Little House on the Prairie presents a variety of attitudes toward American Indians. These attitudes change and develop throughout the book, often depending on the character and the situation in which they find themselves. For example, in chapter four Laura asks "why don't you like Indians, Ma?". Laura doesn't understand her mother's prejudice towards the American Indians, as she is an innocent child, excited and intrigued by the American Indians. She doesn't have any reason to fear them, due to her youth and lack of life experiences.
Laura's fascination with American Indians is similar to that of an explorer hoping to see Big Foot or the Loch Ness Monster. People devote enormous amounts of time in hope of gaining a glimpse at these mythical creatures. But in reality, should they encounter such creatures, the shock of their discovery could lead to rash actions and assumptions of what they don't understand. In a similar scenario, this happens to Laura in chapter eleven, when Laura and Mary discover 'Indians' in their house. Having previously spoken nonstop about the thought of seeing American Indians, it could be assumed that Laura would be excited by this encounter. However instead, Laura threatens to "let Jack loose", as he "will kill them". This reinforces the thought that American Indians would often be spoken of in a fictional context by parents to their children. Seeing them in reality scared Laura and Mary, causing them to feel that they had to respond aggressively. By chapter twenty-three, Ingalls Wilder admits that Laura, a depiction of her younger self, "was afraid of Indians". This highlights Laura's journey with the Natives and how her fascination had grown into the type of fear that her mother displays throughout the book.
Ma appears to be fearful of even speaking about 'Indians' stating, "I just don't like them", when asked why she didn't like 'Indians' in chapter four. This indicates that Ma lacks much knowledge of the American Indians and doesn't like them because she doesn't understand them. Throughout the book, Ma attempts to prevent Laura from speaking about the American Indians, or if she does ask about them, Ma questions Laura's reasoning. This hypocritical, as Ma is one of the more ignorant characters, who would benefit from asking similar questions to Laura. But she thinks she is protecting her family from the 'Indians'. The less they knew, the better. Ma later strikes an important friendship with Mrs. Scott, who helps the family when they all come down with malaria. They have a mutual hatred of American Indians and can be compared and contrasted in later chapters.
Pa, although an adult and head of the family, is far less harsh on the American Indians than Ma and other characters. He recognises the importance the American Indians and occasionally comes across as an admirer. In chapter eighteen, a member of the Osage tribe visited the family and spoke to Pa, who didn't understand the 'Indian'. The American Indian had spoke to Pa in French, which Pa stated he'd wished he "had picked up some of that lingo". French was a desirable language and was spoken in Medieval England by wealthy noblemen. The fact that Pa states that the 'Indian' could do something that Pa could not, suggests that Pa knew that they were more intelligent than people often gave them credit for. In addition, when debating 'Indians' with Ma in front of the children, Pa often stands up for them and the way in which they live their lives. In chapter six, he suggests that Ma "could wash clothes in the creek", as the "Indians do". This again suggests that Pa somewhat admires the American Indians, or at least doesn't view them in such a savage manner as Ma, at this point in the book. Pa's view seems to waver by chapter twenty-four, when he explains to a pleading Laura that "the Indian woman wants to keep her baby". Pa shows restraint by not granting Laura's demand of having the American Indian baby. Pa's reaction suggests that on another day an "Indian woman" may well relinquish her baby to them, which implies that Pa no longer has that element of respect towards the Natives that he earlier displayed. If someone asked if they could take baby Carrie from Ma, there would be outrage, as it would be morally wrong to simply give up one's baby without just reasoning.
Overall, the manner in which the entire book is written suggests that Ingalls Wilder did not have an overly fond view of American Indians. This is notably depicted when she describes the emotions of characters that she couldn't possibly know. This occurs in the chapter twenty-four when she states that Carrie, a baby, "grew tired of looking at Indians". In addition, in chapter eighteen according to Ingalls Wilder, "Jack hated Indians". This is an unnecessary trait for Jack, a dog, to have and is fairly obviously a medium for expressing her true opinions on American Indians.
