In The Light in the Forest, what actions do True Son and the Parson look to in support of their mutual distrust?When Parson Elder speaks with True...

In their discussion as to why members of the opposing
group are looked upon as savages, True Son argues first of all that the white men give
rum to the Indians to get them drunk. While the Indian is not in full control of his
faculties, he is cheated of his money, furs, and other possessions. He also expresses
resentment at the perception that the white man is determined to make the Indian just
like him, particularly in the matter of religion. He says that the white man wants "me
baptize or pray to (his) God or believe things (he will) be sorry for afterward." To
these accusations, Parson Elder responds that, sadly, some white traders most likely do
in fact cheat the Indians out of what they have by getting them drunk, but that he
himself has never seen it and does not condone it. The Parson goes on to admit that the
white man does indeed want the Indian "to believe certain things that are good for (his)
soul," and to adopt certain behaviors that are considered righteous, such as obeying his
parents, and not lying, stealing, or swearing. True Son retorts that the Indian only
swears because he learned to do so from the white man, and then brings up the most
damning incident of all, the massacre of Indian children by white Peshtank men. Parson
Elder admits the truth of this atrocity, and weakly defends his own efforts to stop it,
but then points out that "it's not only the white man who breaks the sixth
commandment...evil and ugly things have been committed against the will of God on both
sides." The Parson goes on to say how the white men constantly fear that the Indian will
come and scalp them and their children, and claims that he knows of many incidents where
children were killed and mutilated by Indians. True Son angrily rejoins that the Indian
would never do such a thing.

The divide between the Indian
and white experience is great. Both sides have been hurt by the other, and both True Son
and Parson Elder are skeptical about the truth as it is perceived by the other. The
Parson admits that the white man has treated the Indian badly, and both expresses regret
and makes excuses; True Son on his part does not believe that the Indian has done
anything wrong. In reality, acts of savagery have been committed by both sides, and
whether either side is justified in their actions is not considered in this exchange.
The mutual distrust between the two groups is not alleviated by this discussion; True
Son believes that the Parson is lying about the wrongs committed by his people, and the
Parson thinks that, given time, True Son will inevitably accept the white man's ways
(Chapter 9).