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Jake Porter

Mrs. Stanford

LIT 237

17 March 2017

Legends Never Die

Legends have been around since the dawn of time, and they always will be, especially

during the time of the sioux tribe. Everyone has loved ones that they will never forget. Some

people even have famous people they will never forget, whether they play a sport, act in tv

shows or movies, or are a very important activist. These people that are never forgotten and are

always talked about are legends. For an example, a legend in the sport world is Muhammed Ali

for what he did in the boxing ring and how he conducted himself outside of it. In the world of

show business, movies, and television, Steven Spielburg is looked at as a legend for directing

many great movies and television shows. A very famous activist that could be looked at as a

legend is Mahatma Gandhi for his civil rights movements in India. These three are all examples

of legends who will live on long after they are gone. In Native American tribes, they carry stories

of legends that pass from generation to generation. Zitkala a, a member of the Sioux Native

American tribe during the late 1800s and early 1900s, wrote a small book, Impressions of an

Indian Childhood, with the purpose of explaining what it is like growing up to the importance of

certain legends in their culture.

The author, Zitkala a (pronounced sha), also known as Gertrude Simmons Bonnin, was

born in 1876 and died in 1938. Bonnin was born on the Yankton Sioux Reservation in

south-central South Dakotah. Her mother was Tate Iyohi Win, which means Reaches the Wind
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Woman. She was also known as Ellen Simmons. as father had left her mother before she was

born. Her mother later married a man named John H. Simmons and his surname was then given

to Zitkala. Zitkala a translates to Red Bird and she chose this Indian name for herself. a was an

extremely important Native American writer, orator, and an activist on behalf of women and

Native American rights. An interesting piece of history that happened during her year of birth,

1876; George Armstrong Custers Seventh Cavalry was defeated by a coalition of Sioux and

Cheyenne warriors. When a turned eight, she decided that she wanted to learn the ways of the

white man to help her write her stories. In other words, she wanted to get off the reservation and

show how non-native Americans lived through books and short stories. a went on to go to

college at Earlham College in Indiana. While living her American life, she became engaged to

Thomas Marshall, a sioux from the Pine Ridge Agency, who had died suddenly from an

undisclosed illness. a wrote The Impressions of an Indian Childhood soon after Marshalls

death. However, in 1902, a remarried to Raymond Bonnin, also a Yankton, and an employee to

the U.S. Indian Service. They had one son, born in 1903, Raymond Ohiya Bonnin. The majority

of work written by a in the second half of her life regarded Indian affairs. In 1916, her family

moved to D.C. so she could take up a job as secretary of the Society of the American Indian.

During World War I, her husband Raymond Bonnin served in the army as an assistant to the

Quartermaster General in Washington, retiring with the rank of Captain. In 1926, a found her

own organization, the National Council of American Indians, of which she was President. In

1938 she fell into a coma and died. a was buried in Arlington National Cemetery beside her

husband, Captain Raymond Bonnin.

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In the second chapter of Impressions of an Indian Childhood, written by Zitkala a, it is

all about the Legends of the Sioux tribe. a writes about the memories that she had when she was

a young child, around eight years of age, in the tribe. The story starts with her and her mother

eating breakfast in their quiet hour when it is just the two of them. During the luncheon hour,

many passing by stopped by knowing of the hospitality of a and her mother, the passer byers

knew of as uncle, one of the bravest warriors of the Sioux nation. Everyone praised him,

women for how kind he was, men for how brave he was, and the mother of a worshipped his

memory. a loved to hear these stories, and the evening meal was her favorite time of all, as her

mother had asked her to invite other members of the tribe over to share their evening meal and

stories. However, her mother told her not to interrupt their neighbors if they were in the process

of making plans, so a would wait a minute before inviting them over. During the evening meal

a grew more and more anxious to hear about the legends from other members of the Sioux tribe

until she finally could not wait any longer. She asked her mother when they are going to start to

tell their stories, and her mother relayed the question to the others. a listened to their stories

until she fell asleep on her mother's lap.

All tribes have legends and with these legends come stories to explain why or how they

became legendary. Most of the stories include bravery, which is a main characteristic of legends.

a wrote this piece to show the culture of her Sioux tribe, including how members of the tribe

tell their legend stories during/after evening meals, and how they go through parts of their days.

Children in the tribe are always excited to hear the stories of legends, including a, I loved best

the evening meal, for that was the time old legends were told (a 1108). This shows how

excited the younger members of the tribe would get to hear about the legends in the culture of the
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Sioux tribe. There were some living legends among the Sioux tribe, who had different marking

tattooed on their faces. a was very curious about these people. a asked one of the members

with tattoos on her face what they meant. She heard a story from one of the tribe elders, Here

the old woman began Why, my grandchild, they are signs, secret signs I dare not tell you. I shall

tell you a wonderful story about a woman who had a cross tattooed upon each of her cheeks. It

was a long story of a woman whose powers lay hidden behind the marks upon her face (a

1110). These people are just like living legends, who can not speak of themselves while they are

still alive.

Some may say that Zitkala as book, Impressions of an Indian Childhood, was not

meant to have a deep meaning. It could be possible that a simply wanted to write this tale as

part of an autobiography included from her childhood. Explaining what it was like in her daily

routines and tales of her families legacy. During the second chapter, titled Legends, a described

how her uncle was one of the most well known legends around the Yankton Sioux tribe and

many others on the reserve in South Dakotah. Some say this chapter was meant to describe only

her family as the main legend of the story was her uncle, however she does not mention his

name. She could have incorperated more stories of legends to widen the subject but instead she

mostly focused on her uncle. This is why some readers have the ability to say a did not have a

very deep meaning to the second chapter, The Legends, in her short story, Impressions of an

Indian Childhood. However, there is of course, the argument that the story was meant to be

deeper than just a family legend. Zitkala a wrote Impressions of an Indian Childhood, to show

how her culture perceives legends and how the incorporate them into their days. Along with the
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younger members of the tribe, the older members are also excited to tell the stories of their

legends.

Zitkala a, a major activist for womens rights and the rights of American Indians, wrote

Impressions of an Indian Childhood to show the culture of her people and the importance some

things, such as legends have in their culture. She did this by detailing how excited she was as a

young indian child for the evening meal where the elders share their stories of legend. She

explains how other members of the sioux tribe, and passing by members from other tribes respect

her mother and her, because of the legend of her uncle, her mothers brother. She also tells a

story that she heard from one of the elders in her tribe, of a woman with a cross tattoo. This was

the story of a living legend who had died, as there were three other living legends with face

tattoos sitting at the fire who could not tell their own stories.
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Works Cited

Norton, W. W. "Zitkala a (Gertrude Simmons Bonnin) 1876-1938." The Norton Anthology:

American Literature. Seventh ed. Vol. C. New York: W. W. Norton &, 2007. 1105+.

Print. 1865-1914.

a, Zitkala. "The Legends." The Norton Anthology: American Literature. Seventh ed. Vol. C.

New York: W. W. Norton &, 2007. 1108-110. Print. 1865-1914.