Following the death of his parents, the eight-year old Indian boy, Little Tree, a half-breed Cherokee orphan, went to live with his Cherokee grandmother and white grandfather (a proud whiskey maker) in a remote cabin home in the Tennessee backwoods. Here, his grandparents will teach him “The Way” of the Cherokee people. They will teach the young boy what real love is, as they love him with all their hearts. Although they are simple people, they will guide the little boy on the right path.

In only one year of his life, Little Tree learns about prejudice, violence and death. But the loving relationships he builds with his grandparents, his friend Willow John, and Mother Earth kept him smiling. His friend, Willow John, an eighty-year old man, will help him return home by persuading the right person.

Little Tree will also learn the importance of self-discovery and the respect for the environment. “Take only what you need. When ye take the deer, do not take the best. Take the smaller an

He is a very fortunate boy to live with and learn from his wonderful grandparents. They are the ones who will connect the little boy with his ancestors and his family’s history. His grandparents will offer him the best gift possible: a normal childhood, in a normal family.

Little Tree also learns right from wrong. He also learns first hand about the hypocrisy and essential duplicity of man, and how the white man stole the land of his ancestors; also how the Indian people were forced to leave their homeland and move away. Some of them refused to leave and hid in the mountains. But most importantly, he is taught to respect nature. “ ‘The Indian never fishes or hunts for sport, only for food ….Only the white man always takes more than he needs!’, says his white grandfather who has turned his back on his own heritage to learn the ways of native Indians” (107).

At his grandparent’s house, Little Tree learns how to “talk” the animals’ language and care for them. He learns about the beauty and importance of Mother Nature and how to work the land—including the ancient secrets on how to obtain the best results for a good crop. He was lucky to be a part of the Nature, as Nature will always be there for him, when people won’t: “…as long as I live I could always come home to them [the trees, the birds, the waters, the rain and the wind], where other children would find their parents gone and would feel lonesome; but I would never be” (144).

Little Tree is forcibly taken away from hi

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