Bonnin, Gertrude Simmons

Bonnin, Gertrude Simmons (b. Zitkala-Sa)

(1876–1938) Yankton Sioux writer; born at Pine Ridge in present-day South Dakota. She taught with the Indian Service and published her first book, Old Indian Legends, in 1901. In 1916, she moved to Washington, D.C., to lobby for her people, and founded the National Council of American Indians in 1926. She was also an accomplished violinist.