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# Zitkala Sa, Sioux Indian and activist

National Museum of American History

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                      - Print
                      -     DetailsRelatedObject Details- 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 changing 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
- Credit Line
- Mina Turner
- ca 1898
- ID Number
- PG.69.236.103
- accession number
- 287543
- catalog number
- 69.236.103
- Object Name
- platinum print
- Physical Description
- platinum print (overall production method/technique)
- paper (overall material)
- Measurements
- overall: 15.7 cm x 11.4 cm; 6 3/16 in x 4 1/2 in
- Related Publication
- Delaney, Michelle. Buffalo Bill's Wild West Warriors: A Photographic History by Gertrude Kasebier
- See more items in
- Work and Industry: Photographic History
- Gertrude Kasebier
- Photography
- National Museum of American History
- Subject
- Women
- Native Americans
- Record ID
- nmah_1006125
- Metadata Usage (text)
- CC0
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a8-a684-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
Related Content-                    Explore America: South Dakota                 
-                    Two Gertrudes                 
-                    Votes for Women                 
  CC0Creative Commons - No Rights Reserved iconUsage Conditions Apply>download icon>          There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .        International media Interoperability FrameworkIIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.View manifestView in Mirador ViewerExpand to view image×                             Footer logo      
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