Dual Identity In Indian Horse By Richard Wagamese

Have you ever thought about how Indigenous kids developed dual identities at residential schools around Canada? And how they dealt with it? Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese follows protagonist Saul as he uses his remarkable talent for ice hockey to escape his traumatic residential school experience (Young 2019). The novel demonstrates that although Saul presented happiness and joy during hockey, it could be argued against as he was sexually abused and experienced dual identity at residential school.
The novel begins with the story of his grandfather Shabogeesick and how he earned the name Indian Horse. He then recounts his childhood, beginning with the stark statement: “All that I knew of Indian died in the winter of 1961 when I was eight

Due to Saul’s incredible talent on the ice, Fred Kelly adopts Saul, freeing him from St. Jerome's Residential School, and encourages him to play hockey for his local team, the Moose. He continues to provide Saul with love, food, and encouragement, even after Saul has been away for years and returns to wrestle with his tumultuous past (Saul Indian horse character analysis, n.d). Fred is an important character in Saul’s life and can connect to him. Like Saul, Fred was also a victim of sexual abuse at St. Jerome’s and can make connections to what Saul is going through. This allows Saul’s dual identity to balance even more and become more comforting as he has someone to talk to that has experienced and witnessed what he went through. As stated, family, hockey, and love helped him overcome a lot of his trauma and is well described in this quote, "They scooped out our insides, Saul. We're not responsible for that. We're not responsible for what happened to us. None of us are." Fred said. "But our healing-that's up to us. That's what saved me. Knowing it was my game." "Could be a long game," I said. "So what if it is?" he said. "Just keep your stick on the ice and your feet moving. Time will take care of itself." Chapter

It’s also recognizing the multifaceted nature of your being that brings peace through balance (Jones 2022). From reading this and seeing Saul’s character, we realize that Saul fits this perfectly, having a dual identity in his residential school experience, what he witnessed and the trauma he went through, and his hockey life and the joy he felt in it. However, Saul leaves the game for good once he loses sight of the original joy he felt for it. After a brief return to Manitouwadge, Saul decides to go his own way, driving across the country and picking up odd jobs. He replaces hockey with alcohol — another shield to protect him from facing his past (Young 2019), creating more duality of identity. As I mentioned previously, family, love and tradition all play a part in helping him with his dual identity, as Saul travels back to Northern Ontario, to where his family calls home, a place called God's Lake. There, he can heave out in sobs the sorrow and anger caused by the life he's been forced to live (Dundas, 2018). Saul then travels back to the now-closed school, where it is revealed that he had been sexually molested by Father Leboutilier. He makes a pilgrimage by canoe back to his ancestral lands. After he returns to his foster family, he is happily welcomed by them, and his former Moose teammates (Indian Horse (film) 2022). The ending of the novel shows how