Charles Alexander Eastman was born in 1858 and raised as "Ohiyesa" to be a hunter and warrior in the traditional ways of the Santee Sioux. When he was almost 16 years old, he left tribal life to learn the culture of European-American civilization and earn his undergraduate and medical degrees. Eastman became a doctor, a tireless advocate for the rights of his people, and a writer of many works in which he sought to share the true ways of the American Indian. We previously shared Eastman's insights on the Sioux ideal of manhood. Having laid that foundational overview, we will now offer a series of edited collections of Eastman's writing on 3 specific subjects: situational awareness, physical and mental discipline, and spirituality.
First up: situational awareness. The life of the American Indian was a satisfying but precarious one. Natural and human dangers abounded. To watch for these threats, the Sioux selected certain men to serve as two types of scouts — one for hunting and one for war. Part of the job of the latter was to secrete themselves just outside the tribe's village at night and listen and watch for potential enemies in the darkness; Eastman describes these nocturnal scouts as having "been so trained as to rival an owl or a cat in their ability to see in the dark."
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The journey from boy to man: A lesson from the Sioux
Situational Awareness - Observe, Orient, Decide, Act