What Is The Meaning Of Indian Horse By Richard Wagamese

In traditional aboriginal culture, circles have a great a powerful meaning, each having its own specific and unique meaning, for example The Medicine wheel symbolizes “The vital power or personal power within oneself which enables one to become whole or complete”. In Richard Wagamese’s novel “Indian Horse “, these circles hold a very special purpose. Richard uses the continual figure of circles to represent the main character of novel Saul Indian Horse, and his journey for individuality with nature and the rituals of naturalism religion; the Canadian government’s appoint religion, education, and culture that Saul’s spirit and everything that was lost along the way, in which that is important to the survival of his culture and spirit. The

He replaces the comfort of his culture traditions, and protection he yearns for, with hockey and alcohol. Being at St Jerome’s school, Saul endures and encounters daily acts of abuse such has rape, suicide, and racism. Children were forced to abandon their language, cultural beliefs, and way of life, and mandated to adapt to Christianity. Residential schools and Christianity are very different from that of a naturism religion. This brings Saul into a world full of hard-line rules, solitude, and silence. It says that nature is what keeps children grounded and whole, but nuns and priests believe that God is the only to give this. The school breaks Saul’s sharing circle, so his people can’t communicate traditionally or community “Every time I moved or was forced to speak, it roared its incredible pain. And so I took to isolation” without harsh punishment. For this a group of children formed a circle around the dead body of Rebecca wolf (An added victim of the school’s – yard) to sing for her remembrance. This formation acted like a protective shield from the nuns and priests, and that circle was unbreakable a sacred circle. During Saul’s time at the school he is brought to the world of hockey by father Leboutilier who takes Saul’s vulnerability and uses hockey to “Buy is silence “. This happened in residential schools often, children

He was further away from nature, and that leads for him being further away from himself, his culture, ancestry, freedom, and vision. Not just residential schools, but many communities find different cultures has “Unaccepted and wrong”, and that leads a person to become something they aren’t “I flipped my right glove off at the last second and drove my fist right into this face”, Saul had given up the control he had tried to maintain begins to fight. This can be seen as slowing moving away from one’s self personal circle. Not please with himself Saul turns to alcohol in replace for hockey in his life. By drinking it can give a person a sense of relief making them feel ‘Normal ‘again, like they would remember feeling in the past. After a server drinking relapse Saul ends up in new dawn center for substance abuse recovery. He’s now sober and must face his past. To able to recover completely one must face that hurt caused upon them in order to fully be able to move on. Saul returns Saul returns to the residential school and sees that nature has ironically overrun and reclaimed the school. After remembering horrible memories he returns to Gods Lake and lays tobacco as a ritualistic gesture and apology. In aboriginal culture laying tobacco means that you are giving back what you took, or giving an apology for what you took, and a sense of healing etc. Saul