Indian Boyhood (Native American) [Paperback]

Charles A. Eastman (Author), E. L. Blumenschein (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Native American | Publication Date: 1971

Chronicles first 15 years in life of a native Santee Sioux Indian in mid-19th century: childhood memories, training in the hunt, woodlore, religious practices, work of the medicine men, games, initiation rites, more. 13 illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

David Reed Miller, a professor in the Department of Indian Studies at Saskatchewan Indian Federated College, has written an introduction for this Bison Book edition.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (1971)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486220370
• ISBN-13: 978-0486220376
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #264,440 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #79 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Family & Childhood

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Indian Boyhood, April 3, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Indian Boyhood (Hardcover)

This is a most excellent book because it is "AUTHENTIC" and not one that speaks of prejudice and the horrors of the Native American experience; instead, it allows you to catch a glimpse of what is now lost, a world of beauty and wonder. I highly recommend it to anyone: young or old; red, white, brown, or yellow -- a book that should be preserved and revered.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What it was like to grow up as a Native American little boy, July 18, 2010

By 

Annie Pope (Pasadena) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Indian Boyhood (Native American) (Paperback)

There is so much myth about "the American Indian," or "The Native American," that for many non-Native Americans there is no way to understand what life was like on this continent before Euro-Americans wiped out those who lived here first.

This book, by Charles Alexander Eastman(Née Ohiyesa), offers a genuine first-hand story about what it was like growing up in the years before the massacre at Wounded Knee, when his tribe had to flee to Canada.

Ohiyesa's father was captured and imprisoned by American soldiers when his son was a very young boy. But by the time he was a teenager, his father was released from jail, and he went to Canada to reclaim his son. The boy went to American jails and ultimately was graduated from Dartmouth College as a physician. He went through a period in his life in which he wrote a series of books about the Lakota way of life, in which he explains values, belief systems, and the lifestyle he experienced as a child. Today, unfortunately, due to government imposed boarding schools during the first part of the 20th Century, this became a lost way of life and thought.

Ohiyesa's books are treasures for the soul. They are simple, spare, Spartan even, and beautiful. Above all, they are honest. And in their direct, one-to-one description of how humans lived so simply with nature, they are inspiring and spiritual.

Ohiyesa's books should be required reading for students of literature, sociology, American history, philosophy, and psychology. They are not written to lament the plight of a people. But dignifying the elegant ways of a tribe -- simply by recording it as it was -- creates and understanding. And once you understand, you cannot help but mourn for the natural and simple ways that were.

13 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars From a Boy to A Man, May 23, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Indian Boyhood (Native American) (Paperback)

This book is a great compilation of the story of a young Indianboy who grows up to learn the traditions of his family. It was veryinformative and a great read. It would also be beneficial for people intereted in Native American history or just those wanting to read a good novel.