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Zitkala-Ša, also Zitkála-Šá (
Lakota Lakota may refer to: *Lakota people, a confederation of seven related Native American tribes *Lakota language Lakota ( ), also referred to as Lakhota, Teton or Teton Sioux, is a Siouan languages, Siouan language spoken by the Lakota people of ...
: , meaning
Red Bird Red Bird (; –16 February 1828) was a leader of the Winnebago (or Ho-Chunk) Native American tribe. He was a leader in the Winnebago War of 1827 against Americans in the United States making intrusions into tribal lands for mining. He was ...
; February 22, 1876 – January 26, 1938), was a
Yankton Dakota The Dakota (pronounced , or ) are a Native American tribe and First Nations band government in North America. They compose two of the three main subcultures of the Sioux people, and are typically divided into the Eastern Dakota and the Wester ...
writer, editor, translator, musician, educator, and
political activist A political movement is a collective attempt by a group of people to change government policy or social values. Political movements are usually in opposition to an element of the status quo, and are often associated with a certain ideology. Some ...
. She was also known by her Anglicized and married name, Gertrude Simmons Bonnin. She wrote several works chronicling her struggles with cultural identity, and the pull between the majority culture in which she was educated, and the Dakota culture into which she was born and raised. Her later books were among the first works to bring traditional Native American stories to a widespread white English-speaking readership. She was co-founder of the
National Council of American Indians The National Council of American Indians (NCAI) was established in February 1926. This organization's purpose was to advocate for Native American rights and representation before the United States government. The National Council of American Ind ...
in 1926, which was established to
lobby Lobby may refer to: * Lobby (room), an entranceway or foyer in a building * Lobbying, the action or the group used to influence a viewpoint to politicians * Lobby (food), a thick stew made in Leigh, Greater Manchester and North Staffordshire, like ...
for Native people's right to
United States citizenship Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constitu ...
and other
civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...
they had long been denied. Zitkala-Ša served as the council's president until her death in 1938. Zitkala-Ša has been noted as one of the most influential
Native American activists Native may refer to: People * '' Jus sanguinis'', nationality by blood * '' Jus soli'', nationality by location of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Nat ...
of the 20th century. Working with American musician William F. Hanson, Zitkala-Ša wrote the
libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...
and songs for '' The Sun Dance Opera'' (1913), the first American Indian opera. It was composed in
romantic music Romantic music is a stylistic movement in Western Classical music associated with the period of the 19th century commonly referred to as the Romantic era (or Romantic period). It is closely related to the broader concept of Romanticism—the ...
al style, and based on
Sioux The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin ( ; Dakota/ Lakota: ) are groups of Native American tribes and First Nations people from the Great Plains of North America. The Sioux have two major linguistic divisions: the Dakota and Lakota peoples (translati ...
and
Ute Ute or UTE may refer to: * Ute people, a Native American people of the Great Basin * Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, Utah * Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah * Southern Ute Indian Tribe of the Southern ...
cultural themes.


