Brief Thoughts on Little House on the Prairie

Personally, I feel a great deal of reluctance to approach this issue. When this book came up in my multicultural literature class, I was not among those saying that it should be removed from collections. It's too widely circulated to make such a quiet disappearance possible. Still, I think the arguments made on the pages below have changed my perspective on the series:

http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/2006_09_13_americanindiansinchildrensliterature_archive.html

http://oyate.org/books-to-avoid/littlehouse.html

The language used regarding the Osage is not merely antiquated; it is actively racist and harmful. How can I reconcile that with the fact this series continues to be viewed as the epitome of American and family values in children's literature? This series will continue to be widely read and used in schools for years to come, and I will leave the fight against that to others. I choose to instead promote alternatives such as The Birchbark House that show American Indian culture in a truer light. I also encourage those who are choosing childen's materials to not simply pick books out of nostalgia but to take the time to reread them with a careful eye and seek out current reviews of the work.

Site of the day:
Birchbark Books http://birchbarkbooks.com/Home

Louise Erdrich runs an independent bookstore in Minneapolis that provides a selection of thoughtfully chosen books on American Indian culture. For those looking for language or children's materials, I would highly recommend this site. As an added treat, any Erdrich books ordered from Birchbark Books are autographed!