Resumen
Resumen de Relatos indígenas estadounidenses
Para quién es
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.
De qué trata este libro
American Indian Stories is a book by Zitkala-Sa, a Yankton Dakota woman who was also known as Gertrude Simmons Bonnin. It was published in 1921. It gathers her earlier writing into one volume: memories of her childhood on the Great Plains, her years in missionary schools, her work as a teacher, short fiction, and essays about the place of Native people in the United States.
She wrote with a double purpose. She wanted to keep the memory of Dakota life alive for readers who knew nothing of it, and she wanted those readers to see what schooling and government policy did to Native families. You get a firsthand voice, plain and angry and tender by turns. We begin where she begins, on the prairie, in the arms of her mother.
En este resumen
- 1A childhood rooted in Dakota lifeFree
- 2The missionaries offer apples and a train
- 3Losing her hair, fighting for her spirit
- 4School days and the cost of learning
- 5A teacher who sees the harm
- 6Stories, protest and a lasting voice
Idea clave 1 de 6
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.
The legends matter too. In the evenings, older people tell tales, and the children listen and learn the values of the community from them. Zitkala-Sa presents this as a real education, one with its own rules of respect, patience and generosity. She wants the reader to see that her people were not without schooling before the missionaries arrived.
Shadows fall across the happiness. Her mother speaks with bitterness of white settlers and of the land taken from her people, and the child senses a grief she does not yet understand. Her own family story carries a wound, because her father was a white man who was absent from her life. These early chapters set up the central tension of the book, a child who loves her home and who will soon be pulled away from it.
That’s 1 of 6 key points.
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About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 33,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 2 h 10 min
- Listening time3 h 40 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary
- LanguagesEnglish and 13 other languages
Questions about Relatos indígenas estadounidenses
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.
Why is the haircut scene so important?
Among her people, cutting a person's hair short was a sign of mourning or shame. When the school forces her to have her braid cut, it shows how boarding schools tried to strip children of their identity.
Is American Indian Stories hard to read?
No. The prose is clear, and the pieces are short and can be read one at a time. The subject matter can be painful, since it deals with separation, loss and unfair treatment, but the style is direct.