American actor George Takei at a movie premiere in Los Angeles, California, in 2011.
Credit: Paul Smith / Featureflash

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. All month long, Behind the Headlines will feature AAPI pioneers in a variety of areas.

George Takei is an American actor and activist. He became famous for playing Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu on the science fiction television series “Star Trek” (1966-1969). Named after King George VI, Takei became a political activist after enduring many hardships as a Japanese American in the United States. His activism focuses on immigrants and protecting gay rights.

Hosato Takei was born April 20, 1937, in Los Angeles, California, to Japanese American parents. When he was young, his family was forcibly moved to a Japanese American internment camp in Arkansas. Japanese American internment is the term commonly used to describe the forced relocation and confinement of people of Japanese ancestry in the United States during World War II (1939-1945). Takei’s mother felt betrayed by internment and renounced her American citizenship. As a result, the Takei family was moved to a prison camp in California for the rest of the war.

After the war, Takei’s family remained in California. Takei acted in high school, but he instead chose to study architecture at the University of California at Berkeley. There, he was hired to provide English dubbing for Japanese films as a summer job. After two years at the university, Takei transferred to the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) to study acting. He worked with an agent to land his first television roles, including parts on the television shows “77 Sunset Strip,” “Perry Mason,” and “Playhouse 90.”  After graduating in 1960, Takei spent a few years acting on the stage, first in New York and then in Stratford-Upon-Avon in England. In 1964 he finished his master’s degree in theater arts at UCLA.

TV series, Star Trek, USA 1960s, scene with: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, James Doohan, DeForest Kelley, Nichelle Nichol. Credit: © Interfoto/Alamy Images

In 1965, Takei auditioned for the television producer Gene Rodenberry. Rodenberry cast Takei as Sulu, the pilot for the starship U.S.S. Enterprise on “Star Trek.” The show was set hundreds of years in the future and followed the crew of an outer space exploration mission.

Takei reprised the role of Sulu in numerous films, beginning with Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979). He provided the voice of Sulu in many Star Trek electronic games. Takei has also played a number of other roles and made several cameo appearances as himself.

In addition to acting, Takei is known for his political activism. In 1972, he was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention, and in 1973, he unsuccessfully ran for Los Angeles city council. He also ran for California State Assembly in 1980. Despite these losses, Takei remained an outspoken activist. In addition to sharing his story of growing up in an internment camp, Takei has spoken out about gay rights issues. Takei came out as gay in 2005 and married his partner, Brad Altman, in 2008, when same-sex marriage was legalized in California.

Prince Charles, the oldest son of Queen Elizabeth II, became King Charles III in 2022.
© Jeff Gilbert, Alamy Images

Saturday, May 6th, was the coronation of King Charles in London, England. Charles III became king of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland when his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, died on Sept. 8, 2022. During the coronation ceremony, he received the crown and other symbolic items as king of the United Kingdom.

This coronation was only the second in history to be televised. The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II took place on June 2nd, 1953, and was the first televised ceremony. Diplomats, leaders, and other royals attended the ceremony honoring King Charles III at Westminster Abbey. Eight months after the death of its longest-reigning sovereign, the United Kingdom tuned in to crown King Charles III in front of thousands.

Queen Consort Camilla was crowned alongside King Charles. In February 2022, Queen Elizabeth II announced that Charles’ wife, Camilla, will be named Queen Consort once Charles inherits the throne. The current heir to the throne, Prince William, his wife, Princess Catherine, and their three children attended. Prince Harry, King Charles’ second-born son, also attended the ceremony. His wife Meghan, the Dutchess of Sussex, and their two children remained in California during the festivities.

Since the accession of the throne is accompanied by death, the royal family waits to celebrate the coronation. The ceremony is steeped in traditions dating back to the A.D. 750′s. The archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby presented the monarch to the audience and performed the steps of the coronation. King Charles took the coronation oath, swearing to rule justly and to support the Church of England. He was given a Bible, sword, rod, orb, ring, and a cloak of gold cloth as symbols of ruling. After receiving those symbols, the archbishop of Canterbury placed the crown on King Charles’ head. The service continued, and then King Charles processed out of the church to a banquet.

King Charles was heir to the throne for 70 years before being named king. Charles was born on Nov. 14, 1948, at Buckingham Palace in London. He was the eldest child of Princess Elizabeth (later Elizabeth II) and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. In 1958, Queen Elizabeth officially named Charles Prince of Wales, the 700-year-old title traditionally given to the heir to the throne. In 1969, she presented the prince to the people of Wales in a ceremony at Caernarfon Castle in Wales.

