The Education of Little Tree by Forrest Carter

            Most of us have at least heard or read Forrest Carter's "The Education of Little Tree," a book he published in the 1970s, that is now celebrating being in print for more than 25 years. Initially the book was meant to be an autobiography about a Cherokee boy raised in the hills of the Appalachian Mountains by his loving grandparents. It is a touching story and that is evident by the way the reaction of the readers to the Indian spirituality and the naturalist themes of the book and this makes it an instant hit with the audience. Through the books carefully selected title interest in literature on the Native Americans is evidently sparked, and this with time has grown to be an independent genre in its own right. On the other hand the title over time has also caused consistent controversies and debates over time.
             The publisher's patience was rewarded when press in University of New Mexico after ten years of the books original publication reissued Little Tree and watched it grow from there henceforth. Carter's modest tome was finally settled five years later on Hollywood and The New York Times' trade paperback list into the No. 2 spot. Little Tree's uncanny ability not only to prevail but also to survive throughout the narrative is mirrored. In the company of his grandparents the 5-year-old hero is seen as the story opens leaving his mother's funeral, the readers are informed that the characters father had died the previous year, in the mountains of Tennessee namely in Cherokees hills where their remote cabin lies. They commence a gentle initiation and give the boy the Indian name Little Tree and enlighten him on the way people have always lived and their land customs. The Cherokee worldview is seen by the apt illustration of the principle that they hold dear to their customs; like through the way the grandfather of the Little Tree teaches by using the turkey-hunting expedition as an example helps explain the reason behind some of their ways, he explains "Take only what ye need it is the way, do not take the best, when ye take the deer.