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Jessaka's Reviews > Little House on the Prairie
Little House on the Prairie (Little House, #3)
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Fried Apples and a Lesson in Racism
I loved this series when I read them around ten years ago. My favorite was The Long Winter.
A few years ago I went to visit her home in Missouri with my sister and niece. She had two houses, but I must say I loved the Sears and Roebuck one best. The other one had a wonderful antique mint green stove in it that I would have loved to have owned, except I think that it would not be easy to bake in, and maybe it used wood for fuel. My ex mother-in-law had a wood burning one once when she was renting a house in the country. It heated the entire house. She didn’t bake much, so she didn’t have to worry about getting the fire just right.
I read this book again because I had heard that it contained racist remarks. I must not have noticed it before. So, Laura Ingalls and her family take off in a covered wagon for parts unknown. Laura asked for a papoose, like another child would ask for a puppy. Her mother exclaims, “I don’t like Indians. No, you cannot have a papoose.” Why would Laura even think of owning a papoose? I suppose it was just a childish whim. And then her father talks about how the government is going to push back or kill the Indians, so they don’t have to worry.
So now, what was once an adorable story about pioneers that all children love; to an adult, can become a political issue, as it was in the book, Killers of the Flower Moon that came out after I read this book. This conversation was mentioned in it in detail.
The fact of racism in this book doesn’t ruin it for me, and I am American Indian, but I had a German father. I had a friend who was Indian, but she didn’t like pioneer stories, which was understandable. Me, I love them. I have another friend who loves them too, and she is married to a Native American and may be part Indian. So I asked members of our book group if they liked pioneer stories, some of us are Indian or part Indian. One wanted nothing to do with them because the white man had murdered the Indians. Three of us liked them because they were survival books and fun reading; They were history. We felt that other countries had to deal with these things as well. Then some of us who were Indian had family who came to America in the early days. Now as to the racist comment, I like what one of the group members said, “They were being honest with their feelings, and they were afraid of the Indians,” and I might add, “They should have been. Not all Indians were friendly.” And Indians had sometimes warred with each other, taking food from another tribe when there was a drought, kidnapping children, etc.
This doesn’t make it right what the Europeans did by coming to here, just as it isn’t right for any nation to colonize or destroy other nations. I just hope that kids who read these books will get a lesson from their parents on racism, as it would be a good way to teach them.
Here is an interesting recipe that could have been used by the Ingalls on the trail:
Fried Apples
Fry 4 slices of bacon. Remove bacon. Slice apples and add to hot bacon grease. Brown on each side. Serve.
Now whenever I fry apples, I used real butter, but if I used bacon grease, I would eat the bacon along with the apples.
I loved this series when I read them around ten years ago. My favorite was The Long Winter.
A few years ago I went to visit her home in Missouri with my sister and niece. She had two houses, but I must say I loved the Sears and Roebuck one best. The other one had a wonderful antique mint green stove in it that I would have loved to have owned, except I think that it would not be easy to bake in, and maybe it used wood for fuel. My ex mother-in-law had a wood burning one once when she was renting a house in the country. It heated the entire house. She didn’t bake much, so she didn’t have to worry about getting the fire just right.
I read this book again because I had heard that it contained racist remarks. I must not have noticed it before. So, Laura Ingalls and her family take off in a covered wagon for parts unknown. Laura asked for a papoose, like another child would ask for a puppy. Her mother exclaims, “I don’t like Indians. No, you cannot have a papoose.” Why would Laura even think of owning a papoose? I suppose it was just a childish whim. And then her father talks about how the government is going to push back or kill the Indians, so they don’t have to worry.
So now, what was once an adorable story about pioneers that all children love; to an adult, can become a political issue, as it was in the book, Killers of the Flower Moon that came out after I read this book. This conversation was mentioned in it in detail.
