American Indian Stories

Zitkala-Sa (1876-1938) was a pioneering voice in the movement for Native American rights. Born on a Sioux reservation in South Dakota, she spent her life as an activist working to bring the history and cultural concerns of Native Americans to the broader public. In "American Indian Stories" (1921), her most famous work, Zitkala-Sa draws upon her experience as a Native American child faced with the reality of cultural submission. A collection of fiction and non-fiction, "American Indian Stories" explores the pressures Native Americans faced to assimilate to white American culture. Zitkala-Sa later established and presided over the National Council of American Indians, helping to further the interests of American Indians. These stories and tales create an intimate portrait of the rich cultural history of the American Indian, and double as source material from one of America's most successful Native American activists.