SOLVED. Mid grade, frontier boy 'hired' by Native American man to teach his son to read English. [s]

[Brian]

A young boy is temporarily living alone in his family cabin on the American frontier. He meets a Native boy who has a dog who'd tangled with a porcupine and has a bunch of quills in its face. The Native boy's father asks the other boy to teach his son how to read English. The boy uses a copy of 'Robinson Crusoe' for lessons and the Native boy calls out Crusoe's BS on how he treats Friday like a slave. When the Natives move on, the Native boy gives the first boy his dog, and the first boy gives the Native boy his father's watch. Read this in the mid 80s, but it could be older.

[Mai]

This one came up searching online:
The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare. It was published in 1983.

From the reviews it sounds like your book!

[Jamie]

Yeah, this is definitely The Sign of the Beaver.

[Brian]

That was it, thanks!