Early life and education

Zitkala-Ša was born on February 22, 1876, on the
Yankton Indian Reservation The Yankton Indian Reservation is the homeland of the Yankton Sioux Tribe of the Dakota tribe. The reservation occupies the easternmost 60 percent of Charles Mix County in southeastern South Dakota, United States and abuts the Missouri River ...
in
South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...
. She was raised by her
Dakota Dakota may refer to: * Dakota people, a sub-tribe of the Sioux ** Dakota language, their language Dakota may also refer to: Places United States * Dakota, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Dakota, Illinois, a town * Dakota, Minnesota ...
mother ("Every Wind or Reaches for the Wind"), whose English name was Ellen Simmons. Her father was a Frenchman named Felker, who abandoned the family when Zitkala-Ša was very young. For her first eight years, Zitkala-Ša lived with her mother on the reservation and learned the
Dakota language The Dakota language ( or ), also referred to as Dakhóta, is a Siouan language spoken by the Dakota people of the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ, commonly known in English as the Sioux. Dakota is closely related to and mutually intelligible with the Lak ...
. She later described those days as ones of freedom and happiness, safe in the care of her mother's people and tribe. In 1884, when Zitkala-Ša was eight,
missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...
came to the reservation. They recruited several Yankton children, including Zitkala-Ša, taking them to be educated at the White's Indiana Manual Labor Institute, a
Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...
missionary boarding school in
Wabash, Indiana Wabash is a city in Noble Township, Wabash County, Indiana, Noble Township, Wabash County, Indiana, Wabash County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 10,666 at the 2010 census. The city is situated along the Wabash River in the cou ...
. This training school was founded by
Josiah White Josiah White (1781–1850) was a Pennsylvania industrialist and key figure in the American Industrial Revolution. Career Pennsylvania navigation development White began early factory-centered mill production in 1808 in water powered ironwor ...
for the education of "poor children, white, colored, and Indian" to help them advance in society. Zitkala-Ša attended the school for three years until 1887. She later wrote about this period in her work, ''The School Days of an Indian Girl.'' She described the deep misery of having her heritage stripped away when she was forced to pray as a Quaker and to cut her traditionally long hair. By contrast, she took joy in learning to read, write, and play the violin. In 1887, Zitkala-Ša returned to the Yankton Reservation to live with her mother. She spent three years there. She was dismayed to realize that, while she still longed for the native Yankton traditions, she no longer fully belonged to them. Besides, she thought that many on the reservation were conforming to the dominant white culture. In 1891, wanting more education, Zitkala-Ša decided at age fifteen to return to the White's Indiana Manual Labor Institute. She planned to gain more through her education than becoming a housekeeper, a role the school anticipated most female students would pursue. She studied piano and violin and started to teach music at White's after the music teacher resigned. In June 1895, when Zitkala-Ša was awarded her diploma, she gave a speech on the inequality of
women's rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...
, which was praised highly by the local newspaper. Though her mother wanted her to return home after graduation, Zitkala-Ša chose to attend
Earlham College Earlham College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Richmond, Indiana. The college was established in 1847 by the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) and has a strong focus on Quake ...
in
Richmond, Indiana Richmond () is a city in eastern Wayne County, Indiana, United States. Bordering the state of Ohio, it is the county seat of Wayne County. In the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 35,720. It is the principal c ...
, where she had been offered a scholarship. While initially feeling isolated and uncertain among her predominantly white peers, she proved her oratorical talents with a speech titled "Side by Side.” During this time, she began gathering traditional stories from a spectrum of Native tribes, translating them into
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
and English for children to read. In 1897, six weeks before graduation, she was forced to leave Earlham College due to ill health and financial difficulties.


