American Indian Stories

American Indian Stories is a collection of childhood stories, allegorical fictions and essays written by Sioux writer and activist Zitkala-Ša.

First published in 1921, American Indian Stories details the hardships encountered by Zitkala-Ša and other Native Americans in the missionary and manual labour schools designed to "civilize" them. The autobiographical details contrast her early life on the Yankton Indian Reservation and her time as a student at White's Manual Labour Institute and Earlham College. The collection includes legends and stories from Sioux oral tradition, along with an essay titled America's Indian Problem, which advocates rights for Native Americans and calls for a greater understanding of Native American cultures. American Indian Stories offers a unique view into a society that is often overlooked though that society still persists to this day.

Zitkala-Sa, as a "participant and observer", sketches the importance of the Legends of her people. In this story, Zitkala-Sa shares with the readers how, "I loved best the evening meal, for that was the time old legends were told. I was always glad when the sun hung low in the west, for then my mother sent me to invite the neighboring old men and women to eat supper with us." Zitkala-Sa’s tribe had traditions for how and when to speak to elders, and especially how to listen to these legend stories. The atmosphere must be set, and in due time, the elders would tell the stories of their people, and pass on the Legends to the children of the tribe.

Such as Zitkala-Sa was told these legends as a child, she "attempted to preserve her people’s oral tradition by transcribing oral tales into written English, as well as transcribing her life’s story into autobiography."<Stanley, Sandra Kumamoto. Claiming a Native American Identity: Zitkala-Sa and Autobiographical Strategies. Pacific Coast Philology. 29/1 (September 1994) pages 64–69.> "That Zitkala-Sa was independent enough to write about her "varying moods" is a credit to her and a bonus for anyone interested in some of the impulses that launched an American Indian Literary tradition in English."

The Beadwork is a descriptive story sharing the tradition of beadwork and its place in Zitkala-Sa’s tribe. This story is from the experiences of a young girl who is learning the process of beadwork from her mother. Even during this time, Zitkala-Sa shares the experience of childhood envy in regards to the artist products of the beadwork of her friends. The Native American traditional education of learning the trade of beadwork is described with Zitkala-Sa sharing her "practical observation lessons in the art of beadwork." (Bonnin, 19) Zitkala-Sa ends this story with, "That evening, as on other evenings, I went to sleep over my legends," (Bonnin, 24) which points to the Legends noted in her other story, The Legends, as well as the childhood dreams of a young girl in Native life.

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