
01/26/2023
A View into Two Worlds | NMAI Magazine
On this day in 1938, Zitkala-Ša (“Red Bird”), an accomplished Yankton Sioux writer, violinist and composer who was also an outspoken advocate for Indigenous rights and women’s suffrage passed at the age of 61. Throughout her life, Zitkala-Ša worked tirelessly for American Indian citizenship rights, independence and sovereignty. She co-founded the National Council of American Indians in 1926 to attain proper healthcare, legal status and land rights for Indigenous peoples and served as the organization’s president until her death.
https://www.americanindianmagazine.org/story/zitkala-sa
Images in the Smithsonian archives of Zitkala-Ša show how this accomplished Yankton Sioux writer, violinist, composer and advocate for Indigenous rights and women’s suffrage lived in two very different cultures.