Before we begin to read the book in my classroom I take a few moments to talk about Wilder’s real life and the historical accuracy of her books. I applaud you for stating that rather than ban the books it is better to introduce children to historical books and talk about the views of the times and what progress has been made and what we need to do to continue to combat racism in our society. Fifth graders from Cleaveland Traditional Magnet Elementary School in Wichita, Kansas reading Little House on the Prairie. Stretched to their limits, local militias were unable to protect their communities. Thank you for this article! If anything I felt it embodied the exact opposite. This series featured characters and places from the book series, but took drastic creative liberty with the story telling (as should be expected from a television show). Written by a fine education. Laura says “They drove away and left it lonely and empty in the clearing…They were going to Indian country.” But, they didn’t go there directly. However, like the books, that series hasn’t aged well. You may also be interested in an entertaining and educational documentary film about Laura Ingalls Wilder, which is appropriate for all ages. Laura’s stories come from an oral tradition. There have been many fascinating books written about Laura Ingalls Wilder and her daughter and editor Rose Wilder Lane. Although the land that Pa chose was obviously next to a well-used trail, he preferred to think of the land as unsettled. Thank you! This may contain affiliate links and we may receive a small commission on purchases. Teachers should do this. Little House on the Prairie controversy has Missouri connection. In the early pages of Little House on the Prairie, Laura quotes Pa as saying that animals wandered “in a pasture that stretched much farther than a man could see, and there were no settlers. Laura Ingalls Wilder was 65 when she published her first book, the beloved Little House in the Big Woods.By this time, her only daughter, Rose Wilder Lane, already had a … Fear, is in the mind, caused by the “unknown”. The Little House books are among those. What better way to learn our history than by reading a classic like Little House on the Prairie and using it as a platform for discussion? From the perspective of the Indians, I’m sure it seemed like a righteous resistance. I remember feeling the fear of the unknown as the natives came into the cabin, the curiosity of the different as Laura rushes in to see them, the sadness she felt when watching them march along and away, and the pride she had when she tanned like “an indian” by ignoring her frustratingly restrictive bonnet. For nearly 10 years, beginning in 1974 and ending in 1984, the Ingalls family of Little House on the Prairie personified all the wholesome charm of settlers surviving in the old American West. However, it seems that the original book series which the show was based on, was banned in a few schools under the claim that it contained some underlying controversial content. The ALSC drew attention to Wilder’s ‘Little House on the Prairie’ novels, which it said include “expressions of stereotypical attitudes inconsistent with ALSC's core values." They could not know because Washington was so far away.” Pa was most likely betting that the government would allow squatters to claim homesteads once the Osage were removed. The very thought of Indians made her blood run cold. Laura Ingalls Wilder’s name will be removed from the title of a major children’s book award, over concerns about her depiction of other races in her almost century-old stories. From the author’s “perspective” is the important part. Excellent work! Obviously, she was cast as older than that in both Little House in the Big Woods and Little House on the Prairie. The Ingalls family is a model of mutual respect and affection. As an adult I cringe when I read the books but I have to remind myself that society has made progress and I’ve grown as a person to recognize racism. According to the school, the 1884 book, which charts the adventures of a boy and an escaped slave on a journey down the Mississippi river, was not “inclusive” enough for modern students. Reading them for the first time in years I am once again reminded of the fact that 2019 is vastly different than the 1880s. I never really found any thing really racist in the books. As an adult I find that really sad. I cannot express how refreshing it is to read the previous comments. I enjoyed reading your thoughts. What do readers need to know when reading Little House on the Prairie? Copyright © 2015-2020 Friendly Family Productions, LLC Contributors | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Licensing | Newsletters. You use your remarkable, God-given talent for writing in such interesting ways. In recent years the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder have been accused of being culturally insensitive and even racist, particularly Little House on the Prairie. And , let’s not forget that there was a black woman in Little House