Summary Of Saul Indian Horse

The main character of this novel, Saul Indian Horse, lived the first seven years of his life peacefully an traditionally, in Winnipeg Lake, Manitoba. That change in 1960 during the “1960 Scoop” when the RCMP took his brother, Ben and sister, Rachel to St. Jerome’s Saul witnessed suicide, sexual abuse (even his own) and extreme cruelty by the nuns and priests towards the children. Playing hockey was his only joy. Hockey was Saul’s salvation in that he “no longer felt afraid or lonely” and “was connected to something bigger than himself” (62).
At first, playing “silent hockey in the dormitory”, Saul thought “my salvation is coming through wood (hockey stick) and rubber (puck) and ice (rink) and the dream of a game” (62). Playing hockey he “became a different creature”; he released himself to the mystery of the ice(65). Just as his Gookum taught him to “release himself to the mystery of life” he became “Saul the Indian Horse, Ojibway hockey player” (86). Hockey saved Saul from thinking of St. Jerome’s sexual abuse (especially his own), cruelty, suicide, pain, torture and death. His mind, body and soul were full of turning himself into a great hockey player, at St. Jerome’s Residential School. St. Jerome’s ( St. Germs to the students) also created fear in Saul and all the other students their but playing

Hockey “activated his vision”(115); it allowed him to see beyond the moment. “That vision was the gift that he received from Shabogeesick”(57), Saul’s Ojibway great grandfather. That same vision ability connected Saul with his spiritual family, including his grandmother, his dead brother and his great grandfather. When “the game could no longer protect him”(200) from the ugly things of St. Jerome’s and the mourning he needed to do, that vision gift “let him mourn”(204) and Saul learned “the only one i could take care of was