The Flight of Red Bird
Hi, I’m Ilissa, I am the education contributor for Zitkala-Sa’s website. As an aspiring and future educator, reading Zitkala-Sa’s story on how abhorrent her boarding school experience was since she was forced to lose so much of her culture inspired me to focus and research more of her education background. If I knew that one of my future students in my Middle School English classroom felt the same way about school that Zitkala-Sa felt I would be crestfallen—every child deserves an education where they can feel safe and welcome, and that is exactly what Zitkala-Sa did not feel.
Zitkala-Sa was determined to get a good education even though she constantly battled choosing between her culture and schooling, but she prospered in the end. She went off to college, she became a talented writer and she even became a teacher herself—she is an inspiration to all current and future educators like myself. She influences me to be the best teacher I can be.
Site Contributors
Hello my name is Amaris. In my American Women Writers class we read the book American Indian Stories by Zitkala-Sa. As part of my group it was my job to make the timeline and write the book summaries. When I first read Zitkala-Sa's American Indian Stories I immediately felt a personal connection with it. In my home the only language spoken was Spanish so the only English I knew was from what I saw on TV. When I first entered school I remember it was difficult for me to communicate since I did not know much English. I remember in 3rd grade when I was placed in ESL because I had a strong Dominican accent every time I spoke English I had trouble with pronunciation. As the years went by my English was perfected. I remember that once my English was near perfect I stopped speaking Spanish and would not identify with my Latino culture outside of my home for the fear of bullying. Like Zitkala-Sa, school had caused me to lose a part of my culture and I did not know who to identify with. As I grew older I began to feel comfortable with my Latino culture and began to speak Spanish again. I remember the insults my Latino friends and I received from others every time we spoke Spanish. Some students would say “this is America speak English.” And I would always reply “Yes this is America a country made up a various cultures there is not an official national language. Do your research.” I may have sounded feisty but I was not going to allow anyone to treat me wrong because of my culture. And this is what Zitkala-Sa did throughout her novels she stood up for her culture and did not care about what others thought of her. I believe Zitkala-Sa is a great inspiration for each and every one of us to embrace our culture, embrace who we are regardless of what society thinks of us.
Prior to reading American Indian Stories by Zitkala- Sa, I had never before read a piece of literature by any Native American, malre OR female. Being given the opportunity to see that women and people across all races, and all cultures(in consideration with other works we have read over the course of our semester in our American Women Writers class) struggle with understanding themselves and having others understand them is something that I can relate to as part of a minorty race. I particularly appreciated Zitkala- Sa's writing because it shed a mystical light on the topic of cultural assimilation, which is something that is generally viewed as hopeless, negative, and futile to the culture being lost. Yet Zitkala- Sa decided not to let this change in her life hinder or deter her, she instead opted to use it as a learning experience and a vehicle through which she has been able to, with her own writing, reach and inspire others confronted with "two cultures" not to give up on the one that is rich in culture and tradition, even if it seems that the other is more "popular" or more "right". It has been a pleasure discovering, reading about, and learning about such an inspirational woman writer.
Under the button entitled "blog", you can read a journal piece I had written in response to Zitkala- Sa's work, as well as pieces relating to other literary pieces we have studied over the course of this class.
What captivated me most about Zitkala-Sa's American Indian Stories was her use of such beautiful imagery and metaphor to describe remarkably powerful, emotional, and difficult moments in her life. In researching Zitkala-Sa I have discovered that she was not only a talented writer and storyteller, but also a skilled musician, a committed educator, and a passionate Native American Activist. I hope the creation of this website will increase awareness of her many accomplishments in spite of facing adversity and doubt.
Participating in this American Women Writer's course has been such an interesting and insightful experience. Zitkala-sa had my eyes glued to her book and I was immediately entranced by her words. I really appreciate her sharing her stories and showing readers the harsh realties of colonization and it's effects on the traditions of a people.
The research I've conducting on her early life allowed me to understand her more. Zitkala-sa was more than a storyteller, she was very active in her community and ensured the voice of the Native Americans were not absent. Having a voice and being heard is something I am personally passionate about, which is why I look up to Zitkala-sa. What Zitkala-sa did and stood for is inspiring. Her stories are truly words with wings and have meaning that soars.
Be sure to click on the "Blog" button to take a look into other responses I made to Zitkala-sa's work, as well as the blogs of my fellow contributors.