Description
For three days following the massacre of the Battle of Wounded Knee on December 29, 1890, at the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, an infant girl from the Lakota tribe was miraculously kept alive and warm in her dying mother’s embrace. Upon discovery, General Leonard Wright Colby took the baby as a “trophy” and gave her to his wife, a prominent activist in women’s rights, to raise as a white child. During these times, racism was unavoidable, and being raised in a different household brought more problems than solutions, mentally, emotionally, and socially.
While being a powerful and influential white couple, marital problems do not discriminate, leaving the young Zintkala Nuni to be raised by Clara Bewick Colby. Plagued by questions and wonderment about her past life, she sought and struggled to gather answers to her questions from the Native Americans and the “whites,” alike, with little success. She was sent to Indian boarding schools, married three times, had children, and attempted to make a name for herself, someone with many “names” from others based on her unique circumstances, but nothing with identifying factors. After dying in 1920 and being buried away from her people, her remains were exhumed and transported from California to Wounded Knee in South Dakota to achieve her anticipated acceptance and fulfillment.
Zintka! Lost Bird of Wounded Knee is a companion to the award-winning short film Lost Bird (Zintkala Nuni) exhibited and judged at film festivals nationwide. Zintka’s story is presented through various media and formats (poem, collage/ledger art, transparency, short essay, timeline, and sheet music), paying homage to the Native American arts and assisting in explaining a delicate and beautiful story. The authors include references to prove their work and are considerate of the reader and the resources available by including further reading options for adults and young readers and the link to view the short film that accompanies this book. The book is a trend-setting and meaningful tribute to a lady who defied the odds by surviving as an infant and then continued to prove the population wrong by surviving despite the odds stacked against her.
Readers with a love, or at least an interest, in history will find many things entertaining, worthwhile, and reflective about the book: facts, culture, narrative, and an empathetic and alternate viewpoint. The length of the book allows freedom for readers to choose their level of involvement with the storyline- the book could be a coffee table accessory/conversation starter or research addendum to the increasing coverage of the mysterious Lakota woman, Zintkala Nuni.