Prince Charles enrolled at the Royal Air Force College in 1971 and graduated from its advanced flying course later that year. He then entered the Royal Navy and served until 1976. In the Navy, his activities included flying helicopters and commanding a ship, the minehunter Bronington. As prince, Charles concerned himself with such issues as disadvantaged people, education, and the environment. He also has been a critic of modern architecture. Charles is the founder of two charitable organizations—The Prince’s Trust and The Prince’s Youth Business Trust.

American actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
Credit: © Featureflash Photo Agency/Shutterstock

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. All month long, Behind the Headlines will feature AAPI pioneers in a variety of areas.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has been many things: a professional football player, a professional wrestler, a skyscraper-investigating FBI agent, a shape-shifting demi-god, and even the tooth fairy. By excelling in a variety of roles—both in real life and in film—Johnson has inspired many people throughout the world.

Dwayne Douglas Johnson was born on May 2, 1972, in Hayward, California. His father was the Canadian professional wrestler Rocky Johnson, and his grandfather was the Samoan wrestler Peter Maivia. The family moved frequently as Dwayne was growing up, because of his father’s career. Dwayne played football for the University of Miami and graduated in 1995 with a bachelor’s degree. He briefly played for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League before leaving to pursue a career in wrestling.

Beginning in 1996, Johnson gained fame wrestling under the name Rocky Maivia in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF; now known as World Wrestling Entertainment Inc.). Soon after, he began using the nickname “The Rock.” He became one of the most famous wrestlers in the organization. Johnson’s matches served as main attractions at such large wrestling events as WrestleMania and SummerSlam. Johnson co-wrote the memoir The Rock Says… (2000) with Joe Layden.

Johnson began his motion picture acting career with a minor role in the adventure film The Mummy Returns (2001) and a starring role in the related fantasy film The Scorpion King (2002). He has starred in many other action films, including The Rundown (2003), Walking Tall (2004), Doom (2005), and Skyscraper (2018). Johnson has appeared in several of the automotive action films in the “Fast & Furious” series, beginning with Fast Five (2011). His other notable movies include the disaster film San Andreas (2015); the family comedies The Game Plan (2007) and Tooth Fairy (2010); and the adventure comedies Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) and Jumanji: The Next Level (2019). The muscular Johnson often plays brawny characters that can be by turns intimidating and likable. Johnson has provided his voice for video games and animations. For example, he voiced the character Maui in the animated movie Moana (2016).

Representative Hakeem Jeffries
Credit: © lev radin/Shutterstock

On Tuesday, January 3, 2023, Hakeem Jeffries became the first Black person to lead a party in the United States Congress. As the leader of the Democratic Party in Congress, Jeffries will fill the role formerly held by Representative Nancy Pelosi, who was speaker and minority leader of the House of Representatives since 2003. His success was overshadowed by the dramatic chaos of Republican Representative Kevin McCarthy’s campaign to be elected Speaker of the House, which continued for days for the first time in a century. In 2022, the Democratic Caucus of the House of Representatives elected Jeffries minority leader. Jeffries became a member of the House in 2013. He represents a district of New York that includes the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens.

A Brooklyn native, Hakeem Sekou Jeffries was born on Aug. 4, 1970. His father was a substance abuse counselor, and his mother was a social worker. Jeffries graduated from New York’s Binghamton University in 1992 with a bachelor’s degree in political science. He continued his studies, earning a master’s degree in public policy at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Jeffries returned to New York City to enroll in the New York University School of Law, graduating with honors in 1997.

After law school, Jeffries clerked for Judge Harold Baer, Jr., of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. He then practiced law at a private firm. He later served as litigation counsel for the media companies Viacom Inc. and CBS. Jeffries ran for the New York State Assembly in 2000 and 2002, losing to the incumbent Roger Green. When Green vacated the post in 2006, Jeffries ran and won the election, serving in the role for three terms.

In 2012, Jeffries was elected to his first term in the U.S. House of Representatives. He served on the House Judiciary Committee and the House Budget Committee. In 2018, Jeffries was appointed to serve as the chairman of the House Democratic Caucus for the 116th Congress. In 2020, he served as impeachment manager for the Senate trial of former President Donald Trump. Jeffries’s political priorities include criminal justice reform and economic and health care security.