Music and teaching

From 1897 to 1899 Zitkala-Ša studied and played the violin at the
New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. The conservatory is located on Huntington Avenue along Avenue of the Arts (Boston), the Avenue of the Arts near Boston Symphony Ha ...
in Boston. In 1899, she took a position at
Carlisle Indian Industrial School The United States Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, generally known as Carlisle Indian Industrial School, was the flagship Indian boarding school in the United States from its founding in 1879 to 1918. It was based in the histo ...
in Pennsylvania, where she taught music to children. She also facilitated debates on the treatment of Native Americans. At the 1900 Paris Exposition, she played violin with the school's Carlisle Indian Band. In the same year, she began writing articles on Native American life, which were published in national periodicals such as ''
Atlantic Monthly ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 ...
'' and ''
Harper's Monthly ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the United States. ''Harper's Magazine'' has ...
''. Her critical appraisal of the
American Indian boarding school American Indian boarding schools, also known more recently as American Indian residential schools, were established in the United States from the mid-17th to the early 20th centuries with a main primary objective of "civilizing" or assimilat ...
system and vivid portrayal of Indian deracination contrasted markedly to the more idealistic writings of most of her contemporaries. Also in 1901, Zitkala-Ša was sent by Carlisle's founder, Colonel
Richard Henry Pratt Brigadier-General Richard Henry Pratt (December 6, 1840 – March 15, 1924) was a United States Army officer who founded the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania in 1879 and served as its longtime superintendent. Prior to this, Prat ...
, to the Yankton Reservation to recruit students. It was her first visit in several years. She was troubled to find her mother's house in disrepair, her brother's family had fallen into poverty, and white settlers were beginning to occupy lands allotted to the
Yankton Dakota The Dakota (pronounced , or ) are a Native American tribe and First Nations band government in North America. They compose two of the three main subcultures of the Sioux people, and are typically divided into the Eastern Dakota and the Wester ...
under the
Dawes Act of 1887 The Dawes Act of 1887 (also known as the General Allotment Act or the Dawes Severalty Act of 1887) regulated land rights on tribal territories within the United States. Named after Senator Henry L. Dawes of Massachusetts, it authorized the P ...
. Upon returning to the Carlisle School, Zitkala-Ša came into conflict with Pratt. She resented his rigid program to assimilate Native Americans into dominant white culture and the limitations of the curriculum. It prepared Native American children only for low-level manual work, assuming they would return to rural cultures. That year she published an article in ''
Harper's Monthly ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the United States. ''Harper's Magazine'' has ...
'' describing the profound loss of identity felt by a Native American boy after undergoing the
assimilationist Cultural assimilation is the process in which a minority group or culture comes to resemble a society's majority group or fully adopts the values, behaviors, and beliefs of another group. The melting pot model is based on this concept. A relat ...
education at the school, a story called "The Soft Hearted Sioux," which Pratt called "trash." In 1901, Zitkala-Ša was dismissed from the Carlisle School. Soon after, she took a job as a clerk at the
Standing Rock Indian Reservation The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North & South Dakota controls the Standing Rock Reservation (), which straddles the border between North and South Dakota in the United States, and is inhabited by ethnic "Hunkpapa and Sihasapa bands of Lako ...
where she likely met Bonnin.


Marriage and family

Zitkala-Ša returned to the Yankton Reservation after her time at the Carlisle School and cared for her ailing mother. Her relationship with her mother was strained after a disagreement over Zitkala-Ša's decision to continue her education. She also spent this time gathering material for her collection of traditional Sioux stories to publish in ''Old Indian Legends'', commissioned by the
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
publisher
Ginn and Company Pearson Education, known since 2011 as simply Pearson, is the educational publishing and services subsidiary of the international corporation Pearson plc. The subsidiary was formed in 1998, when Pearson plc acquired Simon & Schuster's educatio ...
. In early 1901, she was engaged to
Carlos Montezuma Carlos Montezuma or Wassaja (c. 1866 – January 31, 1923) was a Yavapai-Apache Native American, activist and founding member of the Society of American Indians. His birth name, Wassaja, means "Signaling" or "Beckoning" in his native tongue. Was ...
, a Yavapi (Mohave-Apache) doctor and Indigenous activist. Her letters to Montezuma verify that the Carlisle school and its president and founder were a major cause of concern. In her letters, she repeatedly mentions Pratt and Carlisle, calling Pratt "woefully small" and "bigoted" (5 March 1901) and writing that she "imagines Carlisle will rear up on its haunches" after one of her stories is published (Summer 1901). Zitkala-Ša explains to Montezuma that even though she "offends the Col.," she "won't be another's mouthpiece- hewill say just what hethinks" (5 March 1901). It is both because of and through her rejection of Pratt and his educational plan that Zitkala-Ša inscribes her strategic rhetoric of pedagogical resistance. She broke off her engagement and relationship with Montezuma by August. He had refused to give up his private medical practice in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
and relocate with her to the Yankton Indian Agency, where she wanted to return. In 1902, she met and married Raymond Talephause Bonnin, who was of Yankton-European ancestry and culturally Yankton. Soon after their marriage, Bonnin was assigned by the BIA to the Uintah-Ouray reservation in Utah. The couple lived and worked there with the
Ute people Ute () are an Indigenous peoples of the Great Basin, Indigenous people of the Great Basin and Colorado Plateau in present-day Utah, western Colorado, and northern New Mexico.Pritkzer''A Native American Encyclopedia'' p. 242 Historically, their t ...
for the next fourteen years. During this period, Zitkala-Ša gave birth to the couple's only child, Raymond Ohiya Bonnin. Her husband, Bonnin, enlisted in the US Army in 1917 after the United States declared war against the
German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...
during
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1918. He served in the Quarter Master Corps in Washington, D.C., and was honorably discharged with the rank of captain in 1920.


