Synopsis
Taken from her family on the Yankton Sioux Reservation at the age of eight and sent to a school far from home, Gertrude is forced to become "civilized"--to give up her moccasins, her long hair, and her language, and to renounce her Sioux heritage. As an adult, she renames herself Zitkala-¬Sa, which means "Red Bird," and devotes her life to fighting for justice for Native Americans. Her powerful and memorable story, told in her own words from letters and diaries, will inspire anyone who has ever dreamed of making a difference.
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About the Author
Doreen Rappaport is known for her thoroughly researched nonfiction that reads like fiction. She lives in New York City.
From Kirkus Reviews
In this moving work, Rappaport (Tinker vs. Des Moines, 1993, etc.) adroitly recreates the life of a Native American woman born in 1876 on the Yankton Reservation in South Dakota who was forced to give up her cultural heritage and become ``civilized''--the consequence of which was her lifelong activism. At the age of eight, Gertrude left her home to attend a boarding school in Indiana; if she did not, her mother's food rations would be cut. As an adult, Gertrude wrote articles for the Atlantic Monthly describing her humiliation at how the US government tried to destroy tribal unity and traditional life and culture, signing her articles ``Zitkala-Sa,'' or Red Bird. Her letters, journals, poetry, and memoirs track the ``pain of her assimilation and her difficult journey back.'' In order to help unite Indians into a political force, Zitkala-Sa became active in the National Council of American Indians. An introduction explains how Rappaport assembled the material for her ``autobiographical biography,'' and the changes she made, based on her research. No matter how the book is categorized, readers will relish Zitkala-Sa's upholding of the warrior tradition with the ``new weapons learned from her enemy--her pen, the English language, and her organizational persistence.'' (b&w photos, chronology, glossary, sources, further reading, bibliography) (Biography. 10+) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
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Search results for The Flight of Red Bird
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The Flight of Red Bird
Seller: Bartlesville Public Library, Bartlesville, OK, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Soft cover. Condition: Very Good. Book is in very good condition with a small crease to the bottom front outer corner. Contents are in good condition. Seller Inventory # 002386
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The Flight of Red Bird
Seller: Lexington Books Inc, Idaho Falls, ID, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: Good. Seller Inventory # 133348
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The Flight of Red Bird
Seller: CorgiPack, Fulton, NY, U.S.A.
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: Good. Light creasing to corners of front cover. Very nice and clean. Text free of highlighting and writing. Tightly bound. Taken from her family on the Yankton Sioux Reservation at the age of eight and sent to a school far from home, Gertrude is forced to become "civilized"--to give up her moccasins, her long hair, and her language, and to renounce her Sioux heritage. As an adult, she renames herself Zitkala Sa, which means "Red Bird," and devotes her life to fighting for justice for Native Americans. Her powerful and memorable story, told in her own words from letters and diaries, will inspire anyone who has ever dreamed of making a difference. 258 pages. Seller Inventory # 068979