The Music and the Sun Dance Opera
Writing was not the only medium through which Zitkála-Šá expressed herself and built her public presence. Music was equally important, and her musical work led to one of the most remarkable collaborative achievements of her career.
She had studied violin throughout her educational years and was a skilled musician. Music was one of the threads that connected the Anglo-American cultural education she had received with the expressive life she was building as a public figure. It was also a bridge between cultural worlds — music was a domain in which her talent could be recognized across cultural lines.
In 1913, Zitkála-Šá collaborated with William Hanson, a non-Native composer, on The Sun Dance Opera. The work was based on traditional Lakota ceremonies and stories, with a libretto written by Zitkála-Šá and music composed collaboratively. The Sun Dance Opera is generally considered the first American opera to be written by a Native American person.
The significance of this achievement extends beyond the specific artistic work. At a time when Native culture was being systematically suppressed — when the Sun Dance itself was banned by the federal government — Zitkála-Šá was taking the cultural material of the Lakota and giving it artistic expression in a form (the opera) that was recognized and valued by the Anglo-American cultural establishment. This was a different kind of cultural work than the direct criticism of her autobiographical essays. It was cultural preservation through translation and artistic transformation.
The Sun Dance Opera received significant attention when it was performed, and it has been revived in more recent years as part of the broader recognition of Zitkála-Šá’s legacy.
Her musical activities also included work on a more pedagogical level — she taught music, composed, and was engaged in the broader musical life of the communities she was part of throughout her career.