Zitkala-Ša (1876-1938) was a fierce activist, writer, and composer who fought relentlessly for Native American rights and enfranchisement. She is known for being the first Native American person to write an opera.
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Hello! From Wonder Media Network, I’m Jenny Kaplan and this is Encyclopedia Womannica.
Today’s storyteller was a fierce activist, writer, and composer who fought relentlessly for Native American rights and enfranchisement. She is known for being the first Native American person to write an opera. And her commitment to advocacy for Indigenous people led to the passing of major legislation. Let’s talk about Zitkala-Ša!
Zitkala-Ša was born, Gertrude Simmons, on February 22, 1876, on the Yankton Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Her father, a white Euro-American man, left her mother to raise Zitkala-Ša and her siblings alone, as members of the Yankton Sioux tribe (Yank-ton Sue). Zitkala-Sa’s mother ensured her children’s upbringing was steeped in Indian culture and traditions. Zitkala-Ša's deep love and appreciation for her heritage started when she was young. Her main method of learning during her early years was through observation and imitation of her mother and other female elders of the tribe.
When Zitkala-Ša was 8 years old, she was handpicked to go to the White’s Indiana Manual Labor Institute, a Quaker missionary boarding school, in Wabash, Indiana. Her mother objected to her leaving home, but Zitkala-Sa convinced her mother it would be for the best. At that time, the U.S. government restricted Native access to work and education opportunities.
Zitkala-Sa had no idea the Institute would be a complete culture shock. During her time at the Institute, Zitkala-Ša was forced to give up her Dakota culture. She was forced to only speak English, she was indoctrinated with Christianity, and she was required to dress in more traditional western uniforms. A pivotal moment in her formative years was when the school officials cut her long thick hair, a sign of strength in the Sioux culture, against her will. It was at this moment that Zitkala-Ša recalls losing her spirit and her Indian identity.
After three years, Zitkala-Ša left the school and returned to the reservation, but the damage had been done. As a result of the Institute’s efforts to dismantle her Native culture and replace it with whiteness, she no longer felt she belonged at home. Zitkala-Ša went back to the school a few years later and graduated in 1895. She got her first taste of activism when she gave a graduation speech on the importance of women’s rights. In a step toward taking back her power and independence, she changed her name from Gertrude to Zitkala-Ša, which means Red Bird, in the Lakota dialect.
Zitkala-Ša accepted a scholarship to Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana where she spent two years studying piano and violin and collecting stories from Native tribes. Unfortunately, much of her time at Earlham was spent in isolation as the predominantly white student body was prejudiced and discriminatory. In 1897, Zitkala-Ša took her talents to the New England Conservatory of Music to further her study of the violin. The Conservatory allowed her to fully express her creativity and artistic abilities.
When Zitkala-Ša was 23 she took a post as a music teacher at the Pennsylvania Carlisle Indian Industrial school. She realized relatively quickly that Carlisle was a more destructive version of White’s Indiana Manual Labor Institute and began to publish essays about the intentional and forceful relocation of Indian people. Her candid criticism of the boarding school led to her reassignment as a recruiter. Zitkala-Ša’s assignment of returning to the Yankton Reservation to recruit more students granted her the opportunity to bear witness to the devastation of her home. It was then occupied by white settlers at the hands of the federal government. She directed her rage into her writing and got her work concerning the inhumane and dangerous nature of these boarding schools printed in National magazines like the Atlantic Monthly and Harper’s Monthly. Shortly after these articles were published, Zitkala-Sa was fired.
In 1901, despite their estrangement, Zitkala-Ša returned home to look after her sick mother. She made a living working as an issue clerk at the Standing Rock Reservation. This is where she met her husband, Captain Raymond T. Bonnin, who was also from the Yankton Sioux tribe. The couple married on May 10, 1902, and moved to the Uintah and Ouray Reservation in Utah where they had their only child, Raymond Ohiya Bonnin.
Between 1900 and 1902, Zitkala-Ša published Old Indian Legends, a rich collection of retold Dakota stories, and a series of autobiographical short stories including, An Indian Teacher Among Indians, Impressions of an Indian Childhood, and A Warriors Daughter. These stories portrayed characters who endured the struggles of Native people and told of their resolve to persevere beyond assimilation.
In 1910, Zitkala-Ša collaborated with Brigham Young University professor, William Hanson. Three years later, the two produced the Sun Dance Opera, the first American Indian written opera. It honored Native American tradition by using music to exalt sacred tribal dances and religious rituals. It was staged 15 times across Utah, using a mix of a Native and non-Native cast. The Opera was a representation of personal devotion and sacrifice.
Zitkala-Ša also spent her time in Utah serving as the secretary of the Society for American Indians and as the editor of its journal, American Indian Magazine. Its mission was to preserve Native American culture and advocate for American citizenship. Zitkala-Ša tried to work in tandem with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, where her husband worked, but her public criticism of the Bureau’s assimilation practices led to both of their dismissals.
The family moved to Washington, DC in 1916 in hopes of making more progress in advocating for Native American rights. Zitkala-Ša devoted her life to traveling across the country giving speeches condemning assimilation and championing American citizenship and suffrage for Indigenous people. She stood firm in her belief that without voting rights and citizenship, Indians were prisoners of war in the United States. Her dedication to the movement resulted in the passing of the Indian Citizenship Act in 1924, granting U.S. citizenship to Native Americans. It did not guarantee the right to vote.
Zitkala-Ša and Raymond then founded the National Council of American Indians, which worked to join hands with tribes across the U.S. to secure Native suffrage. She served as the Council’s president for 12 years.
Zitkala-Ša died on January 26, 1938 at the age of 61, just 3 months before the New York premiere of the Sun Dance Opera. She is buried in Arlington National Cemetery next to her husband.
Her legacy lives on in the continuing fight for Indigenous rights today. Zitkala-Ša believed that the answer to Native issues lay in the power of Native people themselves. Through her work, she preserved American Indian stories and native traditions.
This was our final episode of our month of Storytellers. But our ode to the power of the written word continues. On Monday, we’re starting a brand new monthly theme. We’re keeping our attention on a similar field, talking about Journalists.
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