Impressions of An Indian Childhood

Jacqueline Procter
Journal # 23
March 14, 2008
Zitkala Sa

Quote:
“For the white man’s papers I had given up my faith in the Great Spirit. For these same papers I had forgotten the healing in trees and brooks. On account of my mother’s simple view of life, and my lack of any, I gave her up, also… I had been uprooted from my mother, nature, and God.”

Summary:
Zitkala Sa lost her identity when she chose to leave her mother to attend boarding school.

Response:
Zitkala Sa sacrificed a considerable amount in her pursuit of an education. She grew up without the nurturing presence of a mother, nature, or God/spirituality, which all provide comfort to an individual. Native Americans are a spiritual people whose relationship with the earth is an integral part of their identity, as for thousands of years; their survival has been dependent on nature’s bounty.

Her soul was deprived of the healing qualities that nature provides, as well as the divine essence, or spirit of God that is present in nature. How devastatingly lonely she must have been to find herself in the sterile environment of the boarding school, bereft all that she knew – an alien in her own country.

Zitkala Sa can be admired for her strong independent nature as well as her perseverance in pursuing an education isolated from everything familiar to her. Her sacrifices, in addition to her advocacy of Native American rights have benefited humanity.