African American writer Zora Neale Hurston
Credit: Library of Congress

Born on January 7, 1891, in Eatonville, Florida, Zora Neale Hurston grew up to become a legendary writer. Hurston was an African American writer known for her novels and collections of folklore. Hurston’s best-known novel is Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937). The story sensitively portrays a young African American woman’s realization of her identity and independence.

Hurston studied anthropology at Barnard College, graduating in 1928. Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity and of human culture. Hurston recognized the significance of the folklore of the Southern United States and the Caribbean countries. She collected Florida folk tales and descriptions of Louisiana folk customs in Mules and Men (1935). In Tell My Horse (1938), she described folk customs of Haiti and Jamaica.

Hurston wrote three other novels—Jonah’s Gourd Vine (1934), Moses, Man of the Mountain (1939), and Seraph on the Suwanee (1948). All her novels display the author’s gift for storytelling, her interest in Southern Black folk customs, her metaphorical language, and her robust sense of humor. Hurston also wrote an autobiography, Dust Tracks on a Road (1942). She died on Jan. 28, 1960.

In 1995, the Library of America published two volumes of Hurston’s writings, Novels & Stories and Folklore, Memoirs, & Other Writings. A collection of her folk tales from the rural South was published for the first time in 2001, after Hurston’s death, as Every Tongue Got to Confess. Her account of the life of the last survivor of the last American slave ship, titled Barracoon: The Story of the Last “Black Cargo,” was published in 2018. Hurston had interviewed the 86-year-old formerly enslaved man in 1927. A number of her early stories were collected for the first time in Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick (2020). Some of her essays were collected in You Don’t Know Us Negroes and Other Essays (2022).

Brazilian soccer star Pelé
Credit: © Nelson Antoine, Shutterstock

World-renowned soccer star, Pelé passed away in São Paulo, Brazil, on Thursday, December 29th. Despite retiring in 1974, Pelé still held world records for the sport. Pelé a Brazilian athlete, won fame as the greatest soccer player of his time and the most recognized athlete in world sports.

A forward, Pelé electrified crowds with his daring dribbling, perfect passing, and accurate shooting. He holds every major scoring record in Brazil, and scored 1,281 goals in 1,363 games during his professional career. Pelé is the only professional soccer player to score 1,000 goals in a career.

Pelé, a Brazilian athlete, won fame as the greatest soccer player of his time and became one of the most recognized athletes in the world. A forward, Pelé thrilled crowds with his daring dribbling, perfect passing, and accurate shooting.
Credit: © AFP/Getty Images

Pelé was born on Oct. 23, 1940, in Tres Coracoes, Brazil. His real name is Edson Arantes do Nascimento. Pelé joined the Santos (Brazil) Football Club in 1956 and led Santos to world club titles in 1962 and 1963. He is the only soccer player to have played on three world championship teams, leading the Brazilian national team to World Cup championships in 1958, 1962, and 1970. Pelé is the only player in the world who has won three World Cup championships.

In the 1958 World Cup, Pelé was 17 years old. He scored six goals in the tournament, including two in the final to defeat Sweden. His skill landed Brazil their first of five World Cups.

Pelé retired as a player in 1974 but returned to competition in 1975 with the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League (N.A.S.L.). Pelé retired again after leading the Cosmos to the N.A.S.L. championship in 1977. He is known for popularizing soccer in the United States. He wrote a children’s book about his life in soccer, For the Love of Soccer! (2010).

Indigenous peoples of the Americas: cultural areas
Credit: World Book map

People in the United States observe Native American Heritage Month each year in November. During this period, many Native tribes celebrate their cultures, histories, and traditions. It is also a time to raise awareness of the challenges Indigenous people have faced in the past and today, along with their contributions to the United States as its first inhabitants.

Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the first people who lived in North America or South America, and their descendants. Indigenous means original or native. Indigenous people had been living in the Americas for thousands of years before any Europeans arrived. They formed hundreds of tribes with many different ways of life.

Scholars called anthropologists, who study human culture, classify the hundreds of North American Indigenous tribes into groups of tribes with strong similarities. These groups are called culture areas. The culture areas of Canada and the United States are (1) the Arctic; (2) the Subarctic; (3) the Northeast, often called the Eastern Woodlands; (4) the Southeast; (5) the Plains; (6) the Northwest Coast; (7) California; (8) the Great Basin; (9) the Plateau; and (10) the Southwest.

