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It might be Mary and Laura (and Good Eagle, too) getting lessons, but \u201cA Softer Note in the Sound of the Wind\u201d reveals that it\u2019s actually Charles and Caroline who have done the most learning during their time in Kansas. Look at those two, growing and changing and admitting their mistakes! It\u2019s almost like the deeper Charles\u2019s v-neck goes, the more his eyes are opened to the truth of what\u2019s going on around him.<\/p>\n
And what is that truth? Well, winter has passed and it is finally time for the Osage chiefs to decide if they\u2019ll sign the updated treaty with the U.S. Government \u2014 a removal agreement that will send all the Osage in Kansas to Indian territory in modern-day Oklahoma. (And if you\u2019ve read or seen Killers of the Flower Moon, you know how that works out.) It\u2019s not referred to as such in Little House on the Prairie, but in real life, this was the Drum Creek Treaty of 1870. It\u2019s a historical moment and so when Eli James, who couldn\u2019t be more jazzed about the whole thing, asks Charles if he\u2019d like to attend with him \u2014 this is about their future as much as the Osage\u2019s future, he says \u2014 Charles decides to go.<\/p>\n
Thankfully, once he\u2019s there, he links up with Mr. Edwards who can give him a dose of reality after spending so much time with Eli \u201coh this is totally fair and everyone wins\u201d James. Edwards is there to support his Osage friends and to show his respect. When Charles relays that he was told this was a fair deal, Edwards\u2019s response, \u201cdepends on your definition of fair,\u201d hits him right in the gut. He only feels worse the longer this council meeting goes on. Eli James introduces him to the Indian Agent, Isaac Gibson, and after Gibson\u2019s line of questioning about if the reason Charles chose this specific place to move was because of flyers about free and abundant land, it dawns on our Pa that those flyers were propaganda made by the railroads, lying to get people out here and force the Osage to leave. He, and so many others, were pawns. He does not feel great about this!!<\/p>\n
As the meeting continues, Charles realizes how blind he\u2019s been to so many things. It\u2019s Little Puma who jumps up to reject the thought that it\u2019s somehow fair to not only force the Osage off their lands, but send them to a territory where they will have to be farmers instead of the hunters, the warriors they are. Not to mention, they\u2019ve been lied to and cheated by the U.S. Government so many times before. What are they even doing here? One of the chiefs, Joseph Pawnee-no-pashe (also known as Governor Joe), quiets him. But when it\u2019s Governor Joe\u2019s turn to sign the treaty, he, too, rejects it. Speaking about their fathers, their ancestors, who died on this land, he wonders how they would be able to answer their questions about what kind of future they\u2019ve left their children. \u201cDid we keep the ways our grandparents gave us alive for them to carry?\u201d He drops the quill to the ground. This is not a done deal just yet.<\/p>\n
Eli is panicked and doesn\u2019t hesitate to throw around the fact that they can have the army come in and force this treaty to be signed. It was just supposed to be a formality anyway. Mitchell, who acts as the translator between Gibson and the Osage \u2014 a responsibility he does not take lightly \u2014 responds with one of the most affecting lines of an episode full of them: \u201cThere is no such thing as a formality when it comes to the future of an entire people.\u201d Mitchell has been in the peacekeeper role for most of this series, and while he is a calming presence, he\u2019s no pushover. He\u2019s there to do what he can to protect his people. Perhaps it\u2019s seeing his friend stand his ground that inspires Charles to finally realize what side he wants to be on because when Eli looks to him for support, he refuses to give any. \u201cThis is their home. They have the right to decide whether or not they stay or go. Not you. Not me. Not the railroad.\u201d Oh, Pa is big mad!<\/p>\n
The problem, one that everyone is aware of, is that the Osage don\u2019t actually have a real choice here. This is being forced on them and even Edwards and Charles know that they are going to have to live with the role they have played in that by being here on their land.<\/p>\n
Mitchell goes to talk to Governor Joe to find some way to figure this out. There\u2019s no good answer here. If they don\u2019t sign, they are aware what will happen. If they do sign, there\u2019s a good chance promises made will be broken. They\u2019d be resigning themselves to life as farmers, which is not who they are. Governor Joe wants to make sure that their dignity remains intact no matter what. Not a tall order, but Mitchell is going to try.<\/p>\n
Back at the council meeting, he proposes two amendments: the Osage will be allowed to hunt the buffalo outside the borders of the Indian Territory and instead of doling out individual parcels of land, the new land \u201cwill be held by the Osage communally. As a tribe. As a people.\u201d When Gibson balks, Mitchell doesn\u2019t back down. He won\u2019t let it end like this. \u201cWe were once the largest, most powerful nation on this continent. But treaty after treaty has shrunken our land and our numbers but not our pride. The Osage must stay together for our children\u2019s future.\u201d It\u2019s a big hero moment if ever there was one on this show. He gets Gibson to agree and the seven chiefs sign the treaty.<\/p>\n
