indian horse essay themes

Indian Horse

74 pages • 2 hours read

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Before You Read

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-10

Chapters 11-22

Chapters 23-28

Chapters 29-36

Chapters 37-39

Chapters 40-48

Chapters 49-56

Character Analysis

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Discussion Questions

Tension Between Old and Modern Ways

As the book begins, Saul states that when he was born, people still talked in the old way, but that his generation crossed a border. The horse’s teaching told by his great-grandfather, Shabogeesick , emphasizes this tension. The teaching says that a change will come and scorch their lives, and they must learn to ride the horses of change.

Saul’s experience of this tension is played out in his own family. His grandmother, Naomi , strives to keep Saul away from the white man and the school, telling him legends and singing Ojibway songs. His parents, however, call Naomi’s ceremonies blasphemy, and even blame her insistence on returning to Gods Lake for Benjamin’s death. Saul’s mother outright says, “Those gods are dead” (32) after Benjamin dies.

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Indian Horse

By richard wagamese, indian horse symbols, allegory and motifs, eagles (symbol).

When Shabogeesick appears to Saul he is holding an eagle wing fan. Someone with an eagle feather is a respected person who worked hard to earn a feather from a noble and powerful creature; it makes sense that Shabogeesick would have a fan, given his well-respected role in his own community. By passing his fan on to Saul, he tells his great-grandson that he has followed a hard path and earned respect. Eagle feathers are also used in Ojibway healing ceremonies, with the eagle carrying sickness out of the body and into the sky. Shabogeesick, a shaman, uses the eagle wing fan to heal Saul.

The Moon (symbol)

Throughout Indian Horse, Saul refers to the moon and describes its place in the sky. The moon represents a force both totally distinct from the world and intimately related to it. It is a distant form, high in the sky, but its light scatters over the earth and cuts through the darkness of the night. When Saul sleeps in the bush while at the New Dawn Centre, he focuses on the stars—the moon is absent. After he sees Shabogeesick, and his family walks out of the bush, the moon appears in the sky as a narrow arc. When he reaches Gods Lake, and has his second vision of Shabogeesick, the moon is full. The waxing of the moon thus parallels Saul’s path on earth, and symbolizes healing and growth. Its cyclical transformation echoes the cyclical narrative of the novel, and the abiding possibility of regrowth and change. Saul enacts this when he sees the moon as a face, and as a hockey rink—its distant surface is fluid and changing not only as a celestial object, but in relation to his own life.

The death of children (motif)

Several chapters of Indian Horse are devoted entirely to lists of Native children who died due to abuse at St. Jerome. This speaks to the historical reality of the schools, where the reported death rate was never less than three times that of the general young population. Estimates range from 3,200 to upwards of 6,000 deaths during the hundred years of the system. Wagamese depicts the human reality of these statistics by imagining these children as characters, as people. Through Saul, the novel also illustrates the lasting traumatic impact the high death rate would have had on other students who survived, something that death statistics fail to communicate.

Community (motif)

Through all of Saul’s moving-around, and all the different social structures he lives in, he always lives in relation to the people around him. Wagamese describes many different kinds of communities: extended family at Gods Lake, regimented and authoritarian systems at St. Germ's, brotherhood among hockey players in Manitouwadge, the cold indifference of white workers when Saul leaves home, and finally the full Manitouwadge community when Saul returns. By fleshing out each of these dynamics, Wagamese argues that community and social structure are central to how people experience their lives, and that being completely alone is impossible.

Language (motif)

There are three major languages in Indian Horse : Old Talk, Ojibway, and English. Old Talk is unspoken except for in ceremonies, and it is the language Saul and his ancestors hear at Gods Lake. Ojibway is the vernacular among Ojibway peoples, but it is violently suppressed by the nuns and priests at St. Jerome’s in favor of English. Suppressing language is an integral part of cultural genocides like the residential school system; taking away someone’s language disconnects them from elders who speak it as their first or only language. Canadian assimilationists recognized this, and targeted Indigenous languages like Ojibway to cut Native children off from their community and especially their elders, in order to destroy their connection to their own culture and replace it with white western culture. When Rebecca Wolf mourns her sister in Ojibway prayer, she resists that system, as do the students when they mourn her in the same language. The persistence of Indigenous language, both Ojibway and Old Talk, in Indian Horse , is one way that the Indigenous characters assert their cultural survival.

