Native American Heritage Day-Honoring Zitkala-Ša with Hoop Dancer Starr Chief Eagle

Join us for a program that honors Zitkala-Ša (translated “Red Bird”), a member of the Yankton Dakota Sioux, who has been recently honored on a coin issued by the US Mint as part of the American Women Quarters™ Program, which celebrates the accomplishments and contributions made by women of the United States. Zitkala-Ša was a writer, composer, educator, and political activist for Native American rights. Her advocacy led to the passage of the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, which granted American Indians US citizenship while maintaining their tribal standing.
Starr Chief Eagle, an enrolled member of the Sicangu (Rosebud) Lakota Sioux Tribe, grew up in the Black Hills of South Dakota and started hoop dancing before she could walk. She combines her own style with the teachings of her father, Dallas Chief Eagle, and shares her Lakota culture with future generations in hopes of restoring and maintaining it.
Photo courtesy of Starr Chief Eagle
This program is a collaboration between the United States Mint, the National Museum of the American Indian, and the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum.