Native American Month

My next choice is to re-look at a recent picture book biography about Zitkala-Sa, Red Bird,

RED BIRD SINGS:   The Story of Zitkala-Sa, Native American  Author, Musician, and Activist,

Adapted by Gina Capaldi & Q.L. Pearce, illustrations by Gina Capaldi, Carolrhoda Books, 2011.

Zitkala-Sa, little Red Bird, when only eight years old, left the Yankton Sioux reservation in South Dakota, climbed aboard a roaring steam-engine train, to head East to the “Land of Red Apples,” Indiana.  She arrived at the boarding school for Native children where she was handed a scrub brush.  Her long black hair was chopped off.  Her soft moccasins were exchanged for hard-soled shoes. This Red Bird did not quit;  she learned to scour floors and then, finally, she entered a classroom for the first time .

Zitkala-Sa learned to read.

What a dangerous opportunity, the ability to read!  Zitkala-Sa  studied long hours not only to learn to read well but also to write with power.  Zitkala-Sa put pen to paper and wrote essays, articles and speeches asking for the recognition of the rights of Native Americans.

Imagine performing a violin performance while whole sections of audience wave a giant white banner screaming: SQUAW.  Imagine giving speeches to thousands asking for the rights of your people. Imagine meeting with the president of the United States to discuss treaties.  Zitkala-Sa’s story helps us imagine the fear and the choice to continue with courage.

As an adult Zitkala-Sa worked as an activist for Native American rights.  She sang, spoke and wrote to build bridges of tolerance between cultures.

Zitkala-Sa wrote, sang and spoke out so all children would have the right to go to school, to read, and to have a voice in their communities and country.