A Note on "The Laughing Philosopher" from *Indian Boyhood*

A lot of Indian Boyhood is dispelling the myths "civilized" people have of  the
natives and providing readers with a firsthand outlook on the real lives of
the tribes. Eastman basically says, "I don't like how people think that
Indians do this.." and then tells it like it is; he lets us know what
actually goes down. And what else can we do, but be surprised at just how
much like us they really are?

So the passage says, Matogee was a natural humorous speaker. Natural
humorous speaker? Matogee was a comedian.

There is a common misconception that Indians are always serious and
solemnbecause they constantly fight to survive. While it may be true that
theystruggle for life, they still enjoy it. No matter how tough the obstacles
they face, the Sioux still need laughter and humor in their lives to go on.
And I think that this is true for anybody - whether they be Indian or
African or Martian - you need laughter to feel alive.

The light hearted stories of Hadakah's memories were not only entertaining
and mildly ridiculous, it forced us to see that Indians aren't very
different from "civilized" people. They eat, they work, they talk, they
laugh. Their ways of teasing and joking with their brothers and sisters
aren't very different from the burns we dish to our own friends. And
honestly, can't you imagine the native circle telling stories and smoking a
bong? Of course you can! Because we follow that same ritual in our college
frat row - making fun of pledges, getting high, pissed drunk, and really,
just having a good time.

And while we don’t battle bears and hunt wolves, we also need relief from
our own issues. Everyday we're faced with pounds of reading, insane
competition, bickering hobos, extreme weather, and freshmen thirty. My
stomach, Bernadita, has come to haunt me once again.

Oh dear, I'm getting off topic.

What I'm trying to say is, Eastman wrote this book to show people that
Indians aren't really those strange creatures in the forest. That they are
people and although they don’t have computers or cars or skyscrapers, they
are people - a civilized people.

And they have hilarious stories.

~C.C.