BY: Eddie PettisSean Flynn

Logan Drew

Gertrude Bonnin

Born in 1876, on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota

Father - Felker (White man)Mother - Ellen Tate Iyohinwin (She

Reaches for the Wind) Simmons, full-blooded Sioux.

Gertrude BonninAge 8 left the ReservationWhite's Manual Labor Institute in Wabash,

IndianaAge 19, Simmons enrolled at Earlham

College in Richmond, Indiana Taught at the Carlisle Indian School in

Pennsylvania

Gertrude Bonnin1902 - Married Raymond Talesfase Bonnin

The Society of the American Indians

1916 - Became the society’s secretary

1926 Bonnin founded the National Council of American Indians

Gertrude BonninPublished short stories and autobiographical

essaysThe Atlantic Monthly and Harper’s Monthly

under her pen name, Zitkala-Sa (Red Bird).

First Period of her LiteratureWas one of the first Sioux women to write the

stories and traditions of her people.

The period she was writing this was the turn of the century 1900 - 1904

Such as:Impressions of an Indian ChildhoodThe School Days of an Indian GirlAn Indian Teacher among Indians

LiteratureShe continued to write after those stories but

she did not publish them, such as the “Sun Dance Opera” & “Dreams and Thunder” which are published to by P. Jane Hafen.

The “Sun Dance Opera” was performed in 1913 presented at Orpheus Hall in Vernal, Utah, a town in the northeast.

Second Period of her Literature This period was almost exclusively made up

of political writings Such as : American Indian Stories.

A strong political voice for Native Americans

Literature

Bonnin's masterful use of language.

For example: "The Big Red Apples" causes white readers to re-think traditional Christian conquests by suggesting that the Indian was corrupted by the dominant culture.

Native Americans Many Natives as well as Bonnin went through

some tough times.

Many Native Americans were sent off to boarding school.

As a Native American growing up they were very free.

The Wounded Knee Massacre Last of the Indian wars

Effected not only her life but her literature.

School DaysShe was very innocent

Innocence to experienced

Questions1. What College did Bonnin attend?Answer- Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana 2. How was her hair symbolized in “The Cutting

of My Long Hair”Answer- In the Native American culture that she

came from, cutting one’s hair was symbolic of shame and or mourning.

3. Even though the Indians had a tough life in this time period how was Bonnin’s childhood?

Answer- Her childhood was nice she described it as free and was surrounded by people she trusted.