Age: 3rd-5th grade

Zitkala-Sa, or Gertrude Simmons, was born in 1876 on the Yankton Sioux reservation in South Dakota. Her youthful curiosity gets the better of her at eight years and she begs her mother to go with visiting Quaker missionaries to distant and mysterious lands out east. In the Anglo world, Zitkala-Sa becomes passionately involved with two things: music (violin, piano, voice) and oration. Throughout her story, Zitkala-Sa pursues her two passions with a fierceness challenged and admired by the Anglo culture. Zitkala-Sa embraces the Quaker education she received while promoting equality for women and Native Americans, blending both cultures to make a truly remarkable person.

This primary documentation provides excellent research material (although it is a reconstructed story to shorten the length and to appeal to a younger audience). My only reservation for children is that this book includes a long and complex timeline of events.

Supplementary material includes further facts about historical dates, laws, and her influence. An interesting note on the use of sources where some scholars suggest the Atlantic Monthly stories as semiautobiographical. However, the authors suggest that Zitkala-Sa's story "share common themes within the Siouan experiences of the period." Includes selected bibliography, a partial list of Zitkala-Sa's writings, and further readings for a juvenile audience.