Pa Goes To Town
Chapter seventeen, 'Pa Goes To Town', offers attitudes towards American Indians that are perhaps the most extreme in the book. Although one of the shorter chapters in the book, it is an excellent example of the underlying fear and hatred that some of the character had towards American Indians. An example of this is when Mrs. Scott visits. She promotes the concept of 'manifest destiny' when she states that "they'd never do anything with this country themselves. All they do is roam around over it like wild animals". This implies that she felt entitled to the land, due to her 'superiority' and 'sophistication' that she believed she and the other Eastern settlers possessed compared with the American Indians. It is clear that Mrs. Scott is not the only person to hold these views. In chapter eighteen, Pa explains that "when white settlers come into a country, the Indians have to move on". He elaborates by stating that "the government is going to move these Indians farther west..". This assumption that the 'Indians' would simply be moved out of their homeland by a government that didn't have the mandate to rule them, is a key attitude in Little House on the Prairie. The entire basis for this 'story', which is a predominantly autobiographical account of the Eastern Colonies' expansion westward, is founded upon a family illegally entering American Indian territory, even before they had permission from their government.
Mrs. Scott continues in 'Pa Goes To Town' by explaining "the only good Indian was a dead Indian". This is a similar attitude to Ma's throughout the book. However, Mrs. Scott has a more justified reason to hate the Natives. She recalls "the Minnesota massacre", before being cut off by Ma, who didn't find it appropriate to mention in front of the children. According to Charles S. Bryant and Abel B. Murch in their book, 'Indian Massacre in Minnesota', on the 18th August 1862, about 4 years before the Ingalls' moved to Kansas, a large group of American Indians descended on a White settlement on the Minnesota River and announced to the settlers that "we are going to kill you". One of the most notable American Indians in this massacre, went by the name 'Cut Nose', and it was alleged that he personally murdered "eighteen women and children and five men". With this context, Mrs, Scott's fear and hatred of American Indians is perhaps more justified than it is initially assumed. It's also evident that Ma knows about the massacre too, which suggests she has more justification to be afraid of the Natives. Despite this, Ingalls Wilder decides to omit, or at least not dwell upon any atrocities committed by the US government, as she would see it as a justifiable act, due to the inevitability of the expansion of the Eastern colonies.
Furthermore, chapter seventeen is careful to remind the reader that while the 'Indians' may have been a threat in instances such as "the Minnesota Massacre", they still remained a danger. With Pa gone, Mr. Edwards checks in on the family and having explained where the American Indians had been camping, asks "Ma if she had a gun". This reinforces the attitude that the American Indians had to be kept tabs on at all times and they were the most dangerous threat to the family in the area. It is at this point that it should be noted that a lot of the fear displayed by the men, particularly Mr. Edwards and Pa, is based upon the fact that they know they are in the wrong with regards to where they have settled. They only seem to see the American Indians as a threat because they know they are in 'their' territory. Although as previously mentioned, the government were due to order the removal of the 'Indians' from the Kansas area and force them westward, the settlers in the book had 'jumped the gun' and were not supposed to have settled there yet. This is perhaps why Pa was so eager not to upset the American Indians in chapter eighteen, as he knew the 'Indians' had good reason to be annoyed already with them.
To conclude, attitudes towards American Indians in 'Little House on the Praire' are complex and tend to augment throughout the book. In 'Pa Goes To Town', the extremely negative attitudes are given some context, although there isn't a great amount of detail included by Ingalls Wilder surrounding this. Laura epitomises the consistent view, that American Indians are fairly new and exciting to many, due to the Eastern colonies' lack of exposure to them. However upon encounters, her fascination turns to fear, which in turn leads to aggression, a process that at least Mrs. Scott has experienced and potentially other characters too.
References:
Bryant, C. S. Murch, A. B., Indian Massacre in Minnesota, (Digital Scanning Inc: 2001), p.104,105,106.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loch_Ness_Monster
https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/American_Indian_Genealogy
No comments:
Post a Comment