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Indian Horse By Richard Wagamese Sparknotes

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The dark horrors of St. Jerome’s Indian Residential School overcast the life of a young boy who faces adversity on its icy rink through his newfound passion for hockey. Abandoned by his family, he is forced to leave the comfort of his home and is fated to survive with his grandmother, who eventually succumbs to the harsh winters of Canada. "Alone, he must face the societal stigma in Canada in the 1960s, fighting back to ensure he can enjoy the only thing keeping him sane: hockey." The novel Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese is about the journey of an Ojibway boy, Saul, and reveals how societal stigma towards minorities affects the healthy upbringing of youth, fostering long-lasting physical and mental trauma embedded throughout generations. Indigenous communities face a common occurrence of race-based trauma, as members of BIPOC face a …show more content…

Saul is one of the many victims of discrimination inflicted upon Indigenous hockey players due to their culture, subsequently causing the depletion of their mental health. When describing the typical scene on the rink, Saul says, “I heard ‘Chief’, ‘Tonto’, ‘Geronimo’, ‘dumb Injun', or the hundred other labels men applied to me” (Wagamese, 180). Saul experienced severe inner contemplation when fighting with his heart, torn between succumbing to the demands of society, being the violent Indigenous man they perceive him to be, or letting his values win, and continuing to play hockey with the fierce passion that subsides within him. A colossal battle was being fought on the rink—a physical struggle between Saul and the members of other white dominant teams plagued with the racist ideology of white supremacy. Saul became a pawn of constant brutality brought by the players who slashed and physically dominated Saul to ensure the top of the leadership was dominated by

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614 Words | 3 Pages

The novel Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese is a very interesting novel, as it’s about the life of Saul Indian Horse during and after his stay at St. Jerome's residential school. However, his stay at the residential school was not without hardships, as he witnessed and experienced many heartbreaking things that ended up changing his life forever. In the novel Indian Horse, identity plays a key part in this story because of the character development Saul undergoes, which is proven when Saul arrives at the residential school and is forced to adopt a new identity and when he learns to play hockey. The first reason why I think identity plays a key part in the story is because when he arrives at the residential school, he becomes scarred because

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590 Words | 3 Pages

Friendships are a learning experience that can make or break people. In the novel, Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese it is evident that their friends help characters. Father Leboutiller helps Saul find his passion for hockey. The Kelly family allow Saul to develop as a person. The Moose hockey team helps Saul develop in hockey.

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1074 Words | 5 Pages

In the novel by the protagonist Saul Indian Horse faces many battles throughout the duration of his life. In the beginning he is removed from his family and culture and put into residential school, one of Canada’s darkest corners. While attending residential school Saul faces many tragic experiences, these include abuse, rape, dehumanization,

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1772 Words | 8 Pages

Indian Horse: Temporary Relief in Coping Mechanisms Richard Wagamese’s novel Indian Horse follows the story of Saul Indian Horse who experiences numerous accounts of trauma throughout the novel wherein he is ill-prepared to face. Because of this, Saul does not know how to deal with his emotions and therefore attempts to run from his suffering rather than face it. Saul moves from one escape to the next, each providing short-term relief. The first of these comforts was hockey, which Saul discovered a passion for during his stay at St. Jerome’s. When the racism from the crowds and the players became too much, Saul fled and found relief in physical labour.

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872 Words | 4 Pages

As he grows older, Saul starts to play in leagues that are dominated by white people and home to white fans. As a result of this, Saul is faced with racism and discrimination from these people. Saul’s Indigenous heritage becomes his Achilles' heel, making him an easy target for physical violence and verbal abuse from opponents who see him as a threat. Sauls says that “They called [him] Indian Whores, Horse Piss, Stolen Pony. ”(Wagamese Chapter 38).

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641 Words | 3 Pages

He quotes that his life was “replaced by an ominous black cloud”(47) Eventually, Saul could not take the racial discrimination any longer, and became immersed in booze and alcohol. Saul recalls, “I spoke less and drank more, and I became the Indian again; drunken and drooling and reeling.” (181) Saul gave up, and decided he would become the image of the ‘Indian’ that all the white people saw him as. But then, he met a man named Ervin Sift, who reminded him of his “Proud People”(183)

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1709 Words | 7 Pages

Trauma Through the Eyes of Residential School Survivors Symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder include "Reliving the traumatic event as if it were happening again (flashbacks)" (Sandhya Pruti). Therefore, trauma occurs from an emotionally disturbing or life-threatening event causing long-lasting unpleasant effects. Similarly, numerous notable works of literature explore post-traumatic stress disorder. In Indian Horse, Richard Wagamese uses Saul's character flashbacks to exemplify the realities of trauma toward developing children. St. Jerome's Residential School destroyed all positive aspects of Saul's life through excessive trauma.

