After reading The Ghost Dance War by Charles Eastman, I have a few questions that need to be cleared up before I can fully dissect this article. I am not sure if I am the only one who saw this but I noticed that during the beginning of his article, Eastman's tone gave me the idea that he was not Native American but instead a white man. I may be reading too far into this but I think he sounds almost dissociated with the Indian people. Was Eastman a part of the Sioux tribe? If he wasn't then that would explain the dissociation. But if Eastman was in fact a part of the Sioux tribe, he sounds as if he does not consider himself to be Indian. What I mean to say is when he writes about the Indians that were involved in the events leading up to Wounded Knee, the diction used clearly puts up a barrier between the Indians and himself.
Was our narrator assimilated? I should assume so, seeing that in some sentences he refers to the Native Americans as "the Sioux". With that observation, I would even guess that he is not in fact Sioux but of another tribe and just happens to live in the vicinity of the Sioux people. As the chapter goes on, I noticed a shift in this tone. As Eastman comes closer and closer to describing the massacre, he changes his tone and seems more connected to the Sioux people. He even mentions "For me, at that critical time, there was inward struggle as well as the threat of outward conflict..." (Page 97). It seems to me that this man had huge identity issues and was having trouble deciphering who exactly he wanted to be.
Like I said earlier, maybe I'm reading way to far into this. For all I know, Charles Eastman took great pride in his culture. But as far as I'm concerned, I read his tone to be very distant. Maybe this could have been a coping mechanism, a way of blocking out a very tragic event that hurt him. Whatever the reason may be, Eastman's tone throughout the chapter made it interesting to read.
Eastman was a Sioux man, but I also think he was really assimilated. Partly may be because of his wife, who was white. I also think he took great pride in his people and that he was truly concerned for them. His documentation of wounded knee did leave me a little confused. I would have thought he would have given more gruesome details (I might be weird for that), but then it might just be considered "another Indian story". yea..
ReplyDeleteThats weird that you brought the feeling of dissimilation up with Eastman, because I noticed the same trend with Mary Brave Bird. I think that in both instances, their style of writing in not a result out of shame of their heritage, but rather in attempt to give their story more recognition and respect from their readers. As Claudia put it, I think they took this approach in order to avoid having their work just scanned over and deemed "another Indian sob story."
ReplyDeleteI agree that he has a tone that sound like he is white. I think that because he writes the piece in an observer point. I am not sure if he is dissociate with his tribe or he just want to be neutral with the issue.
ReplyDeleteI was also confused as to whether he was a white man or indian for a while. On a different note it was interesting to see the similarities between the way Eastman and his people barricaded themselves in the towns buildings and the way the people at Wounded Knee Creek took over the town. They both stayed indoors to avoid an attack (massacre) from their enemies outdoors, but the indians at wounded knee creek (in the 1970's) were doing it as an act of defiance, while Eastman's people were trying to stay safe.
ReplyDeleteI so definitely agree with you about Eastman sounding White. I mean, as I was reading his article, I kept questioning, is this guy white or Indian? I just don't know. Well of course i figured out at the end, but yea, I'm so glad you brought this up. :)
ReplyDeleteEastman's tone is really confusing especially when we compare it with his wife's poem. He creates a certain level of distance, and his closing sentence about being "an American" seems strange. What does he mean by this? He was sent to boarding school, and even the title of the book suggest a certain type of trajectory: _From the Deep Woods to Civilization_ . I think we might pose the same questions about Eastman as we do Boudinot.
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