Perseverance Through Trauma In Indian Horse By Richard Wagamese

Indian Horse In the book Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese, Saul gains relationships through community. The Kellys provide Saul a place to call his home and they create a bond beyond just the billet family. Secondly, The land around Saul gives him a sense of family, the land is full of life to encourage Saul to not give up and he's not alone. Lastly, hockey offers Saul love and a feeling of worthiness that he is lacking while being at St. Jerome's Indian Residential School.

The indigenous condition in Canada was a malleable asset in most of its history in the eyes of upper-class Canadians, stripping away from their past and their culture, to later incorporate into mainstream Canadiana, through violent and destructive means. For protagonist Saul Indian Horse, it’s no different. From cover to cover, he faces the power of white supremacy breaking him down, with his passion for hockey providing resilience in the bigotry. Despite that, his relationship with the sport recedes with age, following in tandem with the depths of his negative emotions, soon separating himself from hockey. Indian Horse's account of experiences on and off the rink emphasizes the motif of hockey, his relations regarding it ebbing and flowing,

Characters are the backbone of a story that portray various themes which the novel Indian Horse sheds light on. The author, Richard Wagamese, communicates important ideas about family and tradition, and abuse and trauma through the stories of Naomi, Sister Ignacia, Virgil, and Father Gaston LeBoutillier. Fred Kelly and Naomi embody the themes of family and tradition to the protagonist, Saul Indian Horse, assisting him in navigating his identity as an Indigenous person in a world that attempts to obliterate his culture. Naomi is chosen to represent the theme of family and tradition since grandmothers are the ones who instill family and traditional values in their grandchildren in Ojibway culture. She has a strong sense of pride and devotion

(Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese). This quote also demonstrates Saul's growing awareness of his identity and the strength he draws from it, despite the trauma he has experienced. It shows his resilience in the face of adversity and his ability to find strength in his culture and heritage. The theme of resilience is explored throughout the novel, as in the ways in which Indigenous people have survived centuries of colonial policies and cultural genocide. Through their connection to their communities and their traditions, Indigenous people have found strength and perseverance in the face of trauma and adversity.

Saul’s love and experiences with and for hockey both enable and diminish the theme of

Through the Medicine Wheel, we are reminded of our lifelong journey that is continuous upon birth and living through youth, adulthood and senior years. In Richard Wagamese’s Indian Horse, the protagonist Saul experiences many obstacles which shape and develop his character. Saul’s life can be divided into more than the four stages of life to better understand his journey. Saul’s Life with His Family The time Saul was able to spend with his family was very short due to the effects of the white men.

The detrimental and unfair categorization of people by race, gender and more, commonly known as discrimination, affects many in society both mentally and emotionally. Many instances of this act of hatred occurred among Aboriginal and Native Canadians in the 20th century. However, for a little Native Indian boy stepping onto the rink, this is the norm that surrounds him. Saul Indian Horse, in Richard Wagamese’s “Indian Horse”, faces discrimination head on, where his strengths for hockey are limited by the racial discrimination from the surrounding white ethnicity. Consequently, this racism draws him into a mentally unstable state, where he suffers heavy consequences.

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.

By learning about the severe beatings, sicknesses, fears and molestations occurring at the school, a sense devastation is created to the reader’s mind, though in Saul’s mind aside from the havoc he has encountered, there is something else he thinks of. Despite the fact Saul faces the most tragic adversities, he pulls himself aside from the fear and acts secure. Amazingly Saul spoke to himself, as he said, “When the tears threatened to erupt from me at night I vowed they would never hear me cry. I ached in solitude What I let them see was a quiet, withdrawn boy, void of feeling” (55). By remarking the fortitude Saul speaks of, it is exemplified that Saul has enough courage to accept the circumstances he is in and move on, showing the reader even though he has lost many things he has learned to show others he is fearless and strong.

It is like a breath of fresh air, in contrast to the somber and heavier sections mentioned previously. It”s a noteworthy part of the story because it drives the plot forward, as the author displays Saul’s newly found passion for hockey, as well as his brotherly bond with his teammates. In the text, the reader is introduced to concepts such as laughter, expression and freedom. This demonstrates that, in the midst of the most gruelling and sorrowful times at the residential school, Saul has finally found a safe haven. The spirit of the game is an excellent outlet to distract him from the everyday upheaval and abuse.

While Saul tries to practice with the other recruits he again feels neglected and alienated because he is Indigenous, but this time he has already experienced all this harassment before, he’s learned from his past how to deal with this verbal and physical assault and come out on top, and this is exactly what he achieves with using his talents to shut down his bullies. This awareness did not stick with Saul however, the constant harassment and racism he received from players, fans, and journalists were sickening, rather than stating Saul was an excellent hockey player the papers characterize him as “the Rampaging Redskin.” Comments like this drove Saul further away from being able to control his anger and emotions correctly, instead, he started playing like a “cheap goon,” throwing out slashes, being more aggressive than he has ever been, and sometimes trying to pick fights with other players, becoming a player he never wanted to be, resulting in him being kicked from the team. The next time he went back to hockey was his journey back to St. Jerome’s after leaving his rehabilitation called the New Dawn Center because of his alcohol addiction that came after the NHL, while at St. Jerome's he goes into a shocking fact that Father LeBoutillier was sexually abusing Saul while he was at this school, Saul starts to recall to the abuse and racism he endured as a child and

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.

People encounter many obstacles in their lifetimes, obstacles that are too arduous to overcome by themselves. They must find a way to get through these difficulties, and there is always something, or someone, that helps keep them sane through these hard hours. To Saul Indian Horse, the main character of Richard Wagamese’s novel Indian Horse, that obstacle is St. Jerome’s Residential School and the very element that kept him sane was hockey. In the residential school, Saul is abused both mentally and physically, witnessing the continued deaths of his Indian classmates. Fortunately, Saul was able to keep himself sane through hockey.

[Father Leboutillier] was [his] captor, the warder of [Saul’s] innocence.” (Wagamese pg 202) When Saul was young, Father Leboutillier was the only kind adult at St. Jeromes. He introduced Saul to the world of hockey and was much kinder than all the other staff members. When Father Leboutilier takes advantage of Saul, he not only betrays Saul’s trust but the reader’s. Saul has already been through so much and Father Leboutilier was the only one there for Saul.