Zintkala Nuni (c. 1890–c. 1919)
Zintkala Nuni (c. 1890–c. 1919)
Lakota survivor of Wounded Knee massacre. Name variations: Lost Bird; Zindka. Born c. 1890; died c. 1919; adopted dau. of Leonard Wright Colby (leader of NE National Guard and state senator) and Clara Colby (suffragist).
After Lakota mother's death at Wounded Knee massacre, SD (1890), was taken by Leonard Wright Colby and adopted by him and wife Clara Colby to be raised as a white child; performed in Wild West shows and early Western movies; died at age 30 (c. 1919); became symbol of American Indian children taken from their tribes. Her remains were returned to Wounded Knee on Pine Ridge Reservation (1991) and her story inspired founding of Lost Bird Society at Pine Ridge, SD, which assists American Indians with finding their roots.
See also Renee Sansom Flood, Lost Bird of Wounded Knee: Spirit of the Lakota (DaCapo, 1998).