Great Plains Native Americans: Red Bird Sings
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Indigenous Peoples of the Plains
Lesson Plans by Liane Hicks
The Great Plains and Canadian Prairies region is an extremely large region that stretches from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and from Texas two thousand miles north through Canada. The region is mostly a flat and treeless grassland, and is temperate with warm summers and cold winters.
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Storyboard Description
Red Bird Sings: The Story of Zitkala-Sa, Native American Author, Musician, and Activist by Q. L. Pearce and Gina Capaldi. It is a beautifully illustrated biography about Zitkala-Sa, Red Bird, also known by her English name, Gertrude Simmons (1876–1938).
Storyboard Text
- LIFE ON YANKTON RESERVATION
- TAKING AN IRON HORSE TO THE LAND OF RED APPLES: 1884
- HARD WORK, MUSIC AND NEW IDEAS
- Zitkála-Šá, which means Red Bird, was the granddaughter of famous Sioux chief, Sitting Bull. The story begins with Zitkála-Šá playing with her friends on the reservation in 1883. They frolicked among the hills by the Missouri River, telling stories and exchanging homemade treasures.
- PURSUIT OF KNOWLEDGE AND MUSIC
- Zitkála-Šá was excited to go to the residential school. Her mother thought it would be helpful to have education. The missionaries said she would get to ride in an "iron horse", have candy, and eat all the red apples she wanted at school. But the children were taken from their families for many years and forced to forget their language and culture.
- WRITING AND SPEAKING FOR JUSTICESIDE BY SIDE
- Zitkála-Šá was forced to cut her hair, which she said was "the day she lost her spirit." Girls learned how to clean and sew, boys learned how to farm. They also studied reading, writing, speaking, and music. The Quaker teachers stressed the importance of tolerance and equal rights. Red Bird felt her soul soar when she played music!
- FIGHTING FOR RIGHTS IN D.C. AND AN ENDURING LEGACY
- "I shall always continue my path as a voice for my people. For in my heart lives that wild girl of seven, free as the wind and no less spirited than a bounding deer, ever chasing the great shadows that play among the hills of my home."
- Gertrude Simmons (her Christian name), graduated in 1895 excelling in music and academics. She attended Earlham College where she won contests speaking for women's and Native American's rights. She became a teacher, violinist, composer, and writer and even played violin for the president!
- She used her immense talent as a writer, musician, and speaker to appeal to European Americans enlightening them on the Native American experience and fighting against discrimination. She married Raymond Bonnin and had a son Ohiya. They advocated for understanding and fair treatment for their people.
- Zitkála-Šá was a groundbreaking voice for her people. The first Native American writer to receive national acclaim, she helped pass the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 and founded the National Council of American Indians in 1926. Red Bird devoted her life to improving the lives and opportunities of all Native Americans.
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