Zitkala Sa

Zitkala –Sa faces various conflicting instances in her autobiographical essays. Her early childhood consisted of a very simple and loving upbringing from her mother and other surrounding family members. Zitkala-Sa and her mother were very close. Both Zitkala-Sa and mother performed various chores together and the occasional beading, an Indian tradition. Like many women during that time Zitkala-Sa’s mother could not adapt to white culture nor did she want to. “The paleface has stolen our lands and driven us hither. Having defrauded us of our land, the paleface forced us away” (10). You can tell from her mother’s comments that she and the white man do not get along and she thinks that all of the Indians problems stemed from the white man

She thought that the transition to a different school may have been better for her because she knew the language but also the color of her skin, she was treated no differently. In later years she became a teacher and taught to save Indians from white abuse and destruction by assimilating them and teaching them a trade. Zitkala-Sa began publicly to express her estrangement from both cultures and her anger over the treatment of her people by state and church. She articulated her struggle with cultural disturbance and injustice, thereby becoming a serious bridge builder between cultures, using language as a tool to create an identity surrounding both cultures.

At the White’s Manuel Institute Zitkala-Sa found it to be extremely regimented. She did not like the constant bells to wake up, sit down, and go to sleep. She found it almost jail like. The missionaries forced abuse as punishment and stripped them of their Indian culture. Their first attempt to demolish their culture was to give them new clothing and cut their long black hair short. By doing this the Indians were one step closer into the assimilation of American Society. Zitkala-Sa was petrified to have her hair cut short. She felt dead and helpless in a place where she had no support and no religious aid. In the Institute Zitkala-Sa was taught by the white man’s bible. When she seeked religious aid it was

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