Zitkala-Ša (Gertrude Bonnin).
Zitkala-Ša (Gertrude Bonnin), 1921. Bettman/Getty.
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| The eyes of the world are upon the Peace Conference sitting at Paris. Under the sun a new epoch is being staged! Little peoples are to be granted the right of self determination! …The world is to be made better. … | Everyone in the world is watching the peace talks in Paris. A new era is dawning! Democracy is spreading, and regular people are going to be granted rights. The world is going to be made better. |
| Paris, for the moment, has become the center of the world’s thought. Divers human petitions daily ascend to its Peace Table. …Many classes of men and women [are] clamoring for a hearing. …Women of the world, mothers of the human race, are pressing forward for recognition. …The Black man of America is offering his urgent petition. …Their fathers, sons, brothers and husbands fought and died for democracy. Each is eager to receive the reward for which supreme sacrifice was made. … | Everyone is thinking about Paris. Many requests are being brought to the negotiating table. Many different kinds of people are asking to be heard. Women of the world, the mothers of the human race, are asking for their rights. Black American men are asking for their rights. Their fathers, sons, brothers, and husbands fought and died for democracy in World War I. They are eager to receive a reward for their sacrifice. |
| The Red man asks for a very simple thing, — citizenship in the land that was once his own, –America. Who shall represent his cause at the World’s Peace Conference? The American Indian, too, made the supreme sacrifice for liberty’s sake. He loves democratic ideals. What shall world democracy mean to his race? | Indigenous men ask for a very simple thing. They want to be recognized as citizens in the land that once belonged to them. Who will represent Indigenous people at the world peace conference? Indigenous people, like Black people, made the ultimate sacrifice for liberty in this war. So will they be included in democracy now? |
| There never was a time more opportune than now for America to enfranchise the Red man! | There has never been a better time to grant Indigenous men the right to vote. |
Gertrude Bonnin, “Editorial Comment”, The American Indian Magazine, Vol. VI, Winter, 1919, No. 4, 161-162.
Background
The women’s suffrage movement was not the only suffrage movement of the early 1900s. Black American men were still fighting discriminatory state laws that prevented them from exercising their right to vote, and Indigenous Americans who lived on tribal reservations were not recognized as citizens of the United States.
For decades, Indigenous sovereign nations had suffered under US laws designed to force them to assimilate. By the early 1900s some Indigenous activists believed that gaining the right to vote might be the only way they could protect themselves and their communities from unfair laws and practices. But the cause was not universally popular. Some Indigenous people feared that US citizenship would become another way for the US government to force their assimilation.
About the Resources
This is an excerpt of an essay by Yankton Dakota Sioux activist Zitkala-Ša. She is writing about the excitement around the Paris peace negotiations taking place at the end of World War I. She acknowledges that there are many different groups of oppressed Americans who hope to receive voting rights for their contributions to the war effort. She makes the case that Indigenous Americans should not be left out of this national conversation.
Vocabulary
- assimilation: The process of adopting the cultural practices of the majority of the population.
- sovereign nation: A government with rights over a territory and group of people. In the US, Indigenous communities that live on reservations are considered sovereign nations. Until 1924, this was used as an excuse to deny many Indigenous people US citizenship.
- suffrage: The right of voting; in this era, suffrage often referred specifically to women’s suffrage, or the right of women to vote.
- World War I: Military conflict that involved countries from every inhabited continent from 1914-1918.
Discussion Questions
- According to Zitkala-Ša, why was there great excitement around the Paris treaty negotiations at the end of World War I?
- What arguments does Zitkala-Ša make in support of granting Indigenous people US citizenship?
- What does this essay reveal about suffrage in the US in the early 1900s? Why do you think Zitkala-Ša chose to focus on Indigenous citizenship in this moment?
Suggested Activities
- Pair this resource with Life Story: Zitkala-Ša. What events and experiences in her life informed the opinions she shares in this essay?
- Pair this resource with Princess Dawn Mist and Life Story: Marie Louise Bottineau Baldwin to explore how Indigenous people were perceived in the early 1900s.
- To consider the ongoing legacy of Indigenous activism, pair this resource with:
Themes
ACTIVISM AND SOCIAL CHANGE
