Sister to the Sioux: The Memoirs of Elaine Goodale Eastman, 1885-91

Abstract

'A woman ahead of her time, the 'Little Sister' ...adds unique and fascinating chapter to the literature of the West' - Pacific Historian. 'We must be impressed by this talented woman who gave herself so completely to the people she chose to serve. Her story is fascinating, real contribution to the history of the period' - American Indian Quarterly. 'It is particularly refreshing to see Indian women viewed through the eyes of another woman' - Valerie Sherer Mathes, North Dakota History. 'It was held distinct adventure back in the demure 1880s for properly brought-up New England girl to open day school in primitive Sioux village,' Elaine Goodale Eastman recalled in later years.With boundless energy and dedication she had set out to teach the white man's ways to the Sioux. The Indian women called her little sister as she entered wholeheartedly into village activities. She watched the emergence of the Ghost Dance religion, visited with Sitting Bull shortly before his death, and was at Pine Ridge during the last month of 1890 - a time of grim suspense. There she met her future husband, Dr. Charles Eastman, the agency physician and mixed-blood Sioux. A short time later they shared in the heart-wrenching job of caring for the survivors of the Wounded Knee massacre. Kay Graber, editor emeritus at the University of Nebraska Press, is also editor of Standing Bear & the Ponca Chiefs (Nebraska 1995).