Writing career

Zitkala-Ša had a fruitful writing career, with two major periods. The first period was from 1900 to 1904, when she published legends collected from Native American culture, as well as autobiographical narratives. She continued to write during the following years, but she did not publish any of these writings. These unpublished writings, along with others including the libretto of the ''Sun Dance Opera'', were collected and published posthumously in 2001 as ''Dreams and Thunder: Stories, Poems, and the Sun Dance Opera''. Zitkala-Ša's articles in the ''Atlantic Monthly'' were published from 1900 to 1902. They included "An Indian Teacher Among Indians", published in Volume 85 in 1900. Included in the same issue were "Impressions of an Indian Childhood" and "School Days of an Indian Girl". Zitkala-Ša's other articles were published in ''Harper's Monthly''. "Soft-Hearted Sioux" appeared in the March 1901 issue, Volume 102, and "The Trial Path" in the October 1901 issue, Volume 103. She also wrote "A Warrior's Daughter", published in 1902 in Volume 6 of ''Everybody's Magazine''. In 1902, Zitkala-Ša published "Why I Am a Pagan" in ''
Atlantic Monthly ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 ...
'', volume 90. It was a treatise on her personal spiritual beliefs. She countered the contemporary trend that suggested Native Americans readily adopted and conformed to the Christianity forced on them in schools and public life. Much of her work is characterized by its liminal nature: tensions between tradition and assimilation, and between literature and politics. This tension has been described as generating much of the dynamism of her work. The second phase of her writing career was from 1916 to 1924. During this period, Zitkala-Ša concentrated on writing and publishing political works. She and her husband had moved to Washington, D.C., where she became politically active. She published some of her most influential writings, including ''American Indian Stories'' (1921) with the Hayworth Publishing House. She co-authored ''Oklahoma's Poor Rich Indians: An Orgy of Graft and Exploitation of the Five Civilized Tribes, Legalized Robbery'' (1923), an influential pamphlet, with Charles H. Fabens of the
American Indian Defense Association The American Indian Defense Association (AIDA) was an organization founded in 1923 by social worker John Collier that fought to protect religious freedom and tribal property for Native Americans in the United States.
and Matthew K. Sniffen of the
Indian Rights Association The Indian Rights Association (IRA) was a social activist group dedicated to the well-being and acculturation of Native Americans in the United States. Founded by non-Indians in Philadelphia in 1882, the group was highly influential in American Ind ...
. Included in the ''Oklahoma's Poor Rich Indians'' publication was information about Stella Mason, as well as others. She also created the Indian Welfare Committee of the
General Federation of Women's Clubs The General Federation of Women's Clubs (GFWC), founded in 1890 during the Progressive Movement, is a federation of approximately 2,300 women's clubs in the United States which promote civic improvements through volunteer service. Community Serv ...
, working as a researcher for it through much of the 1920s.


''American Indian Stories''

'' American Indian Stories'' is a collection of childhood stories, allegorical fiction, and an essay, including several of Zitkala-Ša's articles that were originally published in ''Harper's Monthly'' and ''Atlantic Monthly''. First published in 1921, these stories told of the hardships which she and other Native Americans encountered at the missionary and manual labor schools designed to "civilize" them and assimilate them to majority culture. The autobiographical writings described her early life on the Yankton Reservation, her years as a student at White's Manual Labor Institute and Earlham College, and her time teaching at Carlisle Indian Industrial School. Her autobiography contrasted the charm of her early life on the reservation with the "iron routine" which she found in the assimilation boarding schools. Zitkala-Ša wrote: "Perhaps my Indian nature is the moaning wind which stirs them choolteachersnow for their present record. But, however tempestuous this is within me, it comes out as the low voice of a curiously colored seashell, which is only for those ears that are bent with compassion to hear it."


