A Note on the Ending of *American Indian Stories*

The ending of Zitkala-Sa’s American Indian Stories, starting with the
chapter of “A Dream of Her Grandfather” heavily emphasized the
influence and negative effects towards the Indians from the
bureaucrats and white men back east. For most of the novel, Zitkala-Sa
shares many important stories about herself and her Indian heritage.
Both “The Widespread Enigma Concerning Blue-Star Woman” and “A Dream
of Her Grandfather” continued that theme of sharing oral tradition and
Native American Folklore. The first story was about a dream she had
about her Grandfather who died in Washington and gave her a gift in
the form of a vision for her people. The vision included a picture of
a village and the people rejoicing. This dream of her instilled a new
belief of hope, but I understood this dream as a vision of what her
tribe once had, and was now ruined because of the white people.

The second story focused on the Blue-Star woman who made a deal with
her nephews in order for her to own land. However, as the nephews made
a deal with the U.S. Government, the land given to Blue-Star Woman was
taken away from other Indians. Trying to help out his people, the
chief of the tribe whose land was taken away decided to write a letter
to the bureaucrats. Unsuccessful, he was tried for attempting to burn
down an agency building and sent to prison. For upon his release, he
had to give up half of his land. These stories provide evidence of how
even when supposed “good actions” were being enacted to help Indians,
the whites were really deceiving the Indians and taking more away from
them.

I believe that at the end of the novel she may have brought this
influence of the white man into a greater microscope in order to
perhaps inform the audience about the continued hardships that Indians
suffer from. The last chapter is titled “America’s Indian Problem” and
describes different scenarios of how the government has slighted the
Indians. For a while, I didn’t understand what Zitkala-Sa was trying
to have the reader get from reading her Native American Stories. After
finishing the novel, and reading the last few chapters, I believe
Zitkala-Sa was trying to inform people of the wrongdoings of the
whites by sharing her own experiences and maybe providing call to
action for people to try and make a difference in the future.

~R. G.

A Note on "Blue Star Woman" and Deception in Zitkala Sa's *American Indian Stories*

Obviously, there is a lot of deception between the white settlers and the
Native Americans, mostly coming from one side. The story of the Blue Star
Woman nearly exemplifies all the deception that the whites used to swindle
American Indians. Blue Star woman is poor, does not have any land, and
does not have an identity that states she belongs to a tribe. Since BSW
has no family, no one is willing to help her. Sadly, BSW is easy prey for
anyone who even pretends to help her, such as the two "nephews."

The two "nephews" deceive BSW quite easily into giving them half of her
land once they are able to get it for her. How they do get it from the
Sioux is unknown and probably further due to deception. The fact that it
is not mentioned in the story is a bit deceiving in itself. Did the men
deceive more people in order to get the land and make similar deals? How
much influence with the U.S. government did they really have to help a
little old lady get some land? All the reader knows is that BSW is awarded
a plot of land on the Sioux reservation.

The fact that the Sioux had to give up land to an unknown lady is
deceiving too because it is strange that they did not know the woman -
assuming she lived close by. When the chief of the Sioux was sent to jail,
he saw a dream of the Statue of Liberty's torch touching all Indian
reservations. He believed this was a good thing because light is a good
thing normally. However, his dream may have deceived him. The light was
white, which could represent the influence the white people are having on
the natives. The Statue of Liberty obviously appears friendly, but so did
the white settlers at first. The chief interpreted the dream as a good
omen, but it could have been a warning of things to come.

And it was a forewarning. The "friendliness" occurs when he is released
from jail and all rejoice. However, the trick comes when the two "nephews"
appear and tell him of the agreement they made to surrender half of their
land in exchange for the chief's release. Why would two American Indians
betray their people like that? Was the dream really a warning? How did the
two nephews get the land for Blue Star Woman?

A.L.