Native American History and The Light in the Forest

Christopher Columbus  “Discovered” America?

What Europeans Were Searching For  Trade Routes  Gold  Religious Freedom

What Europeans Brought  Guns  Disease  A sense of entitlement  Laws – “The Indian Removal Act”

The Natives  Native American tribes were spread all over America from Florida to Canada to Oklahoma  Although each tribe was unique, they were hunters and gatherers and were often nomadic  While neighboring tribes did have feuds, they were never as brutal to one another as Europeans were to them

The Natives  100’s of tribes existed  Native American clothing, homes, currency, language, religions were very different  Europeans considered them “savages” and considered it their duty to “civilize” these people  These changes were forced and even those who attempted to change were often forced to leave their homeland

The Natives  Native Americans were granted U.S. citizenship in 1924

Native American Traditions  Brilliant dress and ceremonial dances

Entering Adulthood  Snake bites  Burning  Severe drunkenness  Individual trips into the wild  Learn complex songs and dances

Conrad Richter   From Pennsylvania – setting for The Light in the Forest  Decided against formal education and worked as a teamster, farm laborer, bank clerk, coal breaker, machinist, salesman and secretary  Primarily wrote historical fiction

Conrad Richter  Richter's interest in early America led him to a central philosophical belief about life: “Humans need obstacles and hardships to make them physically, emotionally and intellectually strong”.

Themes In The Light in the Forest Leave room for examples from the novel  Indian Freedom Vs. White Civilization  Victimization of Children  The Struggle for Identity and Companionship  Imperfection of both races