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A review by christytidwell
American Indian Stories by Zitkála-Šá
3.0
This is a collection of several different kinds of writing (autobiography, storytelling, and political activism). It clearly illustrates the ways in which Native Americans have been disenfranchised and their culture dismantled--among which are the creation of reservations, the imposition of missionaries, compulsory schooling in which children are separated from family and tribe and taught to be "white," struggles over land ownership and identity, and the general voicelessness and powerlessness of the Native American within the United States. And all of this is without even discussing the outright violence that was perpetrated against Native Americans.
Occasionally, Zitkala-Sa indicates that there is a hope for the Native American. "A Dream of Her Grandfather" ends with a vision that includes an exhortation to "Be glad! Rejoice! Look up, and see the new day dawning! Help is near! Hear me, every one," followed by the protagonist's joy at this "new hope for her people" (142). Similarly, "The Widespread Enigma Concerning Blue-Star Woman," a story in which Native Americans are taken advantage of by other Native Americans who have been trained in white ways, ends with some hope even in the midst of this abuse of power. Chief High Flier, after having been arrested on trumped up charges, has a vision while in jail:
"A vast multitude of women, with uplifted hands, gazed upon a huge stone image. Their upturned faces were eager and very earnest. The stone figure was that of a woman upon the brink of the Great Waters, facing eastward. The myriad living hands remained uplifted until the stone woman began to show signs of life. Very majestically she turned around, and, lo, she smiled upon this great galaxy of American women. She was the Statue of Liberty! It was she, who, though representing human liberty, formerly turned her back upon the American aborigine. Her face was aglow with compassion. Her eyes swept across the outspread continent of America, the home of the red man.
"At this moment her torch flamed brighter and whiter till its radiance reached into the obscure and remote places of the land. Her light of liberty penetrated Indian reservations. A loud shout of joy rose up from the Indians of the earth, everywhere!" (153)
This "secret vision of hope born in the midnight of his sorrows" gives him the strength to bear the rest of his jailtime and to do so "with a mute dignity" (154).
Zitkala-Sa is able to gesture toward a hopeful future in this way because she is writing a political book in this amalgam of autobiography, storytelling, and activism. The final chapter, "America's Indian Problem," builds on the details provided in earlier chapters to suggest a solution, to show America what should be done to solve the problems she has clearly pointed out. She writes, "Now the time is at hand when the American Indian shall have his day in court through the help of the women in America. The stain upon America's fair name is to be removed, and the remnant of the Indian nation, suffering from malnutrition, is to number among the invited invisible guests at your dinner tables" (156). She attempts here to mobilize a specific group to act on behalf of oppressed Native Americans and to show how improving the lot of Native Americans by according them citizenship and equal rights ("Wardship is no substitute for American citizenship, therefore we seek his enfranchisement," she argues [156].) will also improve the United States as a whole by removing this stain.
Occasionally, Zitkala-Sa indicates that there is a hope for the Native American. "A Dream of Her Grandfather" ends with a vision that includes an exhortation to "Be glad! Rejoice! Look up, and see the new day dawning! Help is near! Hear me, every one," followed by the protagonist's joy at this "new hope for her people" (142). Similarly, "The Widespread Enigma Concerning Blue-Star Woman," a story in which Native Americans are taken advantage of by other Native Americans who have been trained in white ways, ends with some hope even in the midst of this abuse of power. Chief High Flier, after having been arrested on trumped up charges, has a vision while in jail:
"A vast multitude of women, with uplifted hands, gazed upon a huge stone image. Their upturned faces were eager and very earnest. The stone figure was that of a woman upon the brink of the Great Waters, facing eastward. The myriad living hands remained uplifted until the stone woman began to show signs of life. Very majestically she turned around, and, lo, she smiled upon this great galaxy of American women. She was the Statue of Liberty! It was she, who, though representing human liberty, formerly turned her back upon the American aborigine. Her face was aglow with compassion. Her eyes swept across the outspread continent of America, the home of the red man.
"At this moment her torch flamed brighter and whiter till its radiance reached into the obscure and remote places of the land. Her light of liberty penetrated Indian reservations. A loud shout of joy rose up from the Indians of the earth, everywhere!" (153)
This "secret vision of hope born in the midnight of his sorrows" gives him the strength to bear the rest of his jailtime and to do so "with a mute dignity" (154).
Zitkala-Sa is able to gesture toward a hopeful future in this way because she is writing a political book in this amalgam of autobiography, storytelling, and activism. The final chapter, "America's Indian Problem," builds on the details provided in earlier chapters to suggest a solution, to show America what should be done to solve the problems she has clearly pointed out. She writes, "Now the time is at hand when the American Indian shall have his day in court through the help of the women in America. The stain upon America's fair name is to be removed, and the remnant of the Indian nation, suffering from malnutrition, is to number among the invited invisible guests at your dinner tables" (156). She attempts here to mobilize a specific group to act on behalf of oppressed Native Americans and to show how improving the lot of Native Americans by according them citizenship and equal rights ("Wardship is no substitute for American citizenship, therefore we seek his enfranchisement," she argues [156].) will also improve the United States as a whole by removing this stain.