Nature is something that connects all of us through the air and water we share. Most of us take that connection for granted, but Indigenous people do not. “Indian Horse” is a beautifully written fiction novel by author Richard Wagamese that follows Saul through residential school and life after. After his grandmother dies, Saul finds himself at St. Jerome's residential school, where he and many others are abused physically, emotionally, and sexually. After leaving, Saul has to navigate his way through trying to heal his trauma and reconnect with nature. Saul’s relationship with nature impacts him throughout his life; it helps him have a better connection to his family, it gives him peace from his trauma, and it allows him to thank nature for helping him. Saul’s relationship with nature allows him to deeply …show more content…
As he passed it over his body, I saw my father, my mother. My brother. My uncle. My aunt. My grandmother” (Wagamese 192). When finally properly entering nature for the first time in years since he left the residential school, he is trying to heal from his past trauma, and his family shows up to support him and remind him they are still with him. This shows how being in nature and truly immersed allows him to connect with his family in ways that he could not do otherwise. It also shows how deep of a connection he has with the world of nature and that it is helping him heal himself from the damage caused by his childhood and young adult years. Although he can see some of his family, he can see so many more when he goes to a place where no one has ever been able to live besides his family, as nature will not let it. Saul goes to God's lake, and just as he is arriving, he reflects to the readers that, “I closed my eyes close to weeping and I heard my name whispered. I opened my eyes to see a flotilla of canoes gliding toward the shore. Benjamin. My grandmother with my grandfather, Solomon. My mother and father are