The timing couldn\u2019t be better. Back in town, word had spread fast that the treaty had stalled, and Independence\u2019s resident scumbag Russell Kind gets so angry about it that he gathers a group and plans to get all of their weapons and go to war against the Osage. Why anyone is listening to this fool after the whole Edwards horse debacle, I will never know. I mean, racism probably. But violence against the Osage is not the way, and there is only one person in town brave enough to try and stop Russell: Caroline Ingalls. Fresh off a huge win over Jemma James with the new Reverend \u2014 who immediately can tell that Caroline is a real leader in the community \u2014 she busts into Russell\u2019s little meeting. She reminds them that there are children and families in the Osage village and that they are good people who are simply trying to make a life just like the rest of Independence is. He spits at her that they are nothing like him. \u201cI came here with those same ideas,\u201d she tells him, \u201cbut I was wrong. And so are you.\u201d Look at Caroline Ingalls growing. Thankfully, just before Russell is about to explode, Dr. Tann walks in with the news that the treaty has been signed.<\/p>\n
Caroline isn\u2019t the only one admitting to being wrong. Back at the treaty signing, Charles sits with Mitchell. He \u201cwanted to believe everyone was getting treated fairly,\u201d he says, admitting that he willed himself \u201cnot to see the truth\u201d and he apologizes for it. It\u2019s big of Charles to admit this and surely Mitchell appreciates the sentiment, but there is still a sadness cast over everything. Whatever comes next for the Osage won\u2019t be easy and it certainly isn\u2019t fair. Little Puma, upset and angry, comes over and in Osage, tells them that tomorrow they will hear the Osage song of mourning because leaving this land means \u201cwe leave our ancestors, our history, and part of ourselves behind.\u201d There\u2019s nothing anyone can say to that. All Charles can do is bear witness to that mourning and he does, standing outside as the sun comes up with Laura at his side, listening to the Osage sing their song.<\/p>\n
While Little House does a nice job of giving us a bigger-picture look at the tragedy of the removal of the Osage, it also shows us that tragedy on a smaller scale, in the most intimate way: By showing us how this could mean the end of Laura and Good Eagle\u2019s friendship. The girls spend the day together \u2014 Laura has made an entire treasure hunt to celebrate Good Eagle\u2019s birthday \u2014 and while there are moments of joy, there\u2019s a lot of sadness weighing down on their tiny shoulders, too. Good Eagle finally opens up to Laura about the loss of her sister Julia and brings her to the persimmon tree she decorates with pebbles to honor her. Julia was her best friend. Laura feels awkward then, when the final gift in the treasure hunt includes a note about how happy she is to have Good Eagle as her best friend \u2014 but Good Eagle knows Julia wouldn\u2019t mind.<\/p>\n
So, when White Sun comes by and tells the girls that the treaty was signed, they are heartbroken. She doesn\u2019t know what that means just yet for their family \u2014 they haven\u2019t decided if they\u2019ll stay or go with the Osage \u2014 but she knows for sure things will be different now. \u201cI wish we could all stay here together,\u201d a teary Laura says. How can you comfort someone so small feeling such big feelings? White Sun tells Laura about the story of where the Osage come from and how it\u2019s full of this idea that moving and changing helps bring you closer to understanding Wah\u2019kon-tah \u2014 the great mystery \u2014 and that there is always more out there \u201cto see, to learn, to feel.\u201d That\u2019s about as close as you can get to finding comfort in a situation like this one.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Oh, come on! There\u2019s so much sadness in this episode, did we need to add to it by having Emily put it all out on the line for Dr. Tann \u2014 to basically propose to the guy \u2014 just for him to reveal that he hasn\u2019t been completely honest and he\u2019s still technically married? The devastation in Emily\u2019s face!<\/p>\n
\u2022 Mary spends time at the General Store helping Caleb with customers and notices that her parents have a lot of money sitting on their tab. She\u2019s angry that her Pa lied to her when she asked about it. Caleb reminds her that she\u2019s lucky to have parents who are trying to protect her from the bad stuff\u2026and then these two nuggets almost kiss. Get it, girl.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Edwards mentions how after Julia died, he would sit up at night with Mitchell, just staring at the stars. Just these two grieving hot dads supporting one another? I love them so much.<\/p>\n
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