3 h 38 minAudiobook8 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What does a child lose when a school asks her to leave her own world behind?
Zitkala-Sa begins with childhood on the Great Plains: open grass, Dakota life, and the steady presence of her mother. Then missionaries arrive, seeking children for a school in Indiana. For the young girl, the journey brings strict routines and a struggle to hold on to herself.
American Indian Stories gathers childhood memories, missionary school experiences, accounts of teaching, short fiction, and essays. Zitkala-Sa writes with tenderness and anger, preserving Dakota life while showing what schooling and government policy do to Native families. Her stories follow people caught between two ways of life.
What you’ll discover
- A childhood close to home Enter a child's world of tents, open prairie, and her mother's steady presence.
- The meaning of her hair Discover why a forced haircut becomes a painful struggle over identity and belonging.
- Learning at a cost Feel the pressure of bells and schedules as school wears away a girl's sense of self.
- A teacher sees the harm Follow Zitkala-Sa into teaching, where her account exposes the harm done by boarding schools.
- Memory turns to protest Explore fiction and essays that bring Native lives and the effects of government policy into focus.
Who will love it
For readers who love memoir, American history and early Native writing, and anyone who wants a personal view of the boarding school era, Dakota childhood and the fight for Native rights.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A childhood rooted in Dakota life
- The missionaries offer apples and a train
- Losing her hair, fighting for her spirit
- School days and the cost of learning
- A teacher who sees the harm
- Stories, protest and a lasting voice
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 3 h 38 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 8 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then 0,14 USD a day in your first year on the yearly plan and 0,27 USD a day after, or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear Amerikanische Indianergeschichten in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Amerikanische Indianergeschichten
by Zitkala-Sa · 1921
A Dakota child enters a missionary school where the cutting of her braid becomes a fight for her identity.
Medium level2–5 hours to read25 languages
Excellent
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then 0,14 USD a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A childhood rooted in Dakota life
The opening pages are a child's view of home. Zitkala-Sa was born in 1876 on the Yankton Reservation in South Dakota, and she remembers a world of tents, open grass and the steady presence of her mother. The days are shaped by small tasks and by play. She learns by watching, and the adults around her teach through example and story rather than through lessons.
Her mother is the center of this world. She does beadwork, cooks, and tells the child how to behave toward elders and guests. Zitkala-Sa recalls how she trailed after her, copying her work and sitting nearby while she talked. The writing here is warm and sensory, full of the feel of the prairie and the sound of the family voice.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about Amerikanische Indianergeschichten
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is American Indian Stories about?
It is a collection of memoir, short fiction and essays by Zitkala-Sa. It covers her Dakota childhood, her years in missionary boarding schools, her work as a teacher, and her criticism of how the United States treated Native people.
Is American Indian Stories a true story?
Part of it is. The childhood and school chapters are autobiographical, drawn from her own life. Other pieces are fiction that draw on Dakota life and real injustices. The book was published in 1921, with most pieces written earlier.
Who was Zitkala-Sa?
She was a Yankton Dakota woman born in 1876 on the Yankton Reservation in South Dakota. Her English name was Gertrude Simmons Bonnin. She became a writer, musician, teacher and political activist who campaigned for Native rights.
The author
Zitkala-Sa
1876–1938 · Yankton Dakota writer
Zitkala-Sa (1876–1938) was a Yankton Dakota writer, also known as Gertrude Simmons Bonnin. She was born on the Yankton Indian Reservation in South Dakota and died in Washington, D.C. She published Old Indian Legends in 1901 and American Indian Stories in 1921. She also worked for Native American rights.
More by Zitkala-Sa
All 2 books
More like this
Free
Free
Free
Free
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
Popular in biography & letters
See all
Free
Free
Free
Free