on the Prairie as well (again I am referring to the TV show not the books) she was either a schoolteacher or a helper at NELLY’s restaurant I forgot which but she was well respected and loved in the show Your comments are very interesting. It’s not my place to judge or justify them…but rather, to understand them from their perspective, to learn from them and mostly to enjoy the stories. Thank You! I don’t care who you are or how mad you can be at someone but killing women and children and babies YES babies, makes it a massacre! NBCU Photo Bank/ Getty We have a book on great white sharks from my childhood. I’m privileged to call you my friend and fellow teacher. What did we come to their country for, if you don’t like them?”; But why was Ma so afraid of the Osage? While the book – which deals with the heavy issues of rape and racial injustice in the deep south – condemns the mistreatment of African Americans, the school board said that the book’s language made students uncomfortable. Whether Pa knew this or not is open for debate, but it is highly unlikely that he would have been ignorant of this fact. Wilder lived in rural Missouri, far away from libraries or universities with large reference sections. I never thought her remarks about the Indians were “racist” as I was seeing them through the eyes of another naive 8 or 9 year old girl. But, we must remember, this was before the Internet. How would they tell the story to someone else? I find it appalling that people fail to understand cultural relativism and how it may be used to better understand history and the interaction of cultures. You don’t find any, of them, any worse than someone, who drives a car. “Little House on the Prairie” star Alison Arngrim says competition between her, Melissa Gilbert and Melissa Sue was so high that she is amazed they “didn’t kill each other.” Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. She was not racist. One last observation, I took from Laura’s books that she portrayed or tried to portray first nations with dignity and provided positive examples, such as the Long Winter and how an elder tried to help the townspeople by warning of the impending winter. Autres temps, autres mœurs. Wilder mentions the “Minnesota Massacre” in her account of Mrs. Scott’s hatred for the Osage: “The only good Indian was a dead Indian. I’m not a writer so thanks for finally explaining it so simply. Concerning Caroline Ingalls, I think she just feared what she did not know. Little House on the Prairie, a television show based on Laura Wilder's life, aired in 1974 and ran until 1982. Maxine Waters calls on restaurants, gas stations to boo Trump admin. Since that time she has shared Wilder’s life across the Midwest. I already knew that was just what had happened. I cannot imagine traveling across country by wagon! It is called “Man-eating Killer Sharks.” My kids love it – even though today we know that sharks do not hunt for humans. I have the whole collection of Little House on the Prairie books. With Melissa Gilbert, Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, Rachel Lindsay Greenbush. And of course every treaty the U.S. Government made with Native Americans was never upheld. Controversy: The board voted unanimously to remove Wilder's name at their annual meeting over the weekend due to her anti-black and anti-Native writings (the … I am not going to attempt to give a complete history of the Osage people or the sad legacy of the systematic removal of Native Americans by the government of the United States. As an adult I have always read the books with a historical perspective and as being a product of their times. This is the second year I’ve taught Little House on the Prairie in my 5th grade class and it has opened up some very frank and meaningful conversations about prejudice, racism, and historical context. I have books from my childhood that I read to my kids. For example, in chapter 21 of Little House on the Prairie, Pa must go to Independence to sell his furs. Wilder depicted Native people as curiosities or even as subhuman, as when she notes, in Little House on the Prairie, that 'there were no people. Don’t make it a big thing and it won’t be. I enjoyed it vry much. He moved his family first to Chariton County, Missouri and then on to Montgomery County, Kansas in late 1868 or early 1869. Little House on the Prairie contains the notorious slur, "the only good Indian is a dead Indian. If we do not know the true history of our nation’s/culture’s past, how can we prevent ourselves from making the same mistakes? Sorrell Booke (adult) and Matthew Laberteaux in Little House on the Prairie. Although in her novel, Little House on the Prairie, and Pioneer Girl memoir, Ingalls Wilder portrayed their departure as being prompted by rumors of eviction, she also noted that her parents needed to recover their Wisconsin land because the buyer had not paid the … I didn’t read the actual book related to this topic but I am seriously wondering how much the modern day obsession with calling absolutely everything under the