Charles Alexander Eastman Quotes
-
The true Indian sets no price upon either his property or his labor. His generosity is limited only by his strength and ability. He regards it as an honor to be selected for difficult or dangerous service and would think it shameful to ask for any reward, saying rather: "Let the person I serve express his thanks according to his own bringing up and his sense of honor. Each soul must meet the morning sun, the new sweet earth, and the Great Silence alone!. What is Silence? It is the Great Mystery! The Holy Silence is His voice!
→ -
It has been said that the position of woman is the test of civilization, and that of our women was secure. In them was vested our standard of morals and the purity of our blood.
→ -
He sees no need for setting apart one day in seven as a holy day, since to him all days are God's.
→ -
The clan is nothing more than a larger family, with its patriarchal chief as the natural head, and the union of several clans by intermarriage and voluntary connection constitutes the tribe.
→ -
We believe profoundly in silence-the sign of a perfect equilibrium. Silence is the absolute poise or balance of body, mind, and spirit.
→ -
Our people, though capable of strong and durable feeling, were not demonstrative in their affection at any time, least of all in the presence of guests or strangers.
→ -
Friendship is held to be the severest test of character.
→ -
As a child I understood how to give; I have forgotten this grace since I became civilized.
→ -
That is, we believed, the supreme duty of the parent, who only was permitted to claim in some degree the priestly office and function, since it is his creative and protecting power which alone approaches the solemn function of Deity.
→ -
The logical man must either deny all miracles or none, and our American Indian myths and hero stories are perhaps, in themselves, quite as credible as those of the Hebrews of old.
→ -
The red man divided mind into two parts, - the spiritual mind and the physical mind.
→ -
In the life of the Indian there is only one inevitable duty-the duty of prayer-the daily recognition of the Unseen and Eternal. Our daily devotions were more necessary to us than daily food.
→ -
But to have a friend, and to be true under any and all trials, is the mark of a man!
→ -
There was no religious ceremony connected with marriage among us, while on the other hand the relation between man and woman was regarded as in itself mysterious and holy.
→ -
Indian names were either characteristic nicknames given in a playful spirit, deed names, birth names, or such as have a religious and symbolic meaning.
→ -
The elements and majestic forces in nature, Lightning, Wind, Water, Fire, and Frost, were regarded with awe as spiritual powers, but always secondary and intermediate in character.
→ -
Each soul must meet the morning sun, the new sweet earth and the Great Silence alone.
→ -
There were no temples or shrines among us save those of nature.
→ -
The hospitality of the wigwam is only limited by the institution of war.
→ -
The Wise Man 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, astire on the tree, not a ripple upon the surface of the shinning pool-his, in the mind of the unlettered sage, is the ideal attitude and conduct of life. Silence is the cornerstone of character.
→ -
If you ask him: "What is silence?" he will answer, "It is the Great Mystery! The holy silence is His voice!" If you ask: "What are the fruits of silence?" he will say: "They are self-control, true courage or endurance, patience, dignity, and reverence. Silence is the cornerstone of character."
→ -
If a child is inclined to be grasping, or to cling to any of his or her little possessions, legends are related about the contempt and disgrace falling upon the ungenerous and mean person.
→ -
No one who is at all acquainted with the Indian in his home can deny that we are a polite people.
→ -
Is there not something worthy of perpetuation in our Indian spirit of democracy, where Earth, our mother, was free to all, and no one sought to impoverish or enslave his neighbor?
→ -
The Indian was a religious man from his mother's womb.
→ -
Silence is the cornerstone of character.
→ -
The religion of the Indian is the last thing about him that the man of another race will ever understand.
→ -
It was our belief that the love of possessions is a weakness to be overcome. . . . 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. . . . The Indians in their 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.
→ -
Friendship is held to be the severest test of character. It is easy, we think, to be loyal to a family and clan, whose blood is in your own veins.
→ -
The logical man must either deny all miracles or none.
→
Charles Alexander Eastman
- Born: February 19, 1858
- Died: January 8, 1939
- Occupation: Physician
Related Authors
-
Adam Beach Actor -
Spotted Tail Tribal chief -
Kent Nerburn Author -
Sarah Winnemucca Native American activist -
Little Crow Chief -
Sarah Orne Jewett Novelist -
Joseph Bruchac Writer -
Black Elk Medicine man -
Goodale Sisters Poet -
Luther Standing Bear Author -
Red Cloud Tribal chief -
Crazy Horse Oglala Lakota leader -
-
Dee Brown Novelist -
Abraham Cahan Editor -
Rebecca Harding Davis Author -
Vine Deloria Jr. Author -
Zitkala-Sa Writer -
Sitting Bull Tribal chief -