Indian Horse Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Indian Horse is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

On page 111 Saul describes his people and a part of their identity. Find this piece, and quote it in your answer.

“We came from nations of warriors, and the sudden flinging down of sticks and gloves, the wild punches and wrestling were extensions of that identity” (111).

Chapter 1 Question

Chapter One introduces the main character and narrator. Saul Indian Horse is an indigenous Canadian of the Ojibway tribe. He is in his thirties, and he is a recovering alcoholic, who has been admitted into a recovery center called the New Dawn...

what does saul mean when he tells virgil they think its their game?

Saul and Virgil have just been through hell. The boys were forced into an alley and humiliated in the worst way by white bar patrons. Saul explains that white people don't want Indians being good at hockey: they feel hockey belongs to them.

Study Guide for Indian Horse

Indian Horse study guide contains a biography of Richard Wagamese, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About Indian Horse
• Indian Horse Summary
• Character List

Essays for Indian Horse

Indian Horse essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese.

• Saul's Form of Strength: Persevering in Indian Horse
• Erasing the Indian in 'Indian Horse'
• The presentation of trauma in Indian Horse
• 'Indian Horse' in the Context of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission: Injustice and the Road to Healing
• Self-Discovery and Cultural Rediscovery: Growth in Indian Horse

Lesson Plan for Indian Horse

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to Indian Horse
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• Indian Horse Bibliography

Wikipedia Entries for Indian Horse

• Introduction
• Writing and development

Indian Horse

Richard wagamese, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

Saul Indian Horse is an Indigenous Canadian and a member of the Fish Clan, a tribe that lives near the Winnipeg River. He grows up in the early 1960s with his parents, John Indian Horse and Mary Mandamin , his two siblings, and his grandmother Naomi . At an early age, his brother, Benjamin , and his sister, Rachel , are kidnapped by white Canadians in the area and sent to Christian schools where the teachers’ primary aim is to “remove the Indian from” them. At the time, all Indigenous Canadian children are required by law to attend such schools, which means that Canadian authorities have the legal right to tear families apart, often using kidnapping to do so.

After they lose their children, Saul’s parents begin drinking heavily, and migrate from town to town in search of work. Miraculously, they reunite with Benjamin, who has run away from his school. The family decides to journey to a place called Gods Lake, where Saul’s ancestors lived generations ago.

At Gods Lake, Saul has a mystical vision. He sees his ancestors, laughing and playing at the water’s edge. Then, he sees them crushed under enormous rocks. Shortly after this vision, Benjamin begins coughing up blood, a symptom of a disease he contracted during his time in school. He dies one day while harvesting rice with the family. Saul’s parents take Benjamin’s body into the nearest town to seek a Christian burial for him, but they never return. Naomi decides that she and Saul will have to travel down the river so that they don’t freeze to death.

Naomi leads Saul through wilderness and fierce snowstorms. Eventually, the two of them make their ways to the outskirts of the town of Minaki. There, in the middle of a blizzard, Naomi freezes to death. Two white men take Saul away from his beloved grandmother’s body, and bring him to St. Jerome’s school for Indigenous children.

St. Jerome’s is a terrifying place. The teachers, priests, and nuns believe they have a mission to teach their Indigenous Canadian students about Christianity, the English language, and Western laws. They severely punish anyone who speaks their native language, and effectively torture little children for acting up in even the smallest ways. Some of Saul’s classmates are beaten to death, or kill themselves out of despair. At night, priests rape and abuse many of the children.

Saul has one protector at St. Jerome’s: a young, kind priest named Father Gaston Leboutilier . Father Leboutilier is protective of Saul, and encourages him to learn to play hockey . Although Saul is too young to join the school hockey team, Leboutilier allows him to clean the ice every morning, which gives Saul an opportunity to practice in private. On his own time, Saul teaches himself how to skate and shoot the hockey puck. Even though he’s much younger and smaller than the other hockey players, he becomes a brilliant athlete. Leboutilier, recognizing his talent, allows Saul to play in hockey scrimmages, and Saul does very well. In some games with opposing teams, however, Saul is ridiculed for being Indigenous Canadian.

