The box set came in a yellow cardboard box with some of the Garth Williams illustrations printed on it. Inside the box were nine books, with matching yellow covers, that opened the prairie, via the Big Woods, to me. I was a reader, so this gift under the tree felt perfectly chosen for me. Way to go Santa! Millions of other little girls received the same set, but mine was mine. My aunt made me a sunbonnet prairie doll, in three calico patterns, no face but a sunbonnet. And Holly Hobby looked a lot like Charlotte the doll in the books. The sunbonnet is long gone, and the doll is boxed in my basement, but the warm feelings remain. The podcast Wilder calls it the coziness of the books. I took a very informal and non-scientific poll on Facebook: who read the books and did they watch the series. Seconds after I hit “post,” “Yes and yes” and floating heart emojis. People loved the books and series, loved the books and hated the series, and loved the books until they became adults.
My historical argument is less an argument than an augmentation. The series is beloved by millions, yet millions also feel disappointed in how they feel they are either denigrated or completely missing from her pages. These are valid criticisms, for her portrayal of Native Americans (Indians) is highly problematic, and African-Americans show up one time (Dr. Tan) but then so does Pa performing in blackface. I am trying to look at and offer context to some of Wilder’s stories. Laura is upfront with her family in Indian Territory on the promise of its opening for settlement, but that they are not supposed to be there. That glosses over the larger story of the continued forced removal of Native Americans.
Adventures West, the game I am trying to build, includes challenging material such as reading the Indian Removal Act and using a website demonstrating the cessions constantly being required of the Native Americans. As an educational game, the learning cannot just be the bad parts, but will include animals encountered and their status in today’s world.
The first idea had a lot of complex branches, however for simplicity of play, it will be a straight line game with offshoots for quick learning. I am not going to be able to do every topic I would like, I will be trying to do some of the heavy lifting on tough topics and work within primary sources.
