Eastman, Charles Alexander, 1858-1939

Mixed Mdewakanton Sioux physician, writer and lecturer on Indian topics, and government employee.

Born in 1858 in Minnesota of Jacob Eastman (Many Lightnings) and his mixed-blood wife, Mary Nancy Eastman, the daughter of painter Seth Eastman, Charles Alexander Eastman (Ohiyesa) was raised in what is now North Dakota as a traditional Sioux, and later graduated from Dartmouth College (1887) and the Boston University School of Medicine (1890). He had a varied career, including government service as a physician at the Pine Ridge Agency, 1890-1893, and Crow Creek Reservation, 1900-1903, reviser of the Sioux allotment roll, 1903-1909, and Indian inspector, 1923-1925. Eastman also established numerous Indian YWCA groups, helped to found the Boy Scouts of America, wrote numerous articles and books, including several autobiographical volumes, and lectured extensively on Indian culture and civilization.

...