One day, an Indigenous Canadian man named Fred Kelly arrives at St. Jerome’s and offers to adopt Saul. Kelly recognizes Saul’s talents, and offers to give him a home and a family, in return for which Saul will play for Kelly’s local team, the Moose. Saul accepts. He says an emotional goodbye to Father Leboutilier, who tells him that hockey will set him free.

Saul begins living with Fred Kelly, his wife Martha Kelly , and their son, Virgil Kelly , who is a couple years older than Saul. Virgil is the captain of the hockey team, and he encourages Saul to do well. Saul is much younger than the other players, but he wins their respect with his phenomenal talent. The hockey team competes in tournaments with other Indigenous Canadian teams, and wins almost all its games, thanks in part to Saul, who quickly emerges as their star player.

The team experiences a milestone when a talented team of white Canadian players challenges them to a game. Saul reluctantly agrees to play with his Moose teammates, even though he has strong reservations about playing against white Canadians because of the racism he has experienced before. In the game, the Moose get off to a rough start, but with Saul’s brilliant playing, they come back to win, 6-5. Afterwards, the Moose begin traveling more frequently, playing the best teams in Canada and often winning. After one particularly impressive victory against a white team, however, the Moose teammates are attacked and savagely beaten by white townspeople. Following this horrific incident, Saul begins to notice small instances of racism and prejudice more regularly in his daily life.

One day, a talent scout comes to watch the Moose practice. The scout tells Saul that he has the talent to play professionally, and offers him a chance to train in Toronto and eventually go professional. Saul is reluctant to leave his friends and adopted family, but with Virgil’s encouragement, he agrees.

In Toronto, Saul plays brilliantly for his rookie team, and the future seems bright. But as the season goes on, he notices that opposing teams, and even his own teammates, mock him for being Indigenous. Journalists call him a “savage” and a “crazy redskin,” even when they praise his performance. Saul becomes more aggressive during games, and eventually begins regularly fighting with members of the opposing team. Before long, Saul has been kicked off the team, and heads back to the Kelly family. Saul begins working for a living, and quickly leaves town to find a better job.

Saul spends the next couple years working in various low-paying outdoor jobs. He makes little money, and spends whatever he saves on alcohol. Sometimes, his white coworkers give him a hard time for being Indigenous, and he usually fights back. By 1978, Saul has become a full-blown alcoholic. He begins living with a kindly farmer named Ervin Sift , who seems to think of him as a surrogate son. With Ervin’s help, Saul tries to cut down on drinking. But eventually he relapses, begins drinking more and more heavily, and is so ashamed of himself for this that he leaves Ervin without any explanation.

Saul drives around the country, going on drinking binges and eventually trying to quit drinking altogether. However, he begins having seizures as a symptom of withdrawal and ends up in the hospital. After this, he checks into a rehabilitation facility called the New Dawn Center, where he works with a counselor named Moses to recover from his alcoholism. Moses urges Saul to write down his experiences—which Saul does, in the form of this book.

Saul leaves the New Dawn Center and drives out to St. Jerome’s, which is now in ruins. There, he has vivid flashbacks to his time as a student, and realizes the truth: that Father Leboutilier had raped and abused him as a child. For years, Saul has repressed his memories of the abuse.

Furious and confused, Saul journeys out to Gods Lake. There, he has a vision of his great-grandfather, Slanting Sky , who tells Saul that he must learn how to carry Gods Lake within himself.

Saul returns to the visit the Kelly family. He tells Martha and Fred what he has realized about his past at St. Jerome’s, and they tell him they understand: they went through similar experiences themselves. They encourage Saul to stay and rebuild his life with their support. Saul rejoins the local hockey team, and rekindles his friendship with Virgil, who coaches one of the local teams. Moving forward, Saul knows that he will continue to struggle with the pain of his past, but he’s grateful to have loyal friends and a loving adopted family.

Home — Essay Samples — Entertainment — Indian Horse — The Effects of Racism and Discrimination in the Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese

The Effects of Racism in Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese

• Categories: Book Review Indian Horse Racial Discrimination

About this sample

Words: 2156 |

11 min read

Published: Oct 2, 2020

Words: 2156 | Pages: 5 | 11 min read

Table of contents

Introduction, racism in indian horse.

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