“A Divided Mind: The Life and Work of Gertrude Simmons Bonnin – aka Zitkala-Sa.”

On Sunday, April 13, 2025, at 2:00 pm, the Betty Strong Encounter Center welcomes Nancy Gillis. She will present about “A Divided Mind: The Life and Work of Gertrude Simmons Bonnin – aka Zitkala-Sa.” Admission is free with a reception to follow.

A look at the personal, cultural, and professional struggles of the Yankton Dakota author, activist, suffragette, reformer, musician and composer. Balancing on a tightrope of assured losses and uncertain gains to create an identity of advocacy, education, and confrontation often in a manner “unsuitable for a woman.”

Nancy S. Gillis is the former Executive Director of the John Neihardt State Historic Site, March 1997 – July 2019. She also served on faculty of Wayne State College, Northeast Community College, Nebraska Indian Community College, and Little Priest Tribal College from 1990 through 2017 teaching History, Anthropology, and Sociology, and honors courses on Neihardt’s life and work. Of Cherokee and Choctaw heritage, Gillis moved to Winnebago, Nebraska in 1987 to work with the Winnebago people for the Reformed Church in America and has served as their delegate to its Native American Council. She stays active in various civic organizations, currently or previously serving on the board of the Dr. Susan LaFlesche Picotte Hospital Board, State of Nebraska Historical Preservation Office, Nebraska Folklife Network, Atlas of Winnebago, and the Walthill Village Planning Commission.