The Exquisite Corpse of Zitkala-Sa, “Red Bird”

I picked Zitka-Sa because of her political activism, and how she was pulled between Western culture and her Native American Heritage. ‘Zitka-Sa repeatedly observes that good intentions of the missionaries are wrong headed, and in many cases the conventions of white culture affront well brought up Indians. The clothing she was required to wear at school — dresses with tight-fitting bodices. The hair style even worse. For the Sioux, ‘short hair was worn by mourners, and shingled hair worn by cowards’ [i.e. captured warriors whose hair has been cut by the enemy]. She tried to hide on the day her hair was to be cut, but she was found. "I felt the cold blades of the scissors against my neck, and heard them gnaw off one of my thick braids. Then I lost my spirit."—Amber Hoy