Arctic cultural area
Credit: World Book map

Most Arctic peoples lived in small bands along the seacoast, moving often in search of food. Seals were the primary food. Sealskin was widely used for making shelters and boats, clothes, tools, and other goods. Arctic peoples adapted to the modern world while preserving much of their traditional way of life.

Subarctic cultural area”
Credit: World Book map

The Subarctic was thinly populated. Tribes consisted of small bands, related through marriage. Food was often scarce, and the people moved about hunting and gathering wild plants, berries, and nuts. Most Subarctic peoples live in areas set aside for them, called reserves in Canada and reservations in the United States.

Northeast cultural area
Credit: World Book map

In the Northeast, the Iroquois and most Algonquian groups lived mostly by growing corn, beans, and squash. Some of the northernmost groups depended more on hunting, gathering, and fishing. Many tribes now live in Oklahoma and various Western states. Many Iroquois became leaders in the struggle for the rights of Indigenous people in Canada and the United States.

Southeast cultural area
Credit: World Book map

The adequate rainfall and long growing season enabled Southeastern peoples to grow large quantities of corn. They traveled either on foot or in wooden dugout canoes. Women had much power and influence among most Southeastern groups. Today, Southeast tribes try to maintain a balance between traditional and modern ways of life.

Plains cultural area
Credit: World Book map

When the Spaniards brought the horse to the Plains in the 1600’s, a new way of life appeared. On horseback, the Plains peoples could follow the great herds of buffalo. Nearby tribes, and those forced westward by the advancing white people, quickly adopted the Plains way of life. Communication across tribes led to the development of the Plains sign language.

Northwest Coast cultural area
Credit: World Book map

Among tribes of the Northwest Coast, a few families had great influence in each village because of their ancestry and wealth. Totem poles, carved from tree trunks, became more common with the iron tools brought by the white traders. Totem poles showed the social rank and ancestry of a family or individual.

California cultural area
Credit: World Book map

Tribes in the California area consisted of one or a few villages of extended families. Acorns were the most important food. Women gathered acorns, washed them, and pounded them into flour. The women then cooked the flour to make acorn mush or bread. The Pomo were famous for their basket making.

Great Basin cultural area
Credit: World Book map

The tribes of the Great Basin consisted of many small bands. Each band had a home territory near a lake or a stream that provided a reliable supply of water and fish. Pine nuts were the most important single source of food. Today, many Indigenous people of the Great Basin live as ranchers and farmers.

Plateau cultural area
Credit: World Book map

The tribes living in the Plateau consisted of bands of extended families. During the summer, bands traveled their territory in search of food. In the winter, they lived in villages. Plateau peoples mainly ate wild bulbs and roots, berries, and salmon and other fish. Today, many Plateau peoples live on reserves or reservations.

Southwest cultural area
Credit: World Book map

The early peoples of the Southwest included several tribes. The Pueblo tribes had one of the most highly developed civilizations in North America. They were excellent craftworkers. Most Pueblo lived in villages and farmed along rivers that provided water for irrigation. The Navajo, a hunting and gathering tribe, are today one of the largest Indigenous groups in the United States. The Navajo have become noted for weaving blankets and rugs and making silver jewelry.

Leonardo Fibonacci, shown in this engraving, was an Italian mathematician best known for describing a famous sequence of numbers—1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, and so on. Each number is the sum of the two numbers before it.
Credit: © Science Source/Getty Images

The countdown is over! We made it to the best day of the year. Fibonacci Day has finally presented itself on every calendar throughout the world. Every year on November 23rd, mathematicians celebrate the Leonardo Fibonacci, an Italian mathematician. Fibonacci helped introduce into Western Europe the system of numerals still widely used today. This system—which uses the numerals 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9—is known as the Hindu-Arabic numeral system. Fibonacci was known during his life as Leonardo of Pisa. He was given the nickname Fibonacci sometime after his death. But why do we celebrate him on 11/23? Fibonacci is best known today for a famous sequence of numbers—1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, and so on—that bears his name. By definition, the first two numbers are 1 and 1. Every other number equals the sum of the two numbers immediately before it. Since the first four numbers are 1, 1, 2, 3, we dedicate 11/23 to Fibonacci each year.

Why is the Fibonacci sequence important? Good question. Mathematicians have found use for it in many branches of mathematics. The sequence has led to the discovery of the golden ratio or divine proportion. The golden ratio is a number that appears in many areas of math, nature, and art. The golden ratio is: which is equal to about 1.61803.