sun “racist“ and it unnecessarily often , has a play in this article of course it’s sad and devastating what happened to the native Americans because of European settlers but it seems to me there’s so much we will never know about Times change. These things should not be swept under the rug or ignored. The grandfather is racist the mother was a missionary who fell in love with a native My Pa and brothers went out with the rest of the settlers…Ma made a sharp sound in her throat, and Mrs. Scott stopped. They pit young readers against the people whose land was stolen by pioneers like Pa and his family. This episode was, and always will be, the most talked about episode of Little House on the Prairie. To read the thoughts, beliefs and experiences of people who once were alive and living their lives every minute of every day is fascinating. The American Civil Liberties Union at one point got involved, and threatened the school board with a lawsuit. What would you say if you knew that these words are found in the beloved book Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder? Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West, Through Dakota Eyes: Narrative Accounts of the Minnesota Indian War of 1862, Over the Earth I Come: The Great Sioux Uprising of 1862, documentary film about Laura Ingalls Wilder. This story held no intention of racism. It always holds a little fear, a little curiosity, a little empathy, and a little emulation. He freely cut logs to build a house, hunted wild game for food and furs, dug a well and broke the land for farming. How can we help children develop an understanding of the historical perspective in Little House on the Prairie? My mother read them to me when I was a child. I got here because I was just watching LHOTP and wanted to see the map of walnut grove We may feel today, given our 21st-century sensitivity, that Ma was wrong to fear the Osage or that Mr. and Mrs. Scott were racist. As we read Little House, we stop often and reflect on the similarities and differences between the main characters, their families, and their life styles. When I was 8-9 in the ’70’s, my mom read the books to me, and I re-read them many times myself. The US Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) has removed Laura Ingalls Wilder's name from one of its awards over racist views and language. In the mid-1870s, Laura witnessed one of … Most fear of someone “different”, or another color, than ourselves, is because people are afraid, of the unknown. 5. Before moving to Kansas, the Ingalls lived near the border of Minnesota and Wisconsin. Your email address will not be published. I have their handwritten marriage certificate from 1860 in Brown County. Only Indians lived there.' So far, there are not any drastic rumors regarding her personal and professional life. Referring to something by its known name is simply good communication. I enjoyed this thought-provoking article and wanted to let you know that this particular teachable moment is applicable in other countries with a history of colonialism. The questions then arise, is this because Wilder is culturally insensitive or is she simply writing from her perspective, having been born in 1867 and writing in the 1930s? People need to be aware of the times of which they are reading, but to blatantly call it racism, seems inappropriate as well. The government had not paid them what was owed due to the great debt incurred by the Civil War and hunting was becoming scarce due to the settlement of the western frontier. They include classic titles and newer works. Wilder says that Jack, the Ingalls’ bulldog, hated the Indians and Ma said she didn’t blame him. Proud of you my friend. But I suggest that rather than banning books or refusing to read them, we use them as a platform for examining the history of the United States. We invite you to visit our Recommended Reading section to find books for children and young adults and for adults. I’m working on addressing this now. The chapter about “Little Crow’s War” provides important context to the Dakota uprising in Minnesota. Loved: “What better way to learn our history than by reading a classic like Little House on the Prairie and using it as a platform for discussion?”. You come across the words “the only good Indian was a dead Indian.” Do you put the book down in horror, shocked by the cultural insensitivity of the author? On great white sharks from my childhood wouldn ’ t accurate we must remember, this is dead. Came and took whatever they wanted to perspective as you read perspective the! Death of Mary 's baby and Mrs. Garvey most act on the Prairie feel to the... By uninvited guests that Jack, the show never did shy away from controversy fifth-grade teacher gas to. Fears were justified to children as we read the books with a lawsuit is Indian country, ’! To say that Wilder didn ’ t you like Indians, i ’ m sure it did seem a., than ourselves, is because people are afraid, of the settlers…Ma made a sharp sound in her,! 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