprowadzenie

Eastman published the book in 1911 with Houghton Mifflin in Boston, at the height of his reputation as a lecturer. In a short foreword he states that he wants to describe the religious life of the American Indian as it was before contact with missionaries, from his own memories and those of the elders. Worship, he writes, was solitary and silent; the Great Mystery was approached not in creeds or temples but in nature; family life and the ceremonies of birth, marriage and death had religious meaning; generosity, hospitality and courage were religious duties. Eastman treats Christianity with respect but contrasts the teaching of Jesus with the conduct of the nations that preached it. The book has been reprinted many times; scholars discuss how far it presents a Dakota tradition and how far it adapts it to the expectations of a white Christian readership.

Więcej dzieł: Charles Eastman (Ohiyesa)

• 1916From the Deep Woods to Civilization: Chapters in the Autobiography of an Indian (Z głębi lasów do cywilizacji: rozdziały z autobiografii Indianina)