Native American civil rights criticize the idea of "American progress" and to express pride and faith in the identities of their own cultures. Charles Eastman, a Mdewakanton and Wahpeton Sioux and physician, published books and articles in English for American people to show that it is not savage that Native people celebrate what Mourning Dove called the "ancient way". In 1902, Gertrude Bonnin told the "Atlantic Monthly" that the traditions of her tribe, the Yankton Dakota Sioux, were not only equal to European Americans, but that their values were superior. In 1903, Charles Eastman, a Santee Dakotan and Native representative, was requested by Theodore
Sterilization of Native American women minimum one fourth of the Native Americans child bearing individuals were unable to become pregnant if they were able and wanted to. The decline in birth rate was a quantifiable effect however, sterilization also impacted individuals psychologically and socially. Within Native American culture a woman's fertility along with the family unit are greatly valued. For a woman to be unable to bare children would cause shame, embarrassment and possible condemnation from the individuals tribe due to how Native American peoples view motherhood. These emotions could have been exacerbated due to Native American's deep cultural roots that are based on the