Saul As A Hero In Indian Horse By Richard Wagamese

Fitting in and be accepted, but also not having a choice on who you are can be difficult. People can love you for one reason, and hate you for another. The protagonist, Saul Indian Horse from the novel Indian Horse, written by Richard Wagamese knows exactly what that feels like. He struggles with being an outsider and not being wanted his entire life. At some points, he is almost like everybody’s hero because of his great skills in hockey. He is the star player on his school team and his native team, the Moose. Although, just because he was the star of his team, does not mean he had a stellar life outside of the game and off the ice. The life of Saul Indian Horse was evidently not an easy one, due to the multiple challenges he has had to face

The first of these unwelcoming teams being the team he played on in town while attending St. Jerome’s Residential School. After playing only few games with them, he was told that he was no longer wanted on the team. When Father Leboutilier tells Saul this he says, “…There is no game for you. They don’t want you to play anymore, Saul.” (Wagamese, 91) When Saul asks why he is no longer on the team, he is told that it is because he is too good of a player. Later, when Saul asks, “It’s because I’m Indian, isn’t it?” (Wagamese, 91) it is revealed that he is right, and that that is the real reason they don’t want him on the team any longer. Saul is not allowed to play on a hockey team because of the color of his skin, the language that he speaks, and the culture he was born unto. He is not a Zhaunagush, a white boy, so can’t play on their team. This is not the only time that Saul was not warmly welcomed on a team. He faces the same thing when he plays as a rookie on the NHL training team. He is not kicked off of this team, but they still are not fully accepting of Saul. In the novel, Saul exclaims that he was never called any disrespecting or racially profiling names, but he is never called by his actual name either. He states that they only ever addressed him as “Thirteen”. Saul gives some examples of this by saying, “‘Thirteen don’t talk much’… Or, ‘thirteen never smiles.’” (Wagamese, 162-163) With the team not calling him rude names, but also not by his real name, the novel demonstrates that the NHL team does not necessarily hate Saul, but that they do not fully accept him either. Saul is still an Indian and the rest of the players are still white, so Saul would never get the acceptance of the team that he may have wanted. Therefore, even though Saul and the other players are all still playing the sport they love together, Saul is still not full accepted, still making him an