A noble, incredible man of extraordinary character and purpose

 


I watched a movie recently called “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.” The story centered largely around a Sioux Indian named Charles Eastman, and his work at Pine Ridge, South Dakota and events preceding and immediately following the Battle at Wounded Knee Creek. The movie touched upon the murder of Chief Sitting Bull, the controversial Ghost Dance as practiced by the Lakota Sioux, the Sioux’s refusal to sell the Black Hills, and the US army’s defunct attempt to turn the nomadic, hunter-gatherer Sioux Indian tribes into farmers on land that was not particularly suited to farming.

As with most video interpretations, the movie was somewhat inaccurate in the sequence and details of events, but it seemed the objective was not so much historical accuracy as it was to portray the feelings of the participants, the clashes of culture and the misunderstandings resulting from such, and how fear of differing cultures can lead to such senseless tragedies…not to mention the evil of trying to “control” societies that we fear by robbing them of their own history and traditions, the culture that makes them who they are.

The sad thing is that I think there were many truly decent individuals on BOTH sides that got caught up in this conflict, victimized by fear and misunderstandings. Caught in the middle of all this confusion was a quite remarkable man known as Charles Eastman (or, Ohiyesa, by his tribal brethren). Ohiyesa’s mother was a white woman, his father a full-blooded Sioux. And true to his heritage, he spent his entire adult life as a most remarkable intercessor between the whites and the Indians, seeking to take the best of best of both worlds and cultures and incorporate it into a new and better way in which both cultures could live together in harmony. The movie touched upon the inner emotional conflicts of Ohiyesa as he sought to build a constructive bridge between these two cultures.

That differing cultures will eventually clash is inevitable in the evolution of man. But I believe the ultimate purpose of such clashes is exactly what Ohiyesa spent his life attempting to do. EVERY culture, EVERY belief system, has buried within it, it’s own riches and wisdom that are unique to it. To reject it or to attempt to eradicate other cultures and belief systems in whole is to lose the opportunity for your own personal advancement and the advancement of your own culture. That is the stupidity of narrow-mindedness and fear.

In a sense, I see Ohiyesa’s/Charles’ unique heritage as a bi-racial individual as both his blessing and his curse – the same blessing/curse that presents itself to every bi-racial individual, regardless of the blended races. There is sometimes pain and confusion in conflicting loyalties, but for those very special individuals who are able to rise above this ‘curse,’ the prospects of the accomplishment of many great things knows no limits. May we ALL, regardless of race and culture, learn much from such incredible individuals.

Learn more about Ohiyesa/Charles:
http://www.worldwisdom.com/Public/SlideShows/SlideShow.asp?SlideShowID=3&SlideDetailID=1