Zintka!

The Ghost Dance was a Native American dance of renewal. It was a prayer for both dead relatives and the buffalo to return, a prayer for the restoration of Indian culture and their way of life. The combination of sensational newspaper headlines and memories of Custer’s Last Stand, created fear among the settlers. The US government called for the arrest of Ghost Dance leaders including Sitting Bull who was quickly assassinated at Standing Rock Reservation on December 15, 1890. The massacre at Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota would soon follow.

At Wounded Knee, Indian braves were disarmed and killed, women and children slaughtered. A detail was sent to bury the dead, however, an icy blizzard and sub zero temperatures delayed the burial by four days. A weak cry…a baby discovered…the body of her dead mother had kept her warm. Named Zintkala Nuni (Lost Bird) by the Lakota, the infant was taken by Brigadier General Colby as a trophy of war. He had used trickery and barter, then adopted the baby by forging his wife’s signature. Clara Colby, was a devoted mother to Zinta despite being away six months a year working with suffragists in Washington, DC. She was an associate of Susan B. Anthony and Elizbeth Cady Stanton.

Zinta was always on display at numerous receptions, a curiosity to most in attendance. Set apart from other children, she grew to question her identity. She liked to frequently examine her baby moccasins and bracelet. Running away from home, she traveled to Standing Rock Reservation in search of her birth family. Having been snatched from the Lakota people as an infant, she did not understand the language, traditions and spirituality of Native American culture. She was unable to communicate.

Seventy years after being buried in a pauper’s grave on February 14, 1920, Zintkala Nuni was repatriated. Observing proper tradition, she was reburied, honored and mourned at Wounded Knee on July 11,1991.She had come home.

The story of “The Waif of Wounded Knee”, lost between two worlds came to life through the award winning “Best Mixed Media Short” called “Lost Bird” screened at the Sedona International Film Festival in February, 2024. The seven minute animated film presents a multifaceted view of the cost of forced assimilation on the identity and emotional well being of native children adopted away from the reservation.

Zintka! is described as a hybrid format book. An emotionally descriptive song written by singer/songwriter Brad Colerick, the book’s co-author, tells Zinta’s story. Co-author Scott Feldmann creates an animontage, illustrations in an animation style. Ledger Art in primitive drawings follow the Indian tradition of drawing their history. Winter counts show pictographic calendars of historical events. The Ledger Art is superimposed on a background of newspaper articles, historical photographs and handwritten military reports of casualties. Feldman supplies biological information as well as a timeline of Zinta’s life. The sheet music and words for “Little Bird-Lost Bird of Wounded Knee” are included.

Zintka! by Brad Colerick and Scott Feldmann presents “the troubled tale of a Native American girl caught between two worlds, accepted by neither during her lifetime.” A magnificent, highly recommended read.

Thank you Deep Magic Song & Drawing Co. and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I don't think I have words to accurately describe how touching and important this book and the accompanying short video and song are. In a time when we as a nation are reconciling the damage done to indigenous Americans through Indian boarding schools and genocide, this book is a timely snapshot of the losses experienced by Zintkala Nuni.

The first thing I hope to convey is the stunning artwork and use of collage (described as a moving montage or "animontage" in the film--which is a must-watch to fully appreciate this accompanying book.) The art is both inspired by ledger art, and uses original art from Lakota artists of the era (Including Battiste Good, Yellow Nose, and other anonymous artists. The authors also used photographs of Zintka and the colonizers to show her age progression. There is also a beautiful collage effect in which the images are transposed over broken treaties or photographs of the aftermath of wounded knee.

The next important thing is the timeline, which gives a detailed account to Zintka's life and losses. The fact that she was treated as a trophy of war, and stolen from her people is just the beginning. Over the course of her life, Zintka is treated as an anomaly, neither fitting in with her tribe, nor that of the white family that adopted her.

The book includes a score for the song, which could have a greater impact if the reader is musically inclined. I am not, so I went directly to deepmagic.fun, the authors' website which shows the short film to watch the full musical art piece. It was stunning in its clarity and brevity. I hope to see more films and books from Brad Colerick because this will stay with me for a long time.