Indian Horse
By Richard Wagamese
Saul Indian Horse has hit bottom. His last binge almost killed him, and now he's a reluctant resident in a treatment centre for alcoholics, surrounded by people he's sure will never understand him. But Saul wants peace, and he grudgingly comes to see that he'll find it only through telling his story. With him, readers embark on a journey back through the life he's led as a northern Ojibway, with all its joys and sorrows.
With compassion and insight, author Richard Wagamese traces through his fictional characters the decline of a culture and a cultural way. For Saul, taken forcibly from the land and his family when he's sent to residential school, salvation comes for a while through his incredible gifts as a hockey player. But in the harsh realities of 1960s Canada, he battles obdurate racism and the spirit-destroying effects of cultural alienation and displacement. Indian Horse unfolds against the bleak loveliness of northern Ontario, all rock, marsh, bog and cedar. Wagamese writes with a spare beauty, penetrating the heart of a remarkable Ojibway man.
Something not generally covered in guide books for tourists is the troubling history of Canada’s First Nations population. Reading Indian Horse will give you a good grounding in both hockey and Canada’s shameful treatment of its aboriginal people. Written by the nation’s most celebrated Ojibway author Richard Wagamese, Indian Horse tells the story of Saul Indian Horse, a talented hockey player growing up in a residential school. Enforced attendance for First Nations children in government boarding schools began in the 1890s, with the last one closing its doors in 1997. The legacy of these schools, and the cruelty endured by First Nations children, continues to haunt its population today. Visitors to Canada curious to know about this important history need look no further than Richard Wagamese’s compelling books. His humour, lyrical style and unforgettable characters will give you an excellent grounding."