The fact of racism in this book doesn’t ruin it for me, and I am American Indian, but I had a German father. I had a friend who was Indian, but she didn’t like pioneer stories, which was understandable. Me, I love them. I have another friend who loves them too, and she is married to a Native American and may be part Indian. So I asked members of our book group if they liked pioneer stories, some of us are Indian or part Indian. One wanted nothing to do with them because the white man had murdered the Indians. Three of us liked them because they were survival books and fun reading; They were history. We felt that other countries had to deal with these things as well. Then some of us who were Indian had family who came to America in the early days. Now as to the racist comment, I like what one of the group members said, “They were being honest with their feelings, and they were afraid of the Indians,” and I might add, “They should have been. Not all Indians were friendly.” And Indians had sometimes warred with each other, taking food from another tribe when there was a drought, kidnapping children, etc.
This doesn’t make it right what the Europeans did by coming to here, just as it isn’t right for any nation to colonize or destroy other nations. I just hope that kids who read these books will get a lesson from their parents on racism, as it would be a good way to teach them.
Here is an interesting recipe that could have been used by the Ingalls on the trail:
Fried Apples
Fry 4 slices of bacon. Remove bacon. Slice apples and add to hot bacon grease. Brown on each side. Serve.
Now whenever I fry apples, I used real butter, but if I used bacon grease, I would eat the bacon along with the apples.
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Little House on the Prairie.
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Reading Progress
January 13, 2018
–
Started Reading
January 13, 2018
– Shelved
January 17, 2018
– Shelved as:
pioneer
January 17, 2018
–
Finished Reading
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by
BlackOxford
(new)
Jan 17, 2018 12:59PM
Yes, times change. As you point out: both for better and worse. On the one hand subtle racism *s now more noticeable and ‘callable’. On the other hand I have Republican relatives who are now dead to me. Swings and roundabouts.
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I loved the series as a child, but have never reread them, so don't really know whether the racism comes across as relatively benign and historically accurate, or something worse. I'm glad your own heritage didn't spoil this book for you.
BlackOxford wrote: "Yes, times change. As you point out: both for better and worse. On the one hand subtle racism *s now more noticeable and ‘callable’. On the other hand I have Republican relatives who are now dead t..."What I feel about a book like this is that I consider the times they lived, their ignorance due to their fears, yet when it comes to killing the Indians and blacks and slavery, there is no excuse for the nation as a whole. And yet that is what Mr. Ignalls had hoped would happen, that the Indians would be killed or pushed back. If the family were alive today and held those views, I would want nothing to do with them. Still, the series is a good series, just as Tom Sawyer was, and it could be used to teach others about racism. So, I have mixed feelings about it. If there entire series was racist, if they were killing Indians themselves, then I would not wish to read it.
I have dropped 4 long time friends because they voted for Trump, but only because they began making racist comments that I had no idea that they believed, and because they would not listen to facts. I only have two friends left that voted for him, and I don’t talk to them often, and they live in other States. We went to grammar school together from 3rd grade up. I don’t want to know how they feel. Relatives on my side of the family voted for Hillary. I am blessed there.
I also have relatives on my sister’s side of the family that I am seldom around, which is a blessing. They all live in the south, and my sister and her daughter, who are not racists, have to deal with their racism. My sister, when standing up for the blacks has been called a “N lover.”
Cecily wrote: "I loved the series as a child, but have never reread them, so don't really know whether the racism comes across as relatively benign and historically accurate, or something worse. I'm glad your own..."I am not sure how benign it was, well, it must have been pretty benign for me to have not noticed it when I read it 10 years ago. Still, the thoughts were that they wanted the Indian moved out or killed. At least that was what Mr. Ingalls stated. The idea that a group of people could come to a country and push out the natives because they needed more land is abhorrent, and yet there is a fascination in reading pioneer stories due to learning how they survived. I have a friend who is married to an Indian, who also loves pioneer stories. I should talk with her about it now that I am curious.
Jessaka wrote: "I am not sure how benign it was..."Maybe I used the wrong word. There's no point sugar-coating pioneer attitudes too much, especially when described by writers who lived at the time. We need to know and remember.
Yes, we do. It happens too often in so many countries where people have come in and taken over just because they could.
I remember my teacher reading this to us in English class back in elementary school
How neat Jim. I wis that it had been read too me by a teacher. I was over 65 when I first read this series.
Thoughtful review Jessika. Like you, I hope that children who read this book have parents to point out the racist comments and explain the true history of European colonization.
