Zitkala Sa, Sioux Indian and activist

Object Details

Date made
ca 1898
maker
Kasebier, Gertrude
Description
In addition to photographing the Sioux performers sent by Buffalo Bill Cody to her studio, Käsebier was able to arrange a portrait session with Zitkala Sa, "Red Bird," also known as Gertrude Simmons (1876-1938), a Yankton Sioux woman of Native American and white mixed ancestry. She was born on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, like many of the Sioux traveling with the Wild West show. She was educated at reservation schools, the Carlisle Indian School, Earlham College in Indiana, and the Boston Conservatory of Music. Zitkala Sa became an accomplished author, musician, composer, and dedicated worker for the reform of United States Indian policies.
Käsebier photographed Zitkala Sa in tribal dress and western clothing, clearly identifying the two worlds in which this woman lived and worked. In many of the images Zitkala Sa holds her violin or a book, further indicating her interests. Käsebier experimented with backdrops, including a Victorian floral print, and photographic printing. She used the painterly gum-bichromate process for several of these images, adding increased texture and softer tones to the photographs.
Location
Currently not on view
Subject
Women
Native Americans
See more items in
Work and Industry: Photographic History
Gertrude Kasebier
Music & Musical Instruments
Photography
Related Publication
Delaney, Michelle. Buffalo Bill's Wild West Warriors: A Photographic History by Gertrude Kasebier
Credit Line
Mina Turner
Data Source
National Museum of American History
ID Number
PG.69.236.105
accession number
287543
catalog number
69.236.105
Object Name
gum bichromate print
Physical Description
paper (overall material)
Measurements
overall: 19.6 cm x 13.7 cm; 7 11/16 in x 5 3/8 in
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a8-a685-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
Record ID
nmah_1006127