Zitkala-sa

Object Details

Artist

Joseph Turner Keiley, 26 Jul 1869 - 21 Jan 1914

Sitter

Zitkala-Ša, 22 Feb 1876 - 26 Jan 1938

Exhibition Label

Zitkala-Sa was a pioneer in a generation of Indian rights activists who had graduated from mission and government schools, where children were forbidden from speaking their indigenous native languages. Working together, these intellectual activists representing various tribal backgrounds used their formal educations and flawless English to fight U.S. federal Indian policy and demand social justice. At ease in mainstream and urban (i.e., white) society, they formed professional organizations. For example, the Society of American Indians, founded in 1907, was the first national all-Indian organization to advocate for Indian rights. As one of its leaders, Zitkala-Sa tirelessly fought for Native American citizenship rights, and she was described as “a Jeanne D’Arc to lead her people into citizenship.” Zitkala-Sa later founded one of the most important Native rights organizations, the National Council of American Indians.

Zitkala-Sa fue pionera de una generación de activistas indígenas graduadas de escuelas misioneras o del gobierno, donde se les había prohibido hablar sus lenguas nativas. Unidas, estas activistas intelectuales, representantes de trasfondos tribales diversos, utilizaron su educación formal y su inglés impecable para combatir la política federal respecto a los indígenas y exigir justicia social. Sabiendo desenvolverse en la sociedad tradicional urbana (i.e., blanca), formaron organizaciones profesionales. Una de ellas, la Sociedad de Indígenas Americanos, creada en 1907, fue la primera organización nacional plenamente indígena que abogó por los derechos de estos pueblos. Zitkala-Sa fue una de sus líderes y luchó tenazmente por los derechos ciudadanos de los nativos americanos, siendo descrita como “una Juana de Arco que lidera a su pueblo hacia la ciudadanía”. Luego fundó otra de las principales organizaciones nativas, el Concilio Nacional de Indígenas Americanos.

Credit Line

National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

1898 (printed 1901)

Object number

S/NPG.79.26

Restrictions & Rights

CC0

Type

Photograph

Medium

Photogravure

Dimensions

Image: 15.9 × 9.5 cm (6 1/4 × 3 3/4")

Sheet: 16.3 × 9.9 cm (6 7/16 × 3 7/8")

Mount: 28 × 20.2 cm (11 × 7 15/16")

Mat: 45.7 × 35.6 cm (18 × 14")

See more items in

National Portrait Gallery Collection

National Portrait Gallery

Topic

Costume\Jewelry\Necklace

Indeterminable

Zitkala-Ša: Female

Zitkala-Ša: Literature\Writer

Zitkala-Ša: Society and Social Change\Reformer

Zitkala-Ša: Performing Arts\Performer\Musician\Violinist

Zitkala-Ša: Society and Social Change\Reformer\Lobbyist

Portrait

Record ID

npg_S_NPG.79.26

Usage of Metadata (Object Detail Text)

CC0

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm40be7cf4f-34d9-4d51-a471-c5078ca7f938