Zutkala Sa's "Impressions of an Indian Childhood."

This narrative is both touching and sorrowful. Zitkala is a good story teller who forces you to connect with her characters with her suttle writing style and her true-to-life depictions of an Indian woman raising her daughter in the nineteenth century. I believe the story is intended to show a particular culture thriving and eventually falling into decline.

There is a strong bond portrayed between mother and daughter, this bond is made from respect and love. The innocents of the child is repeated throughout the text, an example being her trying to catch her shadow while running in the fields with her friends. Another example is found when she graciously (but foolishly) prepares coffee for a respected village elder. While displaying this innocents the author also succeeds in painting a serene picture of nature and the children's appreciation of it. From natures 'gum', which is even describes as nature as "the size of a small bird's egg" and tastes sweet and leads to a "woody flavor". The innocents is seen on a deeper level when she asks her mother when she will be big enough to fetch water by herself and her mother replies, "If the paleface does not take away from us the river we drink." She didn't understand her mothers reply but the unhappiness she felt from her mother when she was talking about these people instantly led her to feel hatred for the unfamiliar people. Her mother then bitterly relates the story of how the paleface killed their loved ones. Her mother was likely teaching her a valuable lesson that the life of the Indian was under attack, and to be wary of the whites.

The story is peppered with descriptions of Indian culture. The child learns to make beaded jewelry with her mother and describes how beautifully her mother makes her moccasins. The playful depiction of her relationship with the squirrel while watching the corn shows us both the culture and the beauty of nature. The villagers seem to respect one another throughout the story, making frequent visits to each others wigwams and seemingly feeling very comfortable in doing so. When the community met at the mothers house the mother/daughter bond was strengthened for the reader. The way the daughter securely and comfortably laid on her mothers lap while eagerly listening to the elders tell stories (generational)comforted even me while I was reading it. Zutkala made me see a very close knit community. Another cool part of the story is when the daughter tries to pick a plum from a tree. Her mother quickly averts her and explains that a warrior who loved to play games with the plum seeds was buried with the seeds in his hand. The seeds sprouted from the bones in his hand and the tree was the result. What a great depiction of the love and respect for both the living and the dead. A certain amount of superstition is evident in this part of the story as well. Maybe not superstition as much as a belief in nature. I'm not sure exactly what it made me feel but it left its impact on me. She grew weary of tattooed people from a story she heard over a fire too, leading me to believe in the superstitious tendencies of this culture.

The examples of a culture in decline are present throughout the story both in substance and measure. The first was when the mother told of the paleface and made comment of the water being under threat, they experienced their land taken (and their happiness and people) already, and feared for the worse. In one part of the story the daughter describes "That evening, as on other evenings, I went to sleep over my legends." Could this be an indicator of things to come? Not just for the story but for history itself. This is basically what the Indians were left with when all is said and done, their legends. When the whites enter the story it takes a more somber mood. The daughter (being as innocent as she was) was easily led to the motives of the whites. With her brother's approval and the promise of apples, she decided to leave her mother. This was very much a bummer because when she realizes that she is going she begins to cry and you can feel her regret. Her mother let her go because of her unselfishness, it seemed to hurt her to do so. She states that, " though she does not understand what it all means, is anxious to go. She will need an education when she is grown, for then there will be fewer real Dakotas, and many more palefaces." The mom seemed to know it all along that the end of the culture was near. She looked at her daughters leaving as the white mans payback, an education for her daughter. I highly doubt that mom truly believed this, she likely used this to ease the pain of her loss.

I believe the meaning of the story is one of innocents lost. The innocents of a closely knit people with a love and connection with nature. I also think the message is that when you know something is dying, you must overlook what you truly want and make logical decisions that will guarantee the survival of both the culture and the people you love.