Native American stereotypes in childrens books - Essay Example

With a total of nine books in the series, the books have become classics and have served as the basis for the television show. The unfortunate thing about this is that the book series has poor representations of Native Americans. Should one just merely consider this to be a product of its time and ignore the stereotyping which takes place? As a book to study by adults to discuss the racial stereotyping which takes place in it, it might be of some value. But the intended audience of the book would not pick up on the idea that this book is simply a “product of its time” and the attitudes expressed towards Native American should simply be dismissed in order to enjoy the overall story.

Even without considering the attitudes expressed by the story, the premise of the story is not approached in an acceptable way. The moved out to the prairie to claim a piece of land that the government was giving out. Of course, this was land that native tribes already belonged to. The tribe that is specifically encountered in the book, the Osages, are not considered to really be occupying the land, and therefore it was alright to simply give it away. Even worse, as the family has just taken a plot of land that used to be utilized by the Osages, the Osages are simply regarded as dangerous, strange, a threat, and menacing: “Laura was frightened.

Jack had never growled at her before. Then she looked over her shoulder, where Jack was looking, and she saw two naked, wild men coming, one behind the other, on the Indian trail” (134). This is the sort of portrayal that leads children to simply think of Native Americans as being uncivilized, when in fact every tribe had very specific ways of living in harmony with the land. Another book with a negative Native American stereotype is The Courage of Sarah Noble by Alice Dalgliesh. The courage that the title takes its name from is the title character’s bravery in her experience