Zitkala Sa, Sioux Indian and activist

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 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.

Date Made: ca 1898

Maker: Kasebier, Gertrude

Location: Currently not on view

Subject: WomenNative Americans

Subject:

See more items in: Work and Industry: Photographic History, Gertrude Kasebier, Photography

Exhibition:

Exhibition Location:

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.69.236.102Accession Number: 287543Catalog Number: 69.236.102

Object Name: platinum print

Physical Description: platinum print (overall production method/technique)paper (overall material)Measurements: overall: 16.5 cm x 10.5 cm; 6 1/2 in x 4 1/8 in

Guid: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a8-a683-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Record Id: nmah_1006124

Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.

If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.