Zitkala-Sa

Born on February 22, 1876, at the Yankton Sioux Agency in South Dakota, she was also known as Gertrude Simmons Bonnin and by her Lakota name, Zitkala-Ša, often translated as "Red Bird." She became a writer, editor, musician, educator, and political activist whose life and work explored the pressures between Indigenous identity and the assimilationist schooling she experienced as a child.

Her books and essays, including American Indian Stories, are remembered for their vivid, personal voice and for the way they challenged popular ideas about Native people in the United States. She also helped create The Sun Dance Opera, noted by the National Park Service as the first American Indian opera, drawing on Sioux cultural traditions.

Beyond her literary work, she campaigned for Native citizenship, voting rights, and the protection of Native cultures. She later co-founded the National Council of American Indians and served as its president until her death in Washington, D.C., on January 26, 1938.