February 22, 1876 Remembering ZITKALA-SA today on her birthday ❤


 Born on the Yankton Indian Reservation in South Dakota, the woman also known by her missionary name, Gertrude Simmons, was an amazing combination of writer, editor, musician, teacher, and political activist.


All her life, Zitkala-Sa (meaning: "Red Bird"), fought the prejudice and ignorance her people were subjected to; she had been removed from the protection of her reservation by white missionaries when she was eight years old, and this affected her the rest of her life. She was against the assimilation policies of the boarding schools of the time.


She learned violin and piano, and began collecting tribal stories, which she later compiled into a series of published books. In 1913, she wrote the libretto and songs for the first Native American opera, "The Sun Dance Opera".


Becoming well-known for her advocacy for Native causes, as well as for her literary and musical talents, in 1926 Zitkala-Sa and her husband founded The National Council of American Indians (a fore-runner of today's influential National Congress of American Indians). She was one of the most influential and important Native Americans of the 20th century.

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