By dividing one number in the sequence by the number before it, you get very close to the golden ratio. The never-ending sequence gradually gets closer to this ratio, never actually equalling it. The German astronomer and mathematician Johannes Kepler discovered this pattern in the Fibonacci sequence. The Fibonacci sequence also appears in nature. The pattern of seeds on a sunflower, for example, follows the Fibonacci sequence.

The large, beautiful sunflower is raised by farmers in many parts of the world. A sunflower head may measure more than 1 foot (30 centimeters) across.
Credit: John M. Coffman, NAS

Just as the golden ratio appears in nature, so do Fibonacci numbers. For example, the kernels of a pine cone form two sets of spirals. One set runs clockwise, and the other set runs counterclockwise. The number of spirals in each set is always a Fibonacci number, usually 8, 13, or 21. This pattern is a natural consequence of mathematical principles that underlie the plant’s growth.

Around 1192, Fibonacci went to Algeria with his father, a merchant from Pisa. There he learned Arabic and studied the mathematical knowledge of the Islamic world, which in many ways surpassed that of Europe. Later, he traveled to many surrounding countries on business and became convinced that the Hindu-Arabic numeral system was superior to the Roman numeral system then being used in Europe.

Young dancers participate in a Powwow on July 23, 2016, in Couer d’Alene, Idaho.
Credit: © Gregory Johnston, Shutterstock

People in the United States observe Native American Heritage Month each year in November. During this period, many Native tribes celebrate their cultures, histories, and traditions. It is also a time to raise awareness of the challenges Indigenous people have faced in the past and today, along with their contributions to the United States as its first inhabitants.

Across the country, people are gathering for powwows big and small to celebrate Native American Heritage Month. Through dancing, traditional food and regalia, and other traditions, Indigenous communities celebrate their culture and community. For many communities, these will be the first large powwows held since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020. The Choctaw Nation hosted one of the country’s largest and most well known powwows in Oklahoma earlier in the month. Some powwows honored Indigenous veterans on Veterans Day.

A powwow is a ceremony of dancing practiced by Indigenous (native) peoples of the United States and by First Nations, Indigenous peoples of Canada. The term powwow comes from the Algonquian word pau wau, meaning healer. The gathering lasts several days and includes dancing, drums, feasts, regalia (traditional attire), and singing. Powwows have their roots in traditional Indigenous religious ceremonies and meetings. Today, they may serve as a secular (nonreligious) and public celebration.

Indigenous American cultures included traditional dances and songs. However, many Indigenous ceremonies and traditions have been outlawed by white settlers at various times. In the United States, the Religious Crimes Code of 1883 prohibited ceremonial dances. The Indian Act, first passed in 1876, is the main Canadian law governing relations between the First Nations and the federal government. In 1884, the act was amended to ban ceremonies such as potlatches and certain dances. The potlatch is a ceremony of feasting and gift-giving practiced by indigenous peoples and First Nations of the Northwest Coast region.

In the late 1800’s, traveling “Wild West” shows became popular. Shows such as that presented by the frontiersman and entertainer Buffalo Bill offered an opportunity for Indigenous performers to make money for their tribes by performing outlawed songs and dances publicly.

The Religious Crimes Code was amended to allow Indigenous dances and songs in 1933. In 1951, Canada lifted the prohibition on dances and potlatches. The United States Congress passed the American Indian Religious Freedom Act in 1978 to guarantee the protection of Indigenous people under the First Amendment to the Constitution. These changes enabled powwows to flourish in the 1960’s and 1970’s, when they were held during the summer.

Smaller local powwows still occur on reservations (lands set aside for Indigenous use), but larger powwows may take place in stadiums and at casinos. Indigenous elders bless the grounds before the event begins through song, prayer, and the burning of sage or tobacco. The powwow grounds are usually laid out in a series of concentric circles (circles spreading from a common center). The area for dancing and drums lies in the middle. The space around the dancers is reserved for elders and friends and family of the dancers. Outside that circle, there is room for spectators and vendors. The vendors sell traditional and modern foods, crafts, art, and clothing.

Every powwow has an emcee, a master of ceremonies. The emcee is usually a leader in the community with knowledge of the traditional ceremonies along with a modern-style education. The emcee announces events, introduces dancers, and tells stories.

