Zitkála-Šá (1876–1938) (Lakota: Red Bird), was a Sioux (Yankton Dakota) writer, editor, musician, teacher, and political activist. She wrote several works chronicling her youthful struggles with identity and pulls between the majority culture and her Native American heritage. Her later books in English brought traditional Native American stories to a widespread white readership, and she has been noted as one of the most influential Native American activists of the twentieth century.
Working with American musician William F. Hanson, Zitkala-Ša wrote the libretto and songs for The Sun Dance Opera, (1913), the first American Indian opera. (It was composed in romantic style based on Sioux and Ute themes.)
She was a co-founder of the National Council of American Indians in 1926 to lobby for rights to United States citizenship and civil rights.
Zitkála-Šá （1876年–1938年）（拉科塔语： 红鸟），是印第安苏族（扬克顿印第安人）作家、编辑、音乐家、教师和政治活动家。她的几部作品记录了年轻时为印第安人身份所作的奋争，以及在美国主流文化与美洲土著文化之间的情感交融。她的后期作品以英文写就，将传统的美洲土著故事带到了广大的白人读者中间。她被认为是二十世纪美国原住民中最有影响力的活动家之一。
她与美国音乐家William F. Hanson合作，为第一部美国印第安歌剧“The Sun Dance Opera（太阳舞歌剧）”撰写了剧本和歌曲（1913年），这是以印第安苏族和尤特人为主题的浪漫主义歌曲。
1926年，她联合组建了美国印第安人全国委员会，为印第安人游说，为他们争取美国公民权和公民权利。
THE GREAT SPIRIT
大神（节译）
When the spirit swells my breast I love to roam leisurely among the green hills; or sometimes, sitting on the brink of the murmuring Missouri, I marvel at the great blue overhead. With half-closed eyes I watch the huge cloud shadows in their noiseless play upon the high bluffs opposite me, while into my ear ripple the sweet, soft cadences of the river’s song. Folded hands lie in my lap, for the time forgot. My heart and I lie small upon the earth like a grain of throbbing sand. Drifting clouds and tinkling waters, together with the warmth of a genial summer day, bespeak with eloquence the loving Mystery round about us. During the idle while I sat upon the sunny river brink, I grew somewhat, though my response be not so clearly manifest as in the green grass fringing the edge of the high bluff back of me.
每每胸中充满豪情时，我就会去青山绿水间散步，悠然自得；有时，坐在密苏里河潺潺水流的边缘，惊叹于广袤无垠的蓝天。我半睁着眼，观赏着对面巨大的云团，在高耸入云的峭壁上嬉戏，无声无息；河水涟漪，甜蜜柔和的韵律，开始回荡在我的耳畔。我双手交叉，放在膝上，就为这忘却的时光。我的心，全然的我，在这片大地上，是如此的渺小，像一颗悸动的沙粒。云朵飘逸，河水叮咚，伴随着夏日和煦的热情，动人地述说着周遭的一切，爱意迷事。坐在阳光明媚的河堤上，正清闲，便感觉自己成长了一点，虽然我的反应尚未如此清晰明了，如同身背后陡峭的山壁沿上绿绿的青草一样。
At length retracing the uncertain footpath scaling the precipitous embankment, I seek the level lands where grow the wild prairie flowers. And they, the lovely little folk, soothe my soul with their perfumed breath. Their quaint round faces of varied hue convince the heart which leaps with glad surprise that they, too, are living symbols of omnipotent thought. With a child’s eager eye I drink in the myriad star shapes wrought in luxuriant color upon the green. Beautiful is the spiritual essence they embody.
终于在折回路上，我沿着一条勾勒出险峻路堤的无名小径，寻找着平坦的草原，那里长着野生百花。那些可爱的小精灵们，用她们芬芳的气息，抚慰我的心灵。那乖巧的圆脸，色彩绚丽，让惊喜之心得以信服，她们也应上苍之意，象征着生命。我以孩童般热切的眼神，尽情地看着绿叶上无数颜色斑斓的星状花朵。她们所体现的精神内涵竟然如此美丽。
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[图像来源：百度]
