Charles A. Eastman

Born in 1858 and known in Dakota as Ohiyesa, he spent his early years in a traditional Dakota setting before later entering schools in the United States and earning a medical degree from Boston University. He went on to become one of the first Native American physicians trained in Western medicine and served at Pine Ridge in South Dakota.

His life joined public service with witness-bearing. He was present at Pine Ridge around the time of the Wounded Knee Massacre, and his writings gave many readers a rare firsthand Native perspective on events that were often told by others.

Eastman also became a widely read author and lecturer. In books such as Indian Boyhood and From the Deep Woods to Civilization, he wrote about Dakota life, childhood, spirituality, and the pressures of assimilation with clarity and warmth, helping preserve Native stories while speaking to a broad American audience.