Powwows begin with the grand entry, an opening parade. This tradition was adopted from the Wild West shows as well as processions at treaty signings. In a giveaway ceremony on the last day of the powwow, gifts are given from the host to the visitors or in memory of someone who died. The ceremony begins with the hosts dancing and the emcee announcing those receiving gifts.

Dancing styles are differentiated in part by the regalia worn by performers. Competitive dances for men include the fancy, grass, northern, and straight dance styles. For women, competitive dancing styles include fancy shawl, jingle dress, northern and southern buckskin, and northern and southern cloth. Dancers compete for prize money. The dance competition is organized by dance style and by the age and gender of the performers.

Drums and singing accompany the dances. Singers may sing in the language of a specific tribe or in vocables, simple nonverbal syllables that are shared among tribes.

Powwows are held the year around in major cities across Canada and the United States. A powwow may include up to 800 dancers or more. Some traditional powwows focus only on the songs and dances. Others may include such activities as rodeos, fashion shows, and music competitions. The largest powwow is the Gathering of Nations in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which may include more than 3,000 dancers.

Zitkála-Šá, Indigenous American educator
Credit: Photograph by Gertrude Kasebier; Mina Turner, National Museum of American History/Smithsonian Institution

People in the United States observe Native American Heritage Month each year in November. During this period, many Native tribes celebrate their cultures, histories, and traditions. It is also a time to raise awareness of the challenges Indigenous people have faced in the past and today, along with their contributions to the United States as its first inhabitants.

As a storyteller, teacher, playwright, politician, and violinist, Zitkála-Šá fought every boundary placed before her. Zitkála-Šá, also known as Gertrude Simmons Bonnin, was a member of the Yankton Sioux or Yankton Dakota. Born in 1876, she became an influential leader in the United States, fighting for women’s rights, the Indigenous right to citizenship and voting, and the end to the Indigenous boarding school system.

When Zitkála-Šá was about eight years old, she left the Yankton reservation to attend White’s Manual Labor Institute in Wabash, Indiana. She was required to cut her long hair and any trace of her culture. She learned to read, write, and play the violin. Zitkála-Šá did not return home until 1887. She received a scholarship to Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana. Before she graduated, Zitkála-Šá began teaching music at Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania. A gifted musician, she studied violin at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1899. In 1900, Zitkála-Šá accepted an invitation to travel and play with the Carlisle school’s band across the United States and at the Paris Exposition, a world’s fair.

It wasn’t long until Zitkála-Šá started using her storytelling and writing skills against the Indigenous boarding school system that employed her. The Carlisle school sent Zitkála-Šá back to the Yankton Reservation in 1900 to gather more students. There, she found her community in poverty, with run-down houses and white settlers living on her people’s land. She returned to Carlisle and began writing about Indigenous life and culture. She translated Indigenous stories into English and Latin. She criticized the Indigenous American boarding school system in essays published in the magazines Atlantic Monthly and Harper’s Magazine. In 1901, she wrote the short story “The Soft-Hearted Sioux” about a student’s loss of identity and was fired from the Carlisle school.

She returned to the reservation and began writing stories for her collection of Sioux tales and legends, Old Indian Legends (1901), while working as a clerk for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) office at Standing Rock. In 1902, she married Captain Raymond Talesfase Bonnin. They moved to the Uintah and Ouray Reservation in Utah and had a son named Raymond Ohiya Bonnin in 1903.

Several years after moving to Utah, Zitkála-Šá picked up another medium. After befriending composer William F. Hanson, the pair wrote the first Indigenous American opera. Sun Dance (1913) was based on the then-outlawed Indigenous religious ceremony Sun dance.

After completing the play, Zitkála-Šá leaned more into her political work. She joined the Society of American Indians, which preserved Indigenous traditions while fighting for full U.S. citizenship. Zitkála-Šá lectured across the country about Indigenous culture and the right to be recognized as American citizens and to vote. Her American Indian Stories, a collection of essays on Indigenous treatment in America and in Christian boarding schools, was published in 1921.

Her efforts were partially rewarded when the Indian Citizenship Act passed in 1924. The act granted citizenship to Indigenous people, but poll taxes, literacy tests, and violence and intimidation were used to prevent many Indigenous people from voting. Of course, Zitkála-Šá and her husband continued to work for Indigenous rights and started the National Council of American Indians in 1926. She continued to work for the rights and cultural preservation of Indigenous people until her death. She died in Washington, D.C., on January 26, 1938. Zitkála-Šá is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.