At the end of The Soul of the White Man, Charles Eastman states "I am an Indian;...Nevertheless, so long as I live, I am an American." This seems confusing to me because I am unsure whether he is considering himself to be an Indian or an American, as in being white. But judging from the argument he presented, my guess is that Eastman is saying he still considered himself as an Indian culturally. However, because he has been influenced by the American/Western way of life, he has adapted to the civilized lifestyles.
Of course, Charles Eastman made a very convincing argument in regards to the white men's religion of Christianity. I agreed with Eastman that the white men "are anxious to pass on their religion to all races of men, but keep very little of it themselves." It's true, evidence from historical context examined that those who claimed to be "Christian" were murderers that feeds on those considered to be "weak" and are society's "outcasts." The question to be ask is not "why" they call themselves "Christian" while being guilty of executing the wicked and evil act because the reasons are obvious, but rather the question is "how" are these "less developed people" getting away with their crime? And the answer is quite simple yet does not fail to shock some people, that society today has not outgrown this system. It doesn't do anyone a favor to be pointing fingers or passing the blame because ironically enough every individual is at fault. Moreover, "the white man's religion is not responsible for his mistakes," and it does not create peace for anyone but may ignite more chaos. Another way to look at this issue is "the system of life is based upon a trade-off system when civilization is reduced to its lowest terms." By nature mankind are selfish: they are selfish to achieve an immortal life where they refuse to age, they are selfish to help others, they are selfish to share with one another, they are selfish at looking attractive, and so forth. Like the white men, society do composed of hypocrites and less developed people, who are blinded by the media and religion. These people in some way neglect their own cultures as well as beliefs and in exchange they foolishly pursued a life full of miseries and disgusts. Perhaps deep down somewhere in the illusions of being a "Christian" they are able to realize that they are spellbounded by their own spell in the attempt to cast it upon mankind. Little do they know that their souls are being sucked out of their bones and flesh and in place of it is replaced with a little monster because they have passed on a genuine religion but forgot to have faith in their God.
