Week Seven Prompt

Asa Earl Carter was a well known segregationist in the early 60’s fighting against civil rights.  Carter was a Ku Klux Klan member and a speech writer for the famous segregationist and Alabama governor, George Wallace. After a failed run for governor, Carter disappeared from public life. In 1976, “The Education of Little Tree: A True Story” by Forrest Carter was published. Little Tree is often credited with the boom of “Native American Lit” and tells the story of an orphan boy named Forrest who learns about life from his Cherokee grandparents. Published to rave reviews, Little Tree became a best-seller, even winning the respected Abby Award from the American Booksellers Association. Teachers assigned it to students to learn about Native American life. And all along, most people didn’t realize that the beloved Little Tree was written by well-known racist Asa Earl Carter, the same man who wrote Wallace’s famous segregation speech, “I draw the line in the dust and toss the gauntlet before the feet of tyranny, and I say segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation tomorrow.”

Although Carter’s work has been discredited as untrue, The Education of Little Tree can still be found on out of date booklists or assigned by teachers. When information like this about a book comes out, librarians must reconsider where they have the item shelved. Most libraries originally would have had this work shelved in non-fiction as a biography. When it’s no longer true, should you move it to the fiction section? Most libraries would, and Carter’s work can now predominately be found in the fiction section. However, if a librarian is not paying attention to a controversy, a book like this may remain in non-fiction, continuing to give the wrong impression to patrons.

Additionally, this brings up the question on what do you tell patrons when they request this book? If a student is assigned it or a teacher is requesting it for curriculum or a patron is just telling you they love it, do you mention the controversy and let the public know that the author is not who they thought he was. As a place that disseminates information, it’s our job to remain unbiased but also to give accurate information. I think it’s important to encourage the patron to learn more about the author’s history. By being aware of quality work published on Native Americans, a librarian can be prepared to share some alternate recommendations with patrons interested in the topic.