Analysis of the childlike Indian in Cooper's "The Prairie" and Wilder's "Little House on the Prairie"

This 4-page paper will focus on the representations of Indians in the two books James Fenimore Cooper's "The Prairie" and Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Little House on the Prairie", particularly, their relationship to various ideas or ideals of childhood. Analyse James Fenimore Cooper's "The Prairie" and Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Little House on the Prairie" and try to find some common themes in these representations of childhood and Native Americans. For instance, are Indians presented as essentially childlike? Are Indian ideas of childhood or childrearing invoked to shape or inform more “civilized” ideas of white childhood? Next, use those common themes to build an analysis of the two texts. Your analysis should include a clear argument supported by persuasive evidence from the texts.