Zitkala-Sa is one of the most misunderstood Oceti Sakowin activists. She believed in Native independence and national American Indian unity; she opposed the capitalist plunder of Native lands; and she wanted to abolish the BIA. She also was for US citizenship and against peyote. 
Too often is Zitkala-Sa cast as just literary figure. She pushed the Society of American Indians to seek international recognition at the League of Nations and saw American Indians in the company of other colonized people around the world. Her vision exceeded the US.
Zitkala-Sa mistakenly believed American Indian service in WWI as non-citizens would give them leverage to force the US to uphold treaty rights. American Indians weren't citizens, so they had little legal recourse to push the treaty issue in US courts.
Zitkala-Sa was also critical of US militarism, connecting it to the genocide of American Indians. She clearly saw the hypocrisy of US interventions abroad to save "democracy" when it didn't practice it at home, especially with American Indians.
To Zitkala-Ša, America is the root of war.
Despite living a heroic life, Zitkala-Sa's death certificate reads: “Gertrude Bonnin from South Dakota—Housewife."
Addendum: She also did more to raise awareness around the Osage oil murders that specifically targeted young Native women than the bunk FBI glorification narrative that is currently on offer. Yet, she is written out of that history and won't be in the next Hollywood film.
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