Zitkala-sa, renamed Gertrude Simmons by Catholic missionaries, was one of the first Sioux women to write the stories and traditions of her people. The first set of stories in this collection is autobiographical. Zitkala-sa describes living in her mother's wigwam on the Yankton Reservation at the edge of the Missouri River where she is "as free as the wind that blew my hair, and no less spirited than a bounding deer."
The second half of the book contains stories based on her family's tradition of oral history.
Dear Zitkala-Sa:
I thank you for your book on Indian legends. I have read them with exquisite pleasure. Like all folk tales they mirror the child life of the world. There is in them a note of wild, strange music.
You have translated them into our language in a way that will keep them alive in the hearts of men. They are so young, so fresh, so full of the odors of the virgin forest untrod by the foot of white man! The thoughts of your people seem dipped in the colors of the rainbow, palpitant with the play of winds, eerie with the thrill of a spirit-world unseen but felt and feared.
Your tales of birds, beast, tree and spirit can not but hold captive the hearts of all children. They will kindle in their young minds that eternal wonder which creates poetry and keeps life fresh and eager. I wish you and your little book of Indian tales all success.
I am always
Sincerely your friend,
(Signed) HELEN KELLER.
DOWNLOAD AMERICAN INDIAN STORIES PLUS OLD INDIAN LEGENDS - ZITKALA SA
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