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Gertrude Simmons Bonnin, who was born in 1876, was an educated and very influential Native American woman. She belonged to the Yankton Sioux tribe and was sent off to study in a missionary school at the age of eight. The writer struggled and faced many hardships at the time when prejudice prevailed towards the culture and traditions of the Native Americans. The women were the ones who suffered the most. When she began to write, Gertrude adopted the name ‘Zitkala-Sa’ as her pen name. She began to publish her work criticising The Carlisle Indian School from the 1900s. Her articles displayed the criticism of her life as a Native American woman and how she was subject to oppression by The Whites and their new power.
In “Impressions of an Indian Children”, Zitkala-Sa explains the relationship of Native American mothers with their daughters. The Sioux tribe portrayed mothers as important figures, signifying personal relationships with the earth. Therefore, Zitkala-Sa, too, respected, loved and admired her mother. In the article, she explains the trouble her mother took every single day just to fetch water from the nearby river. She also describes the games she played with her friends, which involved the impersonation of their mothers. The writer’s mother had always been open with her daughter regarding the hatred she had for all White men. We get to know about her mother’s hatred when the writer describes the comment had her mother made describing the stealing of the river from the Native Americans by the White men someday. Her mother even begged the writer to change her mind about attending the White school but being a child of eight, Zitkala-Sa was too excited to study in such a school. She was always fascinated by the stories she had heard about the life beyond the tribe. So she, too, wanted to explore the outside world. Despite the fact that she was only at the age of eight
2 at the time, she was given complete freedom by her mother to make decisions on her own. Absolute freedom given to daughters was an important aspect in the bond shared between mothers and daughters. The author’s mother always taught her to not invade anybody’s privacy and interfere in the decision-making process of others. Thus, she did the same in the case of her own daughter. The daughter in the article is shown to be adventurous, wild and free. Because of this reason, her mother developed a fear that she would lose that freedom in the new environment of the White school. An important feature of Native American was that it included the transferring of knowledge by the mother to her daughter. But the fact that Zitkala-Sa had to leave was risking their heritage. However, the decision to attend the White school did not interfere with the culture of Native Americans. The new influence in the school, on the bright side, did not affect the aspects of the relationship of mother and daughter in her tradition.
The article explains a special bond between a mother and daughter. It is interesting as we get to know how the Natives struggled and tried to overcome their hardships. We also get an idea of how important culture can be for an individual or group. The Native Americans had a rich culture and the rules of the different tribes played different roles in the everyday aspects of life. One thing that inspired me was Zitkala-Sa’s spirit throughout her whole life. It helps us to know that if we stay firm and strong, no one can change us. From the article, we can assume how much of patience the poor Native Americans had against the oppression of the Western rule. Such patience has become a necessity in the present-day world because we do not always get what we want and cannot live our lives, without thinking about the norms of our society.
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However, there were a few things in the article that I did not highly agree with. One of the things is that even though mothers played an important role in the Native American tradition, they were not taken into consideration in terms of making decisions for their children. Children, in this case, daughters, who were way too young were allowed to make decisions for themselves. According to me, it was not right because I believe they were new members in the tribe and they were not mature enough to think if they had made the right decision or not. The children who did not even step outside of their tribe and explore the real world, were allowed to make the most important decisions of their life. Another thing that I think was not appropriate is the fact that all White men were considered to be the same. They were believed to be oppressive and cruel. It was despite the fact that all human beings, irrespective of their race, language and religion, were different from one another. The hatred of Zitkala-Sa’s mother towards the Whites gave me a hint of prejudice on her tribe, which may also be applicable in terms of the whole tribe. In relation to the remark made by the writer’s mother, the White men were also portrayed as people who had settled in their area to exploit their resources. However, I do not agree with this. It is because I think that natural resources can be used by all human beings and animals. No single tribe can claim such a resource and call it theirs. Zitkala-Sa was a good author but since she was very young when she left the tribe and joined the Western school, she may have misconceptions of school rules. What I mean is that every school has rules and regulations that are to be followed by its students, no matter how oppressive they might be. None of the students are given the freedom of doing everything they pleased to. A proper conduct should be maintained. This is a characteristic of all schools, ranging from the ancient times to the present-day society and not just of the Western school that prevailed during Zitkala-Sa’s time. I would also question why there was no role of men in the tribe’s tradition even though men are considered to be
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stronger than women. I believe that a society or a tribe should be equal. All decisions and norms should be made taking into consideration of both males as well as females. Finally, I think the greatest criticism of the work is that Zitkala-Sa did not mention that she had become educated only because she studied in the Western school. It is true that the White men were harsh towards Native Americans. But we cannot ignore the fact that if they wanted, they could give a lower level of education to the Native Americans but they did not do so. The school, instead, gave equal education to all. The kind of education Zitkala-Sa received is one of the main reasons why she had become a well-known and appreciated writer of both the old times and the present.
“Impressions of an Indian Childhood”, is a very inspiring story displaying the life of a little girl and how strong her bond was with her mother even though she was considered to be independent. Zitkala-Sa’s work mainly explains the struggles of the tribals against new invaders and how their economic and social lives were affected. The article named “School days of an Indian Girl” provides the details of Zitkala-Sa’s experience in the school and the hardships she faced. However, in this article she describes how she spent her whole life in the Western school. She also explains how every day got tougher and tougher for her. Thus, I appreciate all of her works even though there were certain aspects and views that I did not agree with.
- How do you portray the relationship of the author with her tribe?
- Do you see a sense of discrimination in the story?
- How would you differentiate Zitkala-Sa from her mother?
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- What would you have done if you were to place yourself in her place? Would you agree with your mother or do what the author did and leave?
- Do you agree with the way the Whites have been portrayed in the article?
- Did the story have an impact on you?
- How would you describe Zitkala-Sa’s experience of leaving the tribe?
- Do you think that the story is full of negativity?
- Do you think that the author had exaggerated the oppression of the Native American by the Western rulers?
- Do you think that the only way she could explore the life outside of her tribe was by joining the Western school? What does it tell you about the tribal attitude?
Works Cited
Zitkala-Sa (Gertrude Bonnin). "Impressions of an Indian Childhood." The Online Archive of Nineteenth-Century U.S. Women's Writings. Ed. Glynis Carr. Online. Internet. Posted: Winter 1999.
Cutter, M.J. "Zitkala-Sa's Autobiographical Writings: The Problems of a Canonical Search for Language and Identity," MELUS, 19 (Spring 1994): 31-44.
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