Chapter 11: Amazing Space: Reading Life in the Literature Classroom

The Education of Little Tree, by Forest Carter, was first published in 1976. “A tender reminiscence of the author’s boyhood makes a case for the natural approach to life A memorable reading experience … poignant, happy, warm, and filled with love and respect for the Indian way of life” was one of several of very complimentary comments that appeared on the book jacket when it was first published. Today, the story is perhaps best known for the literary controversy that was produced some years later when it was revealed that Forest Carter was plainly not of American Indian ancestry as he and the book’s publishers had led so many trusting readers to believe. Not only was Carter not an American Indian, but he was rumored to have had connections to white supremacist groups and to have worked as a speech writer for George Wallace during some of his darker days as the Governor of Alabama. In short, the book is not the autobiographical account of a Native child’s life that it was once considered to be. Needless to say, it quickly disappeared from the “nonfiction” best-seller list of the New York Times before reappearing a few books further down on the list in the “fiction” column.