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  Well this is my perliminary bibliography.  Sorry if the formating is sloppy, I just took a Comm 101 class which required me to do something very different from what I used to do.  My bibliography is primarily nerwspaper articles which is intentional since the paper is going to be about the controversy itself.  Most of these articles are from the New York Times over a short period.  I have one source from an Indian newspaper, the Navajo Times.  I would like to find more articles in native-american newspapers in regards to this controversy.   I also would like to find more articles from 1976-1990.  I don't have any academic journals as of yet which is a shortcoming I would like to remedy.  I also have the book itself (Education of Little Tree), and several books which talk about Cherokee education and race relations during the time the memoir was supposed to take place.  Their is a book by Laura Browder on ethnic impersenation which I am trying to track down, (It's supposed to be at Fenwick), and an article by Henry Louis Gates I want to look at.

Introduction and thesis statement

    In 1976 the University of New Mexico Press published a book titled The Education of Little Tree, written by a half Cherokee storyteller named Forrest Carter.  The book was a memoir of Carter's experiences while being raised by his Cherokee grandparents in the 1930's.  Carter's memoir preached a message of tolerance, love of nature, with a strong dose of familial love thrown in.   The Education of Little Tree soon developed a cult following which continued to grow  even after Carter's death in 1979.  In 1991 the book won an ABBEY award and sat atop the New York Times Bestsellers List for nonfiction paperbacks.  The movie rights had been sold and their was talk of Kevin Costner, Robert Redford, or even Steven Spielberg directing it.
    It all seemed like a nice and inspirational story.  The only problem was, is that it wasn't true.   On October 4, 1991 the  New York Times ran a story which revealed that Forrest Carter wasn't an Indian, he was a white man from Alabama.  His real name was Asa Carter and not only was he white but he was also a rabid  and prominent segregationist.  The New York Times shifted the book to the fiction list and critics soon began to pore over the book finding various cultural inaccuracies and even evidence of reactionary racial views.
    One might just chalk The Education of Little Tree  up to just one more in a long line of literary hoaxes.  However questions regarding both the book and Forrest Carter had been around since the mid 1970's.  Indeed the New York Times had even run an article in 1976 asking if Forrest Carter was really Asa Carter.  Many scholars had complained that the language and customs in the book were inaccurate.  Why did it take so long for the truth to emerge?  This paper will examine the history of the controversy from the mid 1970's to the aftermath of Carter's exposure.  In doing so it will also explore how the popular mythology of the American Indian led people to ignore the inconsistencies of the book.

    In regards to my sources I plan on using newspaper articles and book reviews.  I can get the Times articles if I pay online (or check the library).  I got a Publisher's Weekly article about the publishers public response to the scandal.  I also found a letter in a scholarly journal (at time of scandal) about a writer pointing out flaws in the book to the publisher back in 1985.  I plan on checking obituaries for the author to see what I turn up.  Its a little rough I know but I'll figure it out.  If not I'll fail yet another class (don't like it but I'm use to it).                

history 300 blog entry 2

   Well let's start with the reading assignment.  I read the chapter on violence in the west and the concept of an Western Civil War of Incorporation was interesting and makes sense.  The west was not so much "wild" but a bunch of competing factions against each other.  The chapter is class based and largely marxist interpretation.  Indeed Karl Marx even weighs in with an interpretation of the conflict in California describing it as "the upheavel most shamelessly caused" by capitalist opression taking place in the world. 

  The chapter gives a detailed description of the "social bandit".  These are gunfighters who resisted the incorporation of the west.  I have traditionally been skeptical of the "social bandit" phenomenon, chalking it up to myth and the enemy of my enemy is my friend.  The chapter however does a good job placing the "social bandit" in a larger context so that while he shows appropriate skepticism he also shows the truth in the myth.  The author does a nice, brief but detailed outline of the life of Billy the Kid placing him in this context.   My favorite western being "Pat Garett And Billy The Kid" I was surprised how close the movie was to the truth (or the truth as it is reported now). 

  The main focus of the chapter though are the various wars and conflicts such as the Johnson County War and the Lincoln County War.  In these wars the federal government tended to take the side of big bussiness over the insurgents.  Most notably in Johnson County where the calvary was sent in.  Sometimes the small time insurgents became giants giants themselves, such as Oliver M. Lee and Albert Bacon Fall in New Mexico.

  I also read the chapter French Traders and Their Partners. What I liked most about this section is that it talked about the Indians as trade partners, not just an exploited people.  The French got furs and the Indians got metal tools.  It seems to a great extent a patrnership of mutual resspect, sometimes more.  Indeed a land deed from colonial Illionois says that the purchase is valid unless the Indians decide to take it back.  The French often found themselves in the middle of conflicts between tribes.  A mission in St. Marie went up in flames because of a conflict between the Iriqouis and Huron in 1649.  The whole chapter seems very conteporary to me, trade between nations and conflicts over trade.

