Indian Horse Chapter Summary

Indian Horse is a book about an Indian's journey through life. It narrates through the view of Saul Indian Horse, a young boy. At the start of his journey Saul is very small and still a child. He lived with his parents, brother and grandmother. His grandmother taught him all about his Indian history and a lot of life lessons that Indians use on an island they called Gods Lake. When his parents abandoned them because his brother past away, they set off on a voyage to seek a safer shelter. Sadly, they never made it and his grandmother passed away holding him by the side of the railway tracks. This is where the people found Saul, and took him away to St. Jerome’s, an Indian Residential School. He was frightened and angry, but knew how he had to

act so he would not get punished in school. They tried to strip them all of their roots and make them become one of them. People weren’t people unless they were white in their eyes. Saul witnessed many terrible things happen to other children in the school. Many were beaten or left without food and some even died. Saul just worked through the tough times and kept to himself.
The day that Father Leboutillier came to the school was a huge turning point in the story.

If it had not been for him, Saul wouldn’t be where he is today. Father Leboutillier introduced Saul and many others to hockey. He loved it from the moment he saw it but since he wasn’t old enough to be on the team, he was only aloud to shovel off the rink for the other players. At first, this was enough for Saul. He would wake up early and shovel the rink and then watch the others play. One day he decided to stash some skates and a stick in the snow. Every morning before anyone else was up he would go out, shovel the rink and then teach himself the game. Soon enough Father Leboutillier let him on the team. He was a natural and the best on the team. After winning a few games, a man from the nearby town came and asked him to play for the town team. The problem was, Saul was the only Indian on the team and although he was the best nobody wanted him to play. White people thought it was their game and no one else’s. So, Saul was kicked off the team and went back to school. Soon after, another man came and asked Saul to play for their team called The Moose. It was an Indian team that loved the game so much they didn’t care about what the weather was like, or what team they played. So, of course Saul said yes. He played for a while and won many tournaments and games. The team grew close to him and he loved it. One day a scout came and told him he could play for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the

NHL. He opposed at first and told everyone he definitely did not want to go but him teammates, and family convinced him. He played and got in as a rookie. Saul realized after just a short amount of time that nobody actually saw him as just a hockey player. To them he was ‘The Indian.’ Saul knew this was not how he wanted to live and quit the team to go back to Manitouwadge and went into forestry. He went to a bush camp and grew hard and tough. Nobody wanted him there either. He worked and worked and grew very strong and one day he decided to leave again. He left not knowing where he wanted to go. Saul had no one, nothing and he fell upon alcohol to calm him down and soothe his pain. He became a drunk, and one man saw him falling and tried to help him but nothing worked. So, Saul left to a rehab facility to become sober and try to start over. Once he thought he was healthy enough to go home again, Saul decided to go visit St. Jerome’s and Gods Lake again. He finally went back to Manitouwadge and visited his family and friends.
Saul grew up so much throughout the story. He not only grew in age but his mind and soul grew too. He became a strong man who realized who he was, and what he went through in life. He went through so much as a child that he didn’t realize what was actually happening to him and other Indians like Saul. When Saul went back for the final time to Manitouwadge, he had a conversation with Martha and Frank and finally figured out the abuse and harassment that he had as a kid. The purpose of the schools was to strip away the Indian from children and make them become who they thought was right. Saul learned that this isn’t how anyone should be treated. He grew to be responsible, mature, and most of all he did not forget where he came from or who he is.