''Old Indian Legends''

Commissioned by the Boston publisher Ginn and Company, '' Old Indian Legends'' (1901) was a collection of stories including some that she learned as a child and others she had gathered from various tribes. Directed primarily at children, the collection was an attempt both to preserve Native American traditions and stories in print and to garner respect and recognition for those from the dominant European-American culture.


"Oklahoma's Poor Rich Indians"

One of Zitkala-Ša's most influential pieces of political writing, "Oklahoma's Poor Rich Indians”, was published in 1923 by the
Indian Rights Association The Indian Rights Association (IRA) was a social activist group dedicated to the well-being and acculturation of Native Americans in the United States. Founded by non-Indians in Philadelphia in 1882, the group was highly influential in American Ind ...
. The article exposed several American corporations that had been working systematically, through such extra-legal means as robbery and even murder, to defraud Native American tribes, particularly the Osage. After oil was discovered on their lands, speculators and criminals tried to acquire their headrights to leasing fees from development of their oil-rich land in Oklahoma. During the 1920s, numerous Osage were murdered. The work influenced Congress to pass the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, which encouraged tribes to re-establish self-government, including management of their lands. Under this act, the government returned some lands to them as communal property, which it had previously classified as surplus, so they could put together parcels that could be managed.


Articles for ''American Indian Magazine''

Zitkala-Ša was an active member of the
Society of American Indians A society () is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. ...
(SAI), which published ''American Indian Magazine''. From 1918 to 1919 she served as editor of the magazine, as well as contributing numerous articles. These were her most explicitly political writings, covering topics such as the contribution of Native American soldiers to World War I, issues of land allotment, and corruption within the
Bureau of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States List of United States federal agencies, federal agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior, Department of the Interior. It is responsible for im ...
(BIA), the agency within the Department of Interior that oversaw American Indians. Many of her political writings have since been criticized for favoring assimilation. She called for recognition of Native American culture and traditions, while also advocating US citizenship rights to bring Native Americans into mainstream America. She believed this was the way that they could both gain political power and protect their cultures.


Making an opera

While Zitkala-Ša lived on the Uintah-Ouray reservation in Utah, she met American composer William F. Hanson, who was a professor of music at
Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...
. Together, in 1910, they started their collaboration on the music for ''The Sun Dance Opera'', for which Zitkala-Ša wrote the libretto and songs. The romantic musical combined Sioux and Ute cultural themes. She played Sioux melodies on the violin and flute, and Hanson used this as the basis of his music composition. She based it on the Lakota Sun Dance, which the federal government prohibited the Ute from performing on the reservation. The opera premiered in Utah in February 1913, with dancing and some parts performed by the Ute from the nearby
Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation The Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation (, ) is located in northeastern Utah, United States. It is the homeland of the Ute Indian Tribe (Ute dialect: Núuchi-u), and is the largest of three Indian reservations inhabited by members of the Ute Trib ...
, and lead singing roles filled by non-natives. According to historian Tadeusz Lewandowski, it was the first Native opera. It debuted at Orpheus Hall in
Vernal, Utah Vernal, the county seat and largest city in Uintah County, is in northeastern Utah, approximately east of Salt Lake City and west of the Colorado border. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 10,079. The population has since grown t ...
, to high local praise and critical acclaim. Few works of Native American opera since have dealt so exclusively with Native American themes. In 1938, the New York Light Opera Guild presented ''The Sun Dance Opera'' at
The Broadway Theatre The Broadway Theatre (formerly Universal's Colony Theatre, B.S. Moss's Broadway Theatre, Earl Carroll's Broadway Theatre, and Ciné Roma) is a Broadway theater at 1681 Broadway (near 53rd Street) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan ...
as its opera of the year.


