Ohiyesa Press Notes Ohiyesa Press Notes

Ohiyesa: The Soul of an Indian was produced by Dakota Eastman Productions for a presentationof Vision Maker Media, with major funding provided by the Corporation for

Public Broadcasting (CPB).

© 2018 Dakota Eastman Productions. All rights reserved.

Ohiyesa: The Soul of an Indian was produced by Dakota Eastman Productions, which is solely

responsible for its content.

Not Rated, 57 min, Color

Ohiyesa Press Notes Ohiyesa Press Notes

Kate Beane holds a BA in American Indian Studies and a PhD in American Studies at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. With an employment history rooted in education, she has worked in the Twin Cities as an after school mentor for American Indian youth, an early childhood Dakota language immersion teacher, a local public history consultant, and as a community college instructor. Previously, she served as a Charles A. Eastman Pre-doctoral Fellow at Dartmouth College, and as a President’s Post-doctoral Fellow at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Currently, she is the Dakota Program and Outreach Manager for Native American Initiatives at the Minnesota Historical Society.

Educator, community organizer, and documentary filmmaker. Syd Beane’s great-grandfather was Rev. John Eastman, the older brother and mentor of Charles Alexander Eastman (Ohiyesa). Syd served as Project Manager of The Dakota Land Study in Minnesota Before 1862 Research/Book Project which was completed with the publishing of the book “Mni Sota Makoce: The Land of the Dakota.” This book was awarded Minnesota History Book of the year for 2012. He was writer and co-producer of the documentary film “Native Nations: Standing Together for Civil Rights” shown nationally on ABC, NBC, and the Hallmark Channel. He is Executive Producer/Producer of “Ohiyesa: The Soul of an Indian.”

ABOUT THE FILMAKERS

PRODUCERS STATEMENTThere have been a number of books and scholarly papers written about Charles Alexander Eastman based primarily upon his books and other resource materials without consulting family descendants or other relatives. In May of 2007, HBO Films released the docudrama “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee” based upon the book by Dee Brown which chronicled the history of Native Americans being driven from their lands depicting both military intervention and congressional legislation. The film weaved in a story of Charles Alexander Eastman as a central character along with his wife Elaine Goodale Eastman but with inaccurate historical material throughout the script. This Eastman story was developed again without consulting family members. It became clear that a story about Charles Eastman developed and told from the perspective of family members was needed to help set the record straight. It was also possible to develop a documentary film from the Eastman Dakota family perspective with a group of family professionals familiar with the history, storytelling and the filmmaking process. The family group involved in making this film includes: Syd Beane, William Beane, Kate Beane and Carly Eastman Bad Heart Bull, direct descendants of John Eastman and Gail Johnsen and Ginny Risk, direct descendants of Charles Eastman. This film is their story.

Kate Beane (Flandreau Santee Sioux

and Muskogee Creek)

Syd Beane (Flandreau Santee Sioux)

Featured and Narrator Executive Producer

Photo Courtesy of Stephanie Mosher

Photo Courtesy of Brady Willette Photo Courtesy of Chad Knutson

Ohiyesa Press Notes Ohiyesa Press Notes

LONG SYNOPSIS MEDIUM SYNOPSISOhiyesa: The Soul of an Indian is a deeply personal film that follows Kate Beane, an urban, Dakota scholar, and her family as they retrace the footsteps of their celebrated relative, Ohiyesa, recounting his remarkable life. On this journey, they seek to return the legacy of their grandfather back to their ancestral homeland, while also searching for what their own legacy will be.

Ohiyesa, also known as Charles Eastman, lived an extraordinary life during a tumultuous time for the Dakota Oyate (nation). Born in 1858, Ohiyesa was part of the last generation of his family to inherit and be raised with the full knowledge of traditional Dakota life in Minnesota. As a child he was forced out of the state with his community following the Dakota War of 1862. He grew up to become the second Native American physician in the United States and an important author, social activist, and lecturer on the international stage, all before his people were considered American citizens in their own land. Ohiyesa’s memoirs relate his journey from a pre-reservation, Dakota boyhood to the ivy halls of Dartmouth and beyond.