  Well now I must discuss my paper ideas.  One idea I have is to look at the popular myth of the west through Italian Westerns.  To narrow it down I am thinking of looking at The Good, The Bad , And The Ugly.  Sergio Leone says that the battle scene in the film is based on  an actual battle in the Civil War.  I am thinking of looking at the movie and determining what aspects of the movie were based in wextern mythology and what aspects came from Italy.  On second thought this sounds too complicated.  I could do something on the battle though, comparing its portrayal in the film and what really went on.

  Another idea I had was doing something on the 1960's Haight-Ashbury rock scene in San Francisco.  Many of the bands used western iconography (the Grateful Dead for example) so I could do something about what aspects of the west did the band's celebrate.  Their a number of topics I am thinking of in regards to the scene such as why it was appealing mecca musicians at the time.  I should also work in the counterculture.

  Another music idea I had was doing something on the Outlaw Country movement in the 1970's.  This scene was based in Austin Texas and made stars of artists such as Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings.  I could do something about the west and individual reinvention, looking at Willie Nelson.  I could also try something on the outlaw in music and image, this is edging away from history territory though.

  I had another film industry idea as well.  I was thinking of doing something on the "DeHavilland decision".  This was a court case that is often credited as a big factor in ending the studio system of the Hollywood  "Golden Age".  The case involved the actress Olivia DeHavilland (best known for playing Melanie in Gone With The Wind) suing her home studio Warner Brothers to get out of her contract.  At the time the standard contract was seven years and DeHavilland's had expired.  However she had been suspended from the studio during this time so boss Jack Warner tacked on extra time.  In the end the California Supreme Court decided that a contract could not be longer than seven years.  This took away alot of power studios held over their talent, and I believ the decision is still case law in california.

     I Just thought of another idea.  I could do a compairson of the movie Buffalo Bill and The Indians with the real Buffalo Bill west show.   I could compare the experiences of the individuals in the movie with what they actually experienced.  The key problem with this is that I've never seen the movie.  This is why this idea is a little vague (not that the others aren't), but if I saw the movie I'm sure I could narrow it down to a something manageable.  I could cover two aspects of selling the popular myth.  The movie did get some bad reviews though.

       

Blog 1 take 2

    Well I just finished my first blog entry, unfortunately I then deleted it so three hours of work went down the drain.  I will however give this cursed thing another chance so here I go again on my own.  The first chapter I read was Selling The Popular Myth.  Being a popular culture buff who is also fascinated by the business aspect of it, this chapter seemed very promising.  I regret to say however that I was disappointed.  The author, Ann Butler, does not seem to enjoy any of it, be it rodeos, movies, or music. All she does is complain that it is not historically accurate, that it is racist, and that it is sexist.  As a historian this is her job.  It is however possible to enjoy the culture while admitting its faults.   She misses the darker nuances of the film Red River and many 1950S westerns.  She made no mention of The Searchers, possibly because it would contradict her thesis.  Her comments on pg-783 regarding corporate sponsorship of rodeos strikes me as commercial puritanism.  Her reference on the following page about Anglos not getting the social protest in the comedy of Carpas strikes me as snide.   She did seem to like these though, on the basis of their authenticity.  I think that if she focused more on how the popular myth developed and why they worked as entertainments it would have been a more interesting chapter.  It may just be that I have a different philosophy towards popular culture than she does.  I don't expect historical accuracy or authenticity.  I don't care if the people making and financing things are pure of heart.  All I care about is whether it works as art or entertainment.  Maybe she has a greater appreciation of these things than I give her credit for, but I didn't see it.  I think a deconstruction of the myths from the inside out as opposed from the outside in would have been more interesting.
    I enjoyed the other chapter I read, National Initiatives, far more.  It was a little depressing, but reading about the Indians having their land stolen by the United States is never a pleasant experience.  The comparison between the experiences of the Navajo and the Lakota was fascinating.  The Mexicans also got the fuzzy end of the lollipop, Anglos move in and then revolt.  Then of course their was the war with the United States in 1845.  In some ways the treatment of Mexico upsets me more, but that may just be because Mexico still has its own country.  I also liked the section on the Mormons in Utah.  I had heard their was enmity between the US government and the Mormons but I had no clue their was a Utah War.  The story about Victor Smith, the corrupt customs agent, was a great find which I will tell my friends about.  It was terrible what he did, but what a great story.
    In regards to my paper topics I have many ideas, unfortunately I can only put two down.  I want to do one on the film industry.  Currently I am leaning towards the role of the film studio MGM played in the 1932 California Governors race.  In that election the author Sinclair Lewis ran on a scaliest platform, being the Great Depression it looked like he would have a decent chance at winning.  MGM head Louis B Mayer, a devoted Republican, found this possibility abhorrent and put all of his weight behind Lewis's opponent.  This included having MGM make several anti-Lewis shorts, one showing a man with a foreign accent saying he was voting for Lewis.  The only problem is that I'm not exactly sure how to relate it to the west as a whole.  I think maybe the distrust of large government in the west by big business.  The other idea I have is writing something on the Victor Smith case, maybe something about how the federal government exploited the west for their own gain.  It's a little vague, I know.  Hey both these topics tie together