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Chronicling America is a searchable digital collection of historic newspaper pages through 1963 sponsored jointly by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress.
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Also, see the Directory of U.S. Newspapers in American Libraries, a searchable index to newspapers published in the United States since 1690, which helps researchers identify what titles exist for a specific place and time, and how to access them.
Zitkala-Sa (1876-1938), also known as Gertrude Bonnin, was a descendant of Sitting Bull. She became a musician, teacher, author, lecturer, and political activist for both women's rights and the rights of indigenous people.
Zitkala-Sa sought to protect the indigenous culture and actively worked with Congress to make changes for the betterment of indigenous people. Read more about it!
The information in this guide focuses on primary source materials found in the digitized historic newspapers from the digital collection Chronicling America.
The timeline below highlights important dates related to this topic and a section of this guide provides some suggested search strategies for further research in the collection.
| April 1, 1900 | Zitkala-Sa plays the violin in the Carlisle Indian Band. She is featured in a short article in the New York Tribune before the band travels to play at the Paris Exposition. |
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| 1913 | Zitkala-Sa writes and performs the Sun Dance opera, based on the Sioux life. |
| February 1918 | Zitkala-Sa goes to Washington to advocate against the growing use of the peyote drug by indigenous people. |
| March 1926 | Representatives from nine tribes meet in Washington D.C. to form the National Council of American Indians. Zitkala-Sa is chosen as first president until the first convention is held. |
| June 1928 | Zitkala-Sa travels to South Dakota to speak on the "Indian's eleventh hour." |
| January 26, 1938 | At age 62, Zitkala-Sa dies at Georgetown Hospital. |