Ohiyesa: The Soul of an Indian is a deeply personal family film that follows Kate Beane, an urban, Dakota scholar, and her family as they trace the remarkable life of their celebrated relative, Ohiyesa (Charles Eastman), an important author, activist, lecturer and one of the first Native American doctors. Along the way, Beane uncovers uncanny parallels between their lives, though they were born more than 100 years apart.

For the first time, Beane and other relatives reunite to share Ohiyesa’s story through an indigenous perspective, considering questions their grandfather posed more than a century ago, such as how can indigenous people retain their cultural traditions and worldviews, while also working within institutions and a society that was created to oppress them?

Beane and her family search for the legacy of Ohiyesa, while trying to determine what their own legacy will be.

Ohiyesa witnessed his people at war, exiled, and forced onto reservations after their land was stolen. As the Indian Agency physician at Pine Ridge, he treated the victims of the Wounded Knee Massacre of 1890. As a founding member of the Society of American Indians—an important early advocacy group—Ohiyesa lobbied in Washington for Indian citizenship and self-determination. Among his many other accomplishments, he held important roles in the early years of the Boy Scouts of America and the YMCA.

Ohiyesa occupies a significant place in the literary canon. Author Louise Erdrich calls him a writer ahead of his time. Others describe him as the most prolific Indian author of the early 20th century. His 11 books are still in print and read around the world, providing an eyewitness perspective of Indian life during a volatile time in their history.

After years of seeing scholars and others tell Ohiyesa’s story, Beane and her relatives reunite to shed light on the man behind the suit and the headdress. Beane and her father Syd, the film’s

executive producer, are enrolled members of the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe and descend from the Bdewakantunwan and Wahpetunwan bands of the Dakota Oyate.

In Ohiyesa, the Soul of an Indian , the Beanes correct inaccuracies about Ohiyesa’s life and consider many challenges he faced, looking at this history through an indigenous and personal family perspective. They reflect on questions their grandfather posed more than a century ago, such as how can indigenous people retain their cultural traditions and worldviews, while also working within institutions and a society that was created to oppress them? Along the way, Kate Beane uncovers uncanny parallels between their lives, though they were born more than 100 years apart.

In the words of Eastman scholar and professor David Martinez, “When somebody like Eastman asserts himself as an Indian person, he is doing so in defiance of that fundamental belief in the United States that Indian people are going to fade into the sunset. He refused to fade.”

Photo Courtesy of Stephanie Mosher Photo Courtesy of Stephanie Mosher

Ohiyesa Press Notes Ohiyesa Press Notes

Conceived bySyd Beane

Featuring and Narrated byKate Beane (Loud Hawk)

Voice of OhiyesaEvan Adams

Ohiyesa Dakota TranslationGlenn Wasicuna

Produced bySyd BeaneJesse HeinzenStephanie MosherJulianna OlsenJohn Whitehead

Executive ProducerSyd Beane

Directed byJohn WhiteheadJesse Heinzen

Written byJulianna Olsen

Co-Writers byKate Beane (Loud Hawk)Stephanie MosherJohn Whitehead

EditorChad Knutson

Director of PhotographyJon Springer

Executive Music Producer& CuratorTom Bee

Original ScorePhil Aaron

Additional Music byBrent Michael Davids with theMankato Symphony Orchestraand John Beane

ColoristMichael Sandness, CSI

Motion GraphicsNed Hurley

Assistant EditorJake Fredel

Additional VideographyCliff DahlbergAdrian DanciuCully GallagherHinhan Loud HawkChad KnutsonMichael SutzJim Tittle

Drone OperatorChad Knutson

Location Audio Tom ForlitiEric PagelAlec Roslik

Sound EditorAndrew Smith

Sound Designer and Re-Recording Mixer Jason Almendinger

Scoring MixerBrad Stokes

Historical ResearchersKate Beane (Loud Hawk), PhDWilliam L. Beane

Photograph RestorationTerry Scheller

Graphic DesignGary Brandenburg

Transcripts bySandi Roesler

Original Concept SamplerWritten and Directed byKristian Berg

Fiscal AgentsMigizi Communications, Inc.Elaine Salinas, PresidentDick Musser, Finace Director

