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.

A beautifully illustrated book following the extraordinary 18,000-mile annual migration of the Red Knot.

From an author whose work is said to “burgeon with joy,” here is a gentle mystery about a silent, gallant lion and a sweetly cheerful bird—two friends who are attracted to each other through the universal language of art. Elisa uses watercolor, gouache, ink, colored pencils, pastels, markers, and crayons to collage this charming and colorful tale. “Illustrated with mixed-media collages so richly colored and textured that readers will want to feel the pages.”—Kirkus Reviews (pointered review) “A sweet and captivating book with gorgeous illustrations. Its story line and artwork both have unusual and unexpected qualities that work together to generate a magical, light mood.”—School Library Journal (starred review) ABA-CBC Children’s Books Mean Business and Kansas State Reading Circle

Subtitle on cover: The story of a divine encounter.

Examines Indian boarding school narratives and their impact on the Native literary tradition from 1879 to the present Indian boarding schools were the lynchpins of a federally sponsored system of forced assimilation. These schools, located off-reservation, took Native children from their families and tribes for years at a time in an effort to “kill” their tribal cultures, languages, and religions. In Learning to Write “Indian,” Amelia V. Katanski investigates the impact of the Indian boarding school experience on the American Indian literary tradition through an examination of turn-of-the-century student essays and autobiographies as well as contemporary plays, novels, and poetry. Many recent books have focused on the Indian boarding school experience. Among these Learning to Write “Indian” is unique in that it looks at writings about the schools as literature, rather than as mere historical evidence.

"I remember the day I lost my spirit." So begins the story of Gertrude Simmons, also known as Zitkala-Ša, which means Red Bird. Born in 1876 on the Yankton Sioux reservation in South Dakota, Zitkala-Ša willingly left her home at age eight to go to a boarding school in Indiana. But she soon found herself caught between two worlds—white and Native American. At school she missed her mother and her traditional life, but Zitkala-Ša found joy in music classes. "My wounded spirit soared like a bird as I practiced the piano and violin," she wrote. Her talent grew, and when she graduated, she became a music teacher, composer, and performer. Zitkala-Ša found she could also "sing" to help her people by writing stories and giving speeches. As an adult, she worked as an activist for Native American rights, seeking to build a bridge between cultures. The coauthors tell Zitkala-Ša’s life by weaving together pieces from her own stories. The artist's acrylic illustrations and collages of photos and primary source documents round out the vivid portrait of Zitkala-Ša, a frightened child whose spirit "would rise again, stronger and wiser for the wounds it had suffered."