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1188 Words | 5 Pages

Throughout the novel, prejudicial comments directed towards Saul inflict a major impact on him and his teammates by confining their abilities, thus leading him into a troublesome mental state of mind. Through the continuation of Saul’s games on the ice rink, constant discriminative comments from the white race that dominated the game (and the crowd) impact him in a negative way, limiting his skills on the ice rink. Subsequent to Saul’s introduction to the Moose and his spot as the center, him and his team play against various others, after substantiating to be a potent hockey team. In the midst of northern

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829 Words | 4 Pages

Author Richard Wagamese conveys a message in his novel Indian Horse displaying the idea of sacrifice. Specifically how people must sacrifice belonging for survival. Wagamese uses Saul 's experiences, choices and general story to express this message. Throughout Saul’s life he is forced to make sacrifices for himself and the people around him in order to survive, his isolation is what gets him through. Everyday people see the reproductions of community and how surviving isn 't an easy thing.

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425 Words | 2 Pages

The Transformative Power of Storytelling in “Indian Horse” Stories are an effective way for people to share teachings and experiences in one’s life as they allow individuals to better understand emotional connections and personal experiences. Richard Wagamese’s “Indian Horse” is set against the backdrop of a residential school in Canada. The protagonist Saul Indian Horse struggles with his Indigenous identity when faced with trauma and cultural oppression. Wagamese talks about the important role storytelling plays in overcoming trauma from the past, by illustrating how storytelling is not only a form of entertainment but a fundamental aspect of one’s life which serves as a powerful tool for confronting the trauma of the past which brings individuals into

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600 Words | 3 Pages

Saul is conveying the incessant physical aggression from the white players during games. The mention of “Knees and elbows… flying at me” and “cheap shots” vividly illustrates the unfair and violent treatment he experiences on white ice. These actions demonstrate the direct racism and discrimination Saul faced playing with white teams. Which represents the systematic barrier Saul faces, which prevents him from reaching his full potential. The hostile treatment and constant “cheap shots” from white teams create a hostile environment that restricts his ability to fully participate, thus limiting his chances of success.

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1793 Words | 8 Pages

Family in society is usually shown as a close group of people who truly and deeply care for each other, where their bond is built through trust and love. In most aspects, family is believed to have positive impacts and help in many ways. However, Richard Wagamese's novel Indian Horse, truly has a heavy portrayal of family as a theme with unfortunately negative impacts, however some are still positive. It has affected Saul Indian Horse, the main character within his identity through his experiences. Family ties, whether it was a caring and nurturing connection or a strained and troubled connection, played a very pivotal role throughout Saul's trauma, cultural loss, and healing.

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964 Words | 4 Pages

Initially, when Saul starts playing with his hockey reserve team, he experiences his first encounter with racism. While Saul is enjoying the game, he is suddenly kicked out of the team and remarks to Mr. Leboutiller the reason behind this is “‘because I am an Indian, isn’t it’ ‘yes’, he said” (Wagamese 91). At this moment, Saul is a victim of exclusion at a young age and recognises; not only in the residential school are Indians victims of discrimination due their appearance, culture and differences, but also outside of the residential school. Through his first encounter with exclusion, he slowly notices the segregation that surrounds him resulting in mental abuse because he becomes very cautious. After Saul leaves the residential school to live with the Kelly’s, he begins to play with the Moose.

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1282 Words | 6 Pages

Indigenous Canadians have four times the risk of experiencing severe trauma than other Canadians (“Indigenous People”). The story Indian Horse explores various traumatising circumstances Indigenous people face and examines their effects. In Richard Wagamese’s novel, Saul’s inability to escape the difficulties of his past demonstrates that unprocessed trauma can derail one’s life. Throughout early childhood, his family life exposes him to mental illness and loss. Later, he represses the atrocities of residential school, building inner conflict and self hatred.

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215 Words | 1 Pages

In order for trauma recovery programs for Indigenous children and young people to be effective, a whole community approach as well as an individual approach needs to be taken towards healing.13 This presents some major challenges, as mistrust, which has developed as a result of many failed, culturally insensitive and damaging intervention programs, is a major hurdle that must be overcome before acceptance and open participation in any program can begin. 13 A service provider wanting to deliver trauma-informed care to Indigenous children and young people would ideally be known by the community, or be of Indigenous descent.

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