Indian Horse Wagamese Analysis

Hundreds of not thousands of First Nations children were kidnapped and imprisoned in residential schools during the 1960s. These children were then forced to renounce anything in relation to their traditional lives, such as their native tongue. This was often achieved in a barbaric and inhumane manner. Richard Wagamese’s, “Indian Horse”, brings to light the touching fictional story of Saul Indian Horse’s struggle through residential school along with it’s residual effects on his adult life. Within the novel, Wagamese highlights how one’s traumatic past can have tremendous physical and mental effects, especially in the absence of support. When we are first introduced to Saul’s mother, Mary, we can easily distinguish that she had experienced …show more content…
The hockey rink was a temporary haven where he could briefly forget who he was and what had happened to him. While at St. Jerome’s Saul says, “When I hit the ice I left all of that [the sexual abuse] behind me.” (Wagamese 83). From this we can interpret that to him the hockey rink was a haven that he could use to briefly forget about his painful past. The moment he hit the ice he would be able to leave who he was and what had happened to him behind him. On the other hand, Manitouwadge was a place where Saul could address the issues in his past by speaking with people such as the Kellys. When Saul revisits the Kellys after his time at the New Dawn Centre, Fred Kelly says, “It costs everything, it bankrupts us in every way. The lucky ones rebuild. There’s a lot of those kids who never got that chance.” (Wagamese 209). With this comment Saul can finally relate to someone about his problems. The sexual abuse had bankrupt him in many ways and cost him dearly, for example his recent alcoholism. Finally, Saul could get some closure on his past and begin to be one of the ‘lucky ones’ to rebuild his life and develop a brighter future. As long as Saul continues to play hockey or speak with the Kellys he will be able to come to terms with his traumatic past and rebuild his …show more content…
He does this by using a very effective but subliminal method, that being by concealing the message behind Saul’s love of hockey and his hockey career in addition to his recent alcoholism. Although Wagamese had focused on the effect of one’s past on their health in certain sections of the novel. Overall, Wagamese has done a wonderful job fabricating a touching, believable, fictional story on the tragic history of First Nations people, residential schools and discrimination of various kinds. A novel such as this is much needed in today’s naive society, with many people being unaware about the horrific history of First Nations