If my memory serves correctly, this is the book in the Little House series with the most racism. And there is good reason for that. The Ingalls family relocates from their home in Wisconsin to land that belongs to the Indians. The US government has said that they will be opening up the Indian Territories (in what is now Kansas) for settlers. The Ingalls family wants to have their pick of the land there. So they leave crowded Wisconsin for Kansas. Because they are entering Indian Territory, it’s only natural that there should be some tension between the white settlers and those who are already living in the prairies. But Little House on the Prairie doesn’t just reflect concern and confusion. It shows true fear, hatred and prejudice. While Ma stands out as anti-Indian, certainly most of the characters have their moments where their bias shows. In the end, the Ingalls family decides to move on from Kansas. The government was on the verge of sending soldiers to escort white settlers from the lands. From a historical perspective, this back and forth on the part of the government is fascinating, but you can see (even with the limited information in this book) how their policies bred tension between whites and Native peoples rather than diffusing it.
Knowing the content of this book, what should you do? Should you skip the anti-Indian sentiment? Address it? Well, I think those choices depend on the age of your readers/listeners, their maturity and your personal philosophy. In all honesty, completely editing this book will be a major undertaking if you’re reading aloud. To the point where you’ll be reconstructing the plot to try to make it make sense. I mean, you can do it if you have your heart set on it, but it will not be an easy task. In most cases it will be easier to have frank discussions with your children about the attitudes expressed in the book. Older children who are reading independently will often pick up on what’s going on even without your help. During one reading conference I asked a student about the characters and the first thing out of his mouth was “Ma is really racist against Indians”. I think Ma’s feelings are the some of the easiest to call out as racist. The other characters (Pa and Laura especially) tend to be more tempered, yet still have their moments. This will be harder to tease out for some readers.
How can you address the issues of prejudice in this book?
- You can discuss the historical background. Many children now notice the inherent unfairness of Manifest Destiny and how the government treated Native Americans.
- Talk about how prejudice occurs when people have limited experience with people that they perceive as different.
- Talk about the role violence played in people’s opinions (there were very real reasons for settlers to be afraid of Native Americans, but what is the underlying cause of these massacres and raids?).
Aside from the interesting historical context and the racist context, this still isn’t one of my favorites in the series. Little House on the Prairie gets off to a bit of a slow start. The trip from Wisconsin has some exciting parts, but is largely tedious, and much like Laura, I can’t help wishing we’d just get to the new place and settle in already. The rest of the book alternates between fairly dry (filling mattresses, splitting logs) and dangerously exciting (warring Indians, fever, prairie fire).
Racism – As mentioned previously, the Ingalls family has lots of contact with Native Americans. Throughout the book they are described as “brown”, “red men”, “wild,” “savage,” “terrible.” Their eyes are compared to “snake eyes.” They are stereotyped as sneaky, thieving and suspicious. Ma says she expects they’ll see more Indians than they want to. She tells Laura and Mary that she doesn’t like Indians, but doesn’t give an answer when they ask why. Laura also asks why they are moving to where the Indians live if Ma doesn’t like them. Pa tells Laura that you don’t see Indians unless they wanted you to see them. Laura knows they are “wild men with red skins”. Laura compares wild men to wild animals and papooses with fawns and other baby animals. Pa sings about being a Gypsy king. Ma asks Laura why she must yell like an Indian and tells the girls they look like Indians because their skin is turning brown in the sun. Ma wonders why Laura wants to see a papoose. Indians come to the house. Their eyes are described as glittering like snake eyes. Laura feels strange and her legs feel weak because they are near. The Indians are further described as “naked wild men” and Laura mentions smelling a horrible smell (this is because the skins worn by the Indians are skunk skins evidently). A neighbor gives quite a speech on Indians, saying how they would never make anything of the land themselves, that they just roam like wild animals, and of course, that the only good Indian is a dead Indian (this last statement is repeated several times). She starts to discuss a massacre, but Ma hushes her. Ma claims that the dog hates Indians and that there are so many in the area that she can’t look up without seeing one. Pa says that one Indian was “no common trash.” Indians come into the house. They are “dirty, scowling and mean”. Laura does repeatedly question why the government makes the Indians move west and whether or not the Indians will be mad that they have to move. When Ma hears a scream in the night she says “you don’t suppose…” It will probably not occur to younger readers that she is thinking of an Indian raid, but it may to more experienced ones. At one point Ma expresses the hope that the Indians will fight each other. Laura wishes to be an Indian child “except she did not really mean it.” Laura asks Pa to get her an Indian baby and claims it wants to stay with her. A doctor is described as a “black man” and Laura says she would have been afraid of him if she didn’t like him so much.
Sex, Nudity, Dating – None.
Profanity – “blasted,” “darned,” “durned”,
Death, Violence and Gore – Pa has a gun and bullets. Shots ring out in the woods. Pa drops a giant log on Ma’s foot. It’s not broken but her face is gray with the pain. The swollen ankle is described vividly. Pa shot a rabbit through the eye and shot the heads of the prairie hens off. Pa tells the girls that if Jack had bitten the Indians they would have killed him and “that’s not all.” Laura asks Pa about a panther he has escaped and she asks if it would carry off a little girl. Pa tells her that a panther would kill and eat a little girl. Laura later speculates that a panther would kill and eat a papoose too. Pa hits the dog. Pa says that hanging is too good for horse thieves.
Drugs, Alcohol and Smoking – Mr. Edwards spits tobacco juice. The Indians take all of Pa’s tobacco.
Frightening or Intense Things – In crossing a creek, the water rises suddenly and the wagon nearly capsizes. Jack the dog goes missing in this incident. A family is very sick with fever and ague. Pa ends up near a pack of wolves. At night they surround the house. The girls are told not to play with snakes because some are poison. A man faints while at the bottom of a well. Everyone gets very sick. There is a fire in the house. Later there is a prairie fire.
