In Charles Alexander Eastman’s From the Deep Woods to Civilization describes the massacre at Wounded Knee as a crisis of faith. In the statement “All of this was a severe ordeal for one who had so lately put all his faith in the Christian love and lofty ideals of the white man.” In which I believe Eastman was using Christianity rhetorically to comment on the Euro-American treatment of native peoples. He goes on to state “I scarcely knew at the time, but gradually learned afterward,” that shows the knowledge that he gained about the treatment of his people after his conversion to Christianity.  Then again we see in the story he writes “Never was more ruthless fraud and graft practiced upon a defenseless people than that upon these poor natives by the politicians! Never were there more worthless “scraps of paper” anywhere in the world than many of the Indian treaties and Government documents!” Everything that was preached about Christianity was not put into action with the native americans. This lofty idea of love believed to be in the heart of all Christians was not shown, Eastman experienced first hand the prejudice, injustice, cruelty, and hypocrisy that Christians the native american peoples.  I believe this would have been a huge crisis of faith for Eastman and the cause of his withdrawal from public affairs back to the Deep Woods and away from Civilization. The experience of the crisis took him full circle and questioned his faith. I believe this was an excellent example of how actions speak louder than words and the lasting impact they have the power to form. Eastman describes the hypocrisy in the statement “The “Messiah craze” in itself was scarcely a source of danger, and one might almost as well call upon the army to suppress Billy Sunday and his hysterical followers.” He goes on several times within the work to use Christianity rhetorically to show the unfair treatment of natives, and how the love and lofty ideas were never graced upon them.

Eastman, Charles Alexander. “From From the Deep Woods to Civilization.” The Norton Anthology of American Literature, edited by Robert S. Levine, Norton, 2022, p 769.