WACKY WEDNESDAY WISDOM: The Little Tree That Wasn't

      I think it was my Schoolteacher Mom who first turned me on to a particular book several years back. I read a few pages of the Reader's Digest (condensed) version of the book and was immediately hooked. A few days later I turned to the last page of the book, savoring every last word until triumphantly and sorrowfully reaching its completion- that bittersweet moment when you complete a really good book. 

     So when I saw of copy of The Education of Little Tree recently while combing through all the outdated book offerings at the thrift store, I grabbed it and stuck it under my arm before anyone else realized what a treasure it was for one dollar. It was the full and complete version by Forrest Carter, not the watered down condensed version I had read all those years previous. 

     On the front cover of the book, along with the title, it says it's a true story. And in the pages within, the reader becomes captivated by the recollections and lessons learned by a young Cherokee boy who spent his childhood years in the 1930s being raised by his grandparents after both his parents died- eventually being taken away from his grandparents and forced to "unlearn" his Native American heritage. His naive and soft hearted response to the prejudices and hardships he and his family faced due to being Cherokees who lived amongst white people- leads the reader to alternatively adore and feel sorry for the little child with the pure heart. 

     Back when it hit the New York Times Best Seller list in 1977, copies began to disappear in public libraries and school bookshelves as grown ups and school kids couldn't get enough of Little Tree and his experiences. Native Americans cherished and endorsed it. Environmentalists heralded its respect for Mother Nature. Teachers ranging from elementary school to college assigned it for their classes. Hollywood even made it into a movie. Little Tree was a huge hit. 

     And also a massive fraud. It took years for the truth to be uncovered, but eventually it did. The book of "true" stories was not written by a grown up Cherokee child, but rather by a man named Asa Earl Carter who used the pseudonym Forrest Carter. Mr. Carter had previously been a white supremacist in Alabama. Carter had no known Native American connections and there is no reason to believe the stories in the book are anything but completely made up. Carter died a few years after publication. No doubt he was an excellent writer with a vivid imagination, but Little Tree he was not.  

     I only learned of this facade after reading the first 23 pages of my thrift store version of The Education of Little Tree. Enjoying the book so much at that point, I did an internet search to find out more about it and immediately discovered numerous references to the controversy. Little Tree's story was something I thought I could believe in forever but it wasn't to be. Even though it's an excellent book, I haven't been able to pick it up and look at it since. 

     I don't have that same issue with the #1 best seller of all time, the Bible. I have no doubt of its authenticity and truth. I firmly believe its primary author inspired numerous sub-authors to write down its contents for future generations to glean truth, wisdom, and hope from its pages. John 17:17 says "Your Word is Truth". Proverbs 30:5 reminds us that "Every word of God proves true" and 2 Timothy 3:16 boldly proclaims "all scripture is God-breathed". Every time I open its pages, I know that the words I read in the Bible are from the Master Creator of the Universe, whose truths are timeless. 

      I don't know if and when I will pick back up my copy of The Education of Little Tree and finish reading it. If I do, I will remain acutely aware that it's a work of fiction. Sentimentally, I would love to tell Little Tree how much I love and adore him, but I can't do that because he's not and never has been a real person. The Bible's main character doesn't have that issue. Jesus the Christ lived then and reigns now in our hearts. And every chance I get, I should remind Him how much I love and adore Him, while remembering how much He loves and adores me. A true story I can believe in forever.