After several weeks of online discussion, I've decided to address this here on my blog. It is hotly debated in the Laura Ingalls Wilder (LIW) communities and I have remained teetering on the edge since I first heard about it. As a long time Laura fan, her books bring a lot of nostalgia for me. I felt conflicted because I wouldn't want to see parents and teachers banning these books. They are beautiful books and they truly are a product of the time they were written in. Stories about self-reliance, hard work, the importance of family, and yes, unfortunately, colonization. But we can love and adore the Little House books while addressing the many problematic parts of them. 

Taking LIW's name off of the award does not erase the history. This is the slippery slope argument: "If we take LIW's name off of a literary award are we blemishing her legacy and erasing her work from history? What's next?" LIW is a beloved author of many, many Americans. Taking her name off of one award isn't banning us from reading them. It isn't banning us from loving them just as we always do. It's reminding us that those are dated ideas and we should not be turning a blind eye to the fact that they existed and continued to exist. If we ignore them it allows for them to be perpetuated.

The ALSC says:
        "We acknowledge that Wilder’s books not only hold a significant place in the history of children’s literature and continue to be read today, but that they have been and continue to be deeply meaningful to many readers on a personal level. We also acknowledge that they have been deeply painful to many readers, and have been across decades alongside their popularity. Both of these things are true. Neither the option to rename the award nor the option to sunset the award and establish a new award demands that anyone change their personal relationship with or feelings about Wilder’s books."

The award itself is a stamp of recognition. It is impossible to print a disclaimer on every book which holds the stamp. While taking LIW's name off of it gives many of us a knee-jerk reaction it's also the beginning of a conversation. From here we can discuss how to present them to children going forward. The books should serve as a platform for conversation as well as a thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining read.

I recently found THIS clip about dealing with racism in the books we love. Grace Lin says that we should treat these books like a racist relative. They aren't right, but we still love them. She says we should be keeping an ear out so that we can address the racism when it comes up, with children and with ourselves. I encourage you to watch the video yourself. She puts it clearly and beautifully in an easily approachable way. 
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I am sad to see Laura's name removed from the award. I love her dearly and it's hard to think about the complexities of something I love so much. That being said, I don't think it is wrong. As scholars of LIW we must step back and be willing to see the big picture. An 80+ year old book is going to be dated. Just look around and see how far we've come in science, law, and technology since the 1930s. The world has changed immensely, so it makes sense that the common idea of what is right and wrong has changed as well. We can still love and appreciate LIW's stories without ignoring the fact that they are racist.

       Last Monday (March 19th) I became Laura Ingalls for a half hour. I've been working on this project for almost a year now, but I feel like I've been working on it since I picked up the first Little House book. It was as if all my years of reading and studying this subject finally were coming together. And I was terrified. 
       I chose to perform for my homeschool co-op. This is a group of people who have known me for many years. In some ways this was great. It was all people who knew me very well and weren't going to be annoyed or unsupportive if I messed up. But it also made me more nervous because I knew every person in the room. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to stay in character when I looked at one of my friends, a parent, or a kid. Truthfully though, most of my worries were in the buildup. I'd put so much work into my costume and my research and now my vision was finally becoming real.
        So here are a few things I learned:

1. ​​Speak slooooowly - I already knew this, of course, but I still got nervous and sped up. When I slow down though, it gives me time to think about what I want to say and it gives the audience time to take in the information.
2. Choose the moments that will make the audience relate to you - There are always the little things that people find funny. I have learned this while giving tours at Storrowton Village. Always tell the funny stories! People love them, and it keeps them paying attention. Funny facts and emotional stories will always stick with the audience longer than names and dates. 
3. Remember the audience is hearing your story for the first time - I've listened to DOZENS of people tell me the same facts about the Ingalls family over and over again. I treat some information as "stuff everyone knows" but when dealing with a mixed audience, it's important to mention the little details. Things like how many sisters Laura had or the names of her parents. These are important details that can easily fall by the wayside!
4. Let people ask you questions in character - I decided to break character before I asked for questions. This was a mistake, I found out, because people didn't want to break character! They continued to ask me questions as Laura, so I would switch from answering in first person to answering as my 21st century self. I would have preferred to answer in first person and used that time to slowly break character rather than doing it bluntly by suddenly changing personas. 

       Those were the main things I learned. Overall, I was thrilled with how it went. I learned so many things that I cannot wait to apply to my next performance. I loved having an audience of many ages. The kids were so fun to talk to in character and the adults asked some really interesting questions that I was excited to talk about. I finished my presentation feeling confident and accomplished, which was really the best I could have asked for. I have so much more to learn and I am very excited go forth with this project. 

--Rosalie