An American Indian On God
We know that the God of the lettered and the unlettered, of the Greek and the barbarian, is after all the same God
I read the short text and found some parts interesting. Said that, the book portraits a romantic vision of the life of the American Indians in the Plains - probably influenced by nostalgia because the author was 53 at the time of the publication.
Who was Eastman or Ohíyesa?
He was a Sioux from one of the Santee Dakota - Isáŋyathi or Isáŋ-athi - or Eastern Dakota bands. Born as Hakadah, he was later renamed Ohíyesa which means "the winner".
(The word Dakota means "friendly, ally, or friend" in the Siouan language.)
Ohíyesa changed his name to Charles Alexander Eastman and graduated from the Boston University School of Medicine.
This was a big cultural leap coming from his traditional Dakota upbringing. Eastman had to learn English, western clothing and manners, academic subjects, and urban life at the same time.
Later returned to help his people in the West and took care of the wounded of the Wounded Knee Massacre of 1890.
Back to the implicit idea of "only one God with many names" in Ohíyesa's quote
The concept is old. Probably rooted in prehistoric beliefs, and for sure from at least the 2000 BCE.
Hints appear in Vedic hymns from c. 1500 BCE and Egyptian texts.
Rig Veda 8.58.2 echoes:
One alone exists; the wise call It by many names.
The Leiden Hymns to Amun-Ra (c. 1400 BCE) proclaim:
One is Amun, who hides himself from them... who appears under the name of different things,
There are also Bahá'í views of one God revealed differently.
Bahá'ís teach one unknowable God that refers to the same essence.
Baha’is believe there is only one God, the Creator of the universe. Although God may be called by different names in different languages – be it Yahweh, Allah, Brahma, or God – in actuality, these names all refer to the same singular force and being.
(Source: bahai.org)
The idea may also show in Acts 10:34-35 (Peter).
But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.
(From the King James Version of The Bible.)
Beneath the surface of reality churns an energetic abyss. Names are just labels.