American Indian Stories

In “An Indian Teacher Among Indians” Zitkála-Šá reflects on her experience teaching in an Indian school after leaving college. The section “My First Day” describes how she was ill when she first arrived at the school. She notes the school’s sparse look and recalls meeting the school director. He calls her “the little Indian girl,” leaving Zitkála-Šá feeling even more exhausted (48).

The section “A Trip Westward” discusses the school’s decision to have Zitkála-Šá go west to “gather Indian pupils for the school” (49). The train journey tires her, but she uses the trip as an excuse to visit her family. Zitkála-Šá asks her mother why she doesn’t modernize her house, but she is also shocked to learn that her brother Dawée’s job as a government clerk was taken away from him and given to a White man. Her mother counters her anger by cautioning Zitkála-Šá not to put faith in anything other than their culture’s Great Spirit, but Zitkála-Šá rejects her beliefs.

In “My Mother’s Curse upon White Settlers” Zitkála-Šá discusses the impact of White settlers moving near her family’s reservation. Her mother warns her to “beware of the paleface” due to the history of injustice and hypocrisy that accompanies White settlers (53).