Political activism

Zitkala-Ša was politically active throughout most of her adult life. During her time on the Uintah-Ouray reservation in Utah, she was involved with the Society of American Indians (SAI) which was dedicated to preserving the Native American way of life while lobbying for the right to full American citizenship. The letterhead of the council stationery claimed that the overall goals for SAI was to "help Indians help themselves in protecting their rights and properties". Zitkala-Ša served as SAI's secretary beginning in 1916. Since the late 20th century, activists have criticized SAI and Zitkala-Ša as misguided in their strong advocacy of citizenship and employment rights for Native Americans. Such critics believe that Native Americans have lost cultural identity as they have become more part of mainstream American society. Zitkala-Ša and her family relocated to
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, when the SAI appointed her as national secretary in 1916. As the secretary for SAI, Zitkala-Ša corresponded with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). She began to criticize practices of the BIA, such as their attempt at the national boarding schools to prohibit Native American children from using their native languages and cultural practices. She reported incidents of abuse resulting from children's refusal to pray in a Christian manner. From Washington, Zitkala-Ša began lecturing nationwide on behalf of SAI to promote greater awareness of the cultural and tribal identity of Native Americans. During the 1920s she promoted a pan-Indian movement to unite all of America's tribes in the cause of lobbying for citizenship rights. In 1924 the
Indian Citizenship Act The Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, (, enacted June 2, 1924) was an Act of the United States Congress that declared Indigenous persons born within the United States are US citizens. Although the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constituti ...
was passed, granting US citizenship rights to most Indigenous peoples who did not already have it. While Native Americans now had citizenship, discrimination remained widespread. In some states their right to vote was denied, a situation not fully changed until the Civil rights movement of the 1960s. In 1926, she and her husband founded the
National Council of American Indians The National Council of American Indians (NCAI) was established in February 1926. This organization's purpose was to advocate for Native American rights and representation before the United States government. The National Council of American Ind ...
(NCAI), dedicated to the cause of uniting the tribes throughout the US in the cause of gaining full citizenship rights through suffrage. From 1926 until she died in 1938, Zitkala-Ša served as president, major fundraiser, and speaker for the NCAI. Her early work was largely forgotten after the organization was revived in 1944 under male leadership. Zitkala-Ša was also active in the 1920s in the movement for women's rights, joining the
General Federation of Women's Clubs The General Federation of Women's Clubs (GFWC), founded in 1890 during the Progressive Movement, is a federation of approximately 2,300 women's clubs in the United States which promote civic improvements through volunteer service. Community Serv ...
(GFWC) in 1921. This grassroots organization was dedicated to diversity in its membership and to maintaining a public voice for women's concerns. Through the GFWC she created the Indian Welfare Committee in 1924. She helped initiate a government investigation into the exploitation of Native Americans in Oklahoma and the attempts being made to defraud them of drilling rights and leasing fees for their oil-rich lands. She undertook a speaking tour across the country for the General Federation of Women's Clubs where she called for the abolition of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. In addition to her other organizing, Zitkala-Ša also ran a voter registration drive among Native Americans. She encouraged them to support the Curtis Bill, which she believed would be favorable for Indians. Though the bill granted Native Americans US citizenship, it did not grant those living on reservations the right to vote in local and state elections. Zitkala-Ša continued to work for civil rights, and better access to health care and education for Native Americans until she died in 1938.


