Transforming the Self and Society: Zitkala-Ša, Critical Reflection, and Action.

In her semi-autobiographical stories, Zitkala-Ša critiques religious-centered AngloEuropean education being forced upon Native American children as an instrument of political domination and rhetoric of “assimilation.” In the narrative, the Native women’s pedagogy, industry, labor, affection, and oral stories are contrasted with the “banking” practices of “paleface” middle-class teachers at the missionary boarding school. This paper argues that educated and served as a teacher in a boarding school, Zitkala-Ša strives to alert particularly an uninformed white audience about subordinating linguistic and cultural injustices in boarding schools while informing readers about empowering tribal education which forms the basis of critical thinking to fight for social change and sustainable democracy. Situated within the theoretical framework of critical pedagogy, this study examines the intersections between Indigenous values and critical pedagogy and the complexities between teaching and learning to better understand the Yankton way of life and the US government’s Indian education policy at the end of the century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]