author
Zitkala-Sa
1876–1938
A powerful early Native American voice, she turned personal experience into essays, stories, and activism that challenged injustice. Her work still stands out for its honesty, energy, and fierce defense of Indigenous identity.
2 Audiobooks
American Indian Stories
by Zitkala-Sa
Old Indian Legends
by Zitkala-Sa
About the author
Born on February 22, 1876, on the Yankton Indian Reservation in South Dakota, Zitkala-Sa was a Yankton Dakota writer, musician, educator, and activist. She was also known as Gertrude Simmons Bonnin. As a child she was sent to a boarding school designed to force Native children to adopt white American customs, an experience that deeply shaped her later writing.
She became known for books such as Old Indian Legends, American Indian Stories, and American Indian Stories, Legends, and Other Writings. Her essays and stories often drew on her own life and on Dakota traditions, exploring the pain of cultural loss as well as the strength of Native communities. She also studied music, taught, and helped create The Sun Dance, often described as the first American Indian opera.
Beyond literature, she was a determined public advocate for Indigenous rights. She worked with reform organizations, co-founded the National Council of American Indians, and pushed for citizenship, voting rights, education, and better treatment for Native people. She died on January 26, 1938, in Washington, D.C., but her writing and activism continue to inspire readers today.