Zitkala-Ša
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Study GuideBibliography
Course Hero. "American Indian Stories, Legends, and Other Writings Study Guide." Course Hero. 13 Dec. 2019. Web. 27 Jan. 2023. <https://www.coursehero.com/lit/American-Indian-Stories-Legends-and-Other-Writings/>.
In text
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Bibliography
Course Hero. (2019, December 13). American Indian Stories, Legends, and Other Writings Study Guide. In Course Hero. Retrieved January 27, 2023, from https://www.coursehero.com/lit/American-Indian-Stories-Legends-and-Other-Writings/
In text
(Course Hero, 2019)
Bibliography
Course Hero. "American Indian Stories, Legends, and Other Writings Study Guide." December 13, 2019. Accessed January 27, 2023. https://www.coursehero.com/lit/American-Indian-Stories-Legends-and-Other-Writings/.
Footnote
Course Hero, "American Indian Stories, Legends, and Other Writings Study Guide," December 13, 2019, accessed January 27, 2023, https://www.coursehero.com/lit/American-Indian-Stories-Legends-and-Other-Writings/.
Zitkala-Ša
c. 1896–1921
Short Stories
Mythology, Nonfiction, Women's Studies
Zitkala-Ša's collected works in American Indian Stories, Legends, and Other Writings demonstrate the huge breadth and style of work the author produced in her lifetime. From early speeches as an impassioned college student to her later articles calling for political reform, Zitkala-Ša demonstrates a deep understanding of her culture and its changing status. Her collection of poetry and prose, both fiction and nonfiction, reveals much about the situation of Native Americans in the early 20th century, coming at a time when the Yankton Sioux were experiencing new forms of colonialism (i.e., boarding schools and privatized land). She relates legends she loved hearing as a child and tells of her experiences living with her mother in a tepee, then attending boarding school, and later as a college student and teacher. She opens windows into her life within and outside of the Dakota culture.
Most of Zitkala-Ša's stories and essays in American Indian Stories, Legends, and Other Writings are written in the first person, with Zitkala-Ša as the primary narrator. She writes her legends and poems in third person.
In American Indian Stories, Legends, and Other Writings, Zitkala-Ša's fiction—legends, stories, and poetry—is written in the past tense. Her essays and political commentary are written mostly in the present tense, with use of past tense when recounting past events.
The title American Indian Stories, Legends, and Other Writings describes the content of the collection. It is a mix of fictional and autobiographical stories, traditional legends, poems, and nonfiction magazine articles, political commentary, letters, speeches, and reports.
This study guide for Zitkala-Ša's American Indian Stories, Legends, and Other Writings offers summary and analysis on themes, symbols, and other literary devices found in the text. Explore Course Hero's library of literature materials, including documents and Q&A pairs.