Happy Birthday, Zitkála-Šá

Born February 22, 1876, Yankton Indian Reservation, South Dakota | Died January 26, 1938, Washington, DC

Today, the Best American Essays newsletters celebrates author, translator, educator, activist, and musician Zitkála-Šá (Red Bird) on the 149th anniversary of her birth. Also known as Gertrude Simmons Bonnin, Zitkála-Šá wrote for both Atlantic Monthly and Harper’s Monthly, publishing essays that countered the dominant narratives surrounding Native Americans. She founded the National Council of American Indians and became co-editor of American Indian Magazine. She is considered one of the most influential Native American activists of the twentieth century.

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Zitkála-Šá, 1898, Gertrude Käsebier.

“Shall we think or shall somebody think for us? We are on this earth to think and do the best we can according to our light.”

Zitkála-Šá, 1921, photographer unknown.

“I seem to be in a spiritual unrest. I hate this eternal tug of war between being 'wild' or becoming 'civilized'. I am what I am. I owe no apologies to God or men.”

American Indian Stories (Hayworth Publishing House, 1921) is widely regarded as Zitkála-Šá’s most influential work. Old Indian Legends (Ginn and Company, 1901) is directed primarily at children to preserve Native American culture. Dreams and Thunder (Bison Books, 2005), published posthumously, collects previously unpublished works, as well as The Sun Dance Opera.

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First published essay:

• “Impressions of an Indian Childhood,” Atlantic Monthly, 1900.

Select nonfiction bibliography:

• “Oklahoma’s Poor Rich Indians,” Indian Rights Association, 1923

• American Indian Stories, Hayworth Publishing House, 1921; reissued by Random House, 2019.

• “Why I Am A Pagan,” Atlantic Monthly, 1902.

• Old Indian Legends, Ginn and Company, 1901; reissued by Bison Books, 2013.

• “School Days of an Indian Girl,” Atlantic Monthly, 1900.

See also:

Visit this database of Zitkála-Šá’s papers at Brigham Young University.

Watch “Zitkála-Šá: Trailblazing American Indian Composer and Writer,” PBS, 2020.

Listen to this episode of the podcast Unsung History about Zitkála-Šá, 2021.

Listen to or read “The Life and Legacy of Zitkala-Ša – with Dr. Julianne Newmark,” on the podcast Breaking Down Patriarchy, 2021.

Read about Zitkála-Šá’s life and being honored on the quarter in 2024, Smithsonian Institution.