
In the Beginning, the Sun
The Dakota Legend of Creation
Charles Alexander Eastman(Author)
Minnesota Historical Society Press
Published on 18. April 2023
Book
Paperback/Softback
208 pages
978-1-68134-233-7 (ISBN)
Description
"In the 1860s and 1870s, the boy who would become known as Charles Eastman was growing up in a Dakota community in Canada. On long winter evenings, he listened to elder Smoky Day tell the twelve legends of the Dakota creation cycle. They include stories of the marriage of the Sun and the Moon, the parents of all living things; the animal tribes and their councils; the misdeeds of the trickster Unktomi; the education of the first human, Waceheska; the war that Unktomi fomented between Waceheska and the animals; and much more. These stories told of how humans won the right to use the bodies of animals for their needs, but only if they respect the animals' spirits and do not destroy them wantonly. In the 1880s, as a young man at college, Eastman wrote down the twelve stories. Shortly before his death in 1939, he revised the text for publication, but no book was ever released. For more than 80 years, this manuscript-written by one of the best-known and most prolific Native American writers of the early twentieth century-remained unpublished. In this new publication, descendants of Charles and his brothers John and David Eastman have come together to present this remarkable work, more than eight decades after its completion. Five Eastman descendants contribute essays that offer new and personal perspectives on Charles Eastman's life and family, his work as an Indigenous artist and writer, and the impact of these stories on today's Dakota communities."--Publisher's description.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Mongolia
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Illustrations
Illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 214 mm
Width: 137 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
292 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-68134-233-7 (9781681342337)
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Additional editions

Charles Alexander Eastman | Gail Johnsen | Sydney Beane
In the Beginning, the Sun
Dakota Legends of Creation
E-Book
04/2023
Minnesota Historical Society Press
€9.49
Available for download
Persons
Charles Alexander Eastman (Ohiyesa, 1858-1939) was a prolific writer, a physician, an advocate for Native American rights, and the best-known Indigenous person of his day. He was the author of The Soul of the Indian, From the Deep Woods to Civilization, and eleven other books.
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