Executive Producer ofVision Maker MediaShirley K. Sneve

CREDITS

SPECIAL THANKS

IN MEMORY OF

Lillian Beane Sid Byrd Wilmer Mesteth

A. Lavonne Brown Ruoff, PhDAlan RumrillAnn ReganBazille Owen-ReeseBecky BeaneBilly GilbertBirchbark BooksCamp OaheCarly Bad Heart BullColin Calloway, PhDD. Stephen ElliottDartmouth CollegeDavid FrechetteDavid Martinez, PhDDivision of Parks and TrailsDr. Clifford CankuFirst Presbyterian Church, Flandreau, SDGail JohnsenGary RevierGerald AlcantarGrace Goldtooth-CamposHinhan Loud Hawk

Historic Fort Snelling at BdoteJay Bad Heart BullJohn AndrewsKapiolani LaronalKautz Family YMCA Archives, University of Minnesota LibrariesKelly FinnertyLillian BeaneLillian Canunpa Loud HawkLisa OwenLodestoneLouise ErdrichLower Sioux AgencyMato Wakan Win Loud HawkMa’ko’Quah JonesMinneapolis Community and Technical CollegeMinneapolis Institute of ArtsMinneapolis Park and Recreation BoardMinnesota Department of Natural Resources,Moddy County MuseumMonica Stretten

Northern Star Council Boy Scouts of AmericaPhil Iron CloudQuill Bad Heart BullRedwood County MuseumRev. Sid ByrdRoxie JohnsonRyan BeanSam AllenSeth EastmanSophia Smith Collection, Smith CollegeSydney Croteau-FrechetteTatewin Elderly ApartmentsThe Bakken MuseumThe Newberry LibraryUBCP/ACTRAUniversity of MinnesotaUniversity of Minnesota LibrariesVernell WabashaVillage TheatreVirginia RiskWilliam L. BeaneWilmer Mesteth

Ohiyesa Press Notes Ohiyesa Press Notes

FOOTAGE & STILL IMAGES

WEBSITE: https://www.visionmakermedia.org/films/ohiyesa-soul-indian

TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqRWzBnRSEs

Fiscal AgentMigizi CommunicationsDick Musser

SUPPORTExecutive Producer of Vision Maker MediaShirley K. Sneve

Fiscal SponsorMinnesota Historical Society

Photo Courtesy of John Whitehead

American Swedish InstituteWilliam L BeaneBoston University Alumni Medical Library ArchivesKautz Family YMCA ArchivesUniversity of Minnesota ArchivesGail JohnsenMinnesota Hisorical SocietyNational Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian InstitutionNorthern Star CouncilBoy Scout of AmericaNational Gallery of ArtNorthwest Minnesota Historical Center

The Newberry Library, ChicagoVirginia RiskThe Sophia Smith Collection, Smith CollegeSouth Dakota State Historical SocietyVideoblocksWalter P. Reuther Library, Archive of Labor and Urban Affairs, Wayne State University

MUSICGrandfather’s CallingWritten and Performed by Doulglas Spotted EaglePublished by Firedrum Music (ASCAP)Courtesy of The Soar Corporation

MUSIC (continued)

Celebration of LifeWritten and Performed by Doulglas Spotted EaglePublished by Firedrum Music (ASCAP)Courtesy of The Soar Corporation

The Beauty WayWritten and Performed by Doulglas Spotted EaglePublished by Firedrum Music (ASCAP)Courtesy of The Soar Corporation

Voices on the WindWritten by Robby BeePerformed by SanteePublished by Firedrum Music (ASCAP)Courtesy of The Soar Corporation

Kee’ta Kee’ta Matt SinWritten by D. NormanPerformed by Norman & KramerPublished by Firedrum Music (ASCAP)Courtesy of The Soar Corporation

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington DC, Art Resource, NYShutterstockTwin Cities Public TelevisionSyd BeaneBritish PathéDartmouth College LibraryThe Johnes Library, Inc., Amherst, MALibrary of CongressThe National ArchivesNational Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian InstitutionPresbyterian Historical Society, Philadelphia, PA

CreationWritten and Performed by Doulglas Spotted EaglePublished by Firedrum Music (ASCAP)Courtesy of The Soar Corporation