From: Debbie Reese <dreese.nambe_at_gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 13 May 2011 06:07:38 -0500

I'm thinking about a couple of books that show American Indians as poverty-stricken who are fed by white families.

In one of the stories about Thanksgiving, the Indians hang around the kitchen door, hungry. Pilgrims feed them. I don't remember the specific title, nor do I recall if the tribe is specified. In some of the stories, they are fed, either outside, or in the kitchen. In Lena Barksdale's book (published in 1942), the grandmother says that if everyone was good to Indians, there would never be any trouble. "Good to Indians" however, doesn't mean inviting them inside the dining room to sit with other guests.

In THEY WERE STRONG AND GOOD, hungry Indians ask to be fed. Robert Lawson's mother feeds them, reluctantly. This is the text where "tame" was later removed as a descriptor for the Indians.

The two Indians who go into the house in LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE are also hungry.

The discussion has prompted me to think about portrayals of Indians as poor and poverty stricken, and, fed (willingly or not) by whites.

Debbie
Received on Fri 13 May 2011 06:07:38 AM CDT