Death and legacy

Zitkala-Ša died on January 26, 1938, in Washington, D.C., at the age of 61. She is buried as Gertrude Simmons Bonnin in
Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...
with her husband Raymond. In the late 20th century, the
University of Nebraska A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...
reissued many of her writings on Native American culture. She has been recognized by the naming of a Venusian crater "Bonnin" in her honor. In 1997 she was designated a
Women's History Month Women's History Month is an annual observance to highlight the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society. Celebrated during March in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, corresponding with Internationa ...
Honoree by the
National Women's History Project The National Women's History Alliance (NWHA) is an American non-profit organization dedicated to honoring and preserving women's history. The NWHA was formerly known as the National Women's History Project. Based out of Santa Rosa, California, sin ...
. Zitkala-Ša lived part of her life in the Lyon Park neighborhood of
Arlington County, Virginia Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the nati ...
, near Washington, DC. In 2020, a park in that neighborhood that had previously been named for
Henry Clay Henry Clay (April 12, 1777June 29, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the United States Senate, U.S. Senate and United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives. He was the seventh Spea ...
was renamed in her honor. In 2018,
Melodia Women's Choir Melodia Women's Choir NYC is a women's choir in Manhattan dedicated to exploring, creating and performing classical and contemporary music composed for women's voices. An ensemble of 30 singers, Melodia performs concerts in New York City, and sup ...
of New York City performed the world premiere of a commissioned work based on the story of Zitkala-Ša, ''Red Bird'' by Cevanne Horrocks-Hopayian. Chris Pappan illustrated a
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that incorporated
ledger art Ledger art is narrative drawing or painting on paper or cloth, predominantly practiced by Plains Indian, but also from the Plateau and Great Basin. Ledger art flourished primarily from the 1860s to the 1920s. A revival of ledger art began in the ...
for use in the United States on February 22, 2021, to celebrate her 145th birthday. In 2022 an opera based on her life and work was released: '' Mináǧi kiŋ dowáŋ: A Zitkála-Šá Opera''. It is the first opera to use Dakota language. Zitkala-Ša's legacy lives on as one of the most influential Native American activists of the 20th century. She left an influential theory of Indian resistance and a crucial model for reform. Through her activism, Zitkala-Ša was able to make crucial changes to education, health care, and legal standing for Native American people and the preservation of Indian culture. Zitkala-Ša is featured on a 2024 American Women quarter.


Writings by Zitkala-Ša

* '' Old Indian Legends''. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1985. * '' American Indian Stories''. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1985. * Zitkála-Šá
"Why I Am a Pagan."
''Atlantic Monthly'', 1902. * Zitkála-Šá, Fabens, Charles H. and Matthew K. Sniffen. ''Oklahoma's Poor Rich Indians: An Orgy of Graft and Exploitation of the Five Civilized Tribes, Legalized Robbery''. Philadelphia: Office of the Indian Rights Association, 1924. * Zitkála-Šá. ''Dreams and Thunder: Stories, Poems, and The Sun Dance Opera''. Edited by P. Jane Hafen. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2001. . * ''Zitkála-Šá: Letters, Speeches, and Unpublished Writings, 1898–1929''. Edited by Tadeusz Lewandowski. Leiden, Boston: Brill Press, 2018. .


Scores

* Hanson, William F., and Zitkala-Ša. ''The Sun Dance Opera'' (romantic American Indian opera, 1913, 1938). Photocopy of the original piano-vocal score, from microfilm (227 pp.). Library of
Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...
,
Provo, Utah Provo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Utah County, Utah, United States. It is south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front, and lies between the cities of Orem, Utah, Orem to the north and Springville, Utah, Springville to the south ...
.


See also

* '' Old Indian Legends'' * '' I Remain Alive: the Sioux Literary Renaissance'' * Zintkála Nuni


References


Bibliography

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External links

* * * * *
Gertrude Bonnin -- Zitkala-Ša
in ''Voices from the Gaps''
Portrait of Zitkala-Ša
by
Gertrude Käsebier Gertrude Käsebier (born Stanton; May 18, 1852 – October 12, 1934) was an American photographer. She was known for her images of motherhood, her portraits of Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans, and her promotion of photogra ...
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zitkala-Sa 1876 births 1938 deaths American people of French descent People from Charles Mix County, South Dakota Yankton Sioux Tribe people Native American activists Members of the Society of American Indians Earlham College alumni Carlisle Indian Industrial School faculty Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Native American autobiographers American autobiographers Native American essayists American women essayists 20th-century American essayists 19th-century American essayists Activists for Native American rights Native American women writers Native American suffragists Native American musicians 19th-century Native American women 19th-century American women educators 19th-century American educators 19th-century American women musicians 19th-century American women writers 20th-century Native American women 20th-century Native American writers 20th-century American women writers Writers from South Dakota Musicians from South Dakota Activists from South Dakota American women music educators American music educators American opera librettists