Zitkalasa3

Zitakala-Sa – Gertrude Simmons Bonnin

* Born in 1876 in an Indian reservation to a Sioux heritage.
* Her Mother was a Sioux women and her father was a white man who deserted the family.
o At the age of eight she convinced her mother that she wanted to go a Quaker school
+ Though her mother was hesitant she felt that it would be a beneficial to her future.
o She attended the school from the age of eight to fifteen and in the text she describes her first day in an article called “Becoming White.”
+ She had found out from another girl that their hair was to be cut, which was a symbol of an unskilled warrior that was caught by the enemy.
* After receiving her education she went back home.
o Though her heart was with her tribe, she was part of neither of the two worlds.
* She started studying in a nearby college to stay close to her mother, but found opportunity through a scholarship to study at Earlham College in Indiana.
* Afterwards, she received a scholarship to Boston Conservatory of Music.
* She was multitalented having skills in
o Politics
o Writing
o Speaking
o Composing
o Playing the violin.
* She wrote the following books
o Impressions of an Indian Childhood
o American Indian Stories
o Dreams and Thunder
* She was also a teacher, an Indian teacher among Indians
* She died at the age of 62 in 1938, but left a legacy behind her.

Here is a quote by her in her article “Why I am a Pagan”:

A wee child toddling in a wonder world.... I prefer to their dogma my excursions into the natural gardens where the voice of the Great Spirit is heard in the twittering of birds, the rippling of mighty waters, and the sweet breathing of flowers. If this is Paganism, then at present, at least, I am a Pagan.

-- Zitkala-Sa

Conclusion:

She represents the voice of a Native American going through a difficult integration in a Quaker mission school, but uses the experience to find many ways to express herself through political Activism and writing fighting against the received view that Native Americans were savages.

Giese, Paula. 1996. <http://www.kstrom.net/isk/stories/authors/bonnin.html >
Henderson, Melissa Renee. 1997. <http://voices.cla.umn.edu/artistpages/bonnin.php>

Zitkala-Sa was born in 1876 in an Indian reservation to a Sioux heritage. Her mother was a Sioux women and her father was a white man who deserted the family.

At the age of eight she convinced her mother that she wanted to go a Quaker school, and though her mother was hesitant she felt that it would be a beneficial to her future.

She attended the school from the age of eight to fifteen and in the book she describes her first day in an article called “Becoming White.” She had found out from another girl that their hair was to be cut, which was a symbol of an unskilled warrior that was caught by the enemy.

She received her education, and went back to her home. Though her heart was with her tribe, she was part of neither of the two worlds. She started studying in a nearby college to stay close to her mother, but found opportunity through a scholarship to study at Earlham College in Indiana. Afterwards, she received a scholarship to Boston Conservatory of Music.

She was multitalented having skills in politics, writing, speaking, and composing as well as playing the violin. She wrote Impressions of an Indian Childhood, American Indian Stories, and Dreams and Thunder.

Here is a quote by her:

-- Zitkala-Sa

Giese, Paula. 1996. <http://www.kstrom.net/isk/stories/authors/bonnin.html >
Henderson, Melissa Renee. 1997. <http://voices.cla.umn.edu/artistpages/bonnin.php>

Zitkala Za