Reviews with content warning for Physical abuse - Indian Horse

This is an absolutely powerful story about an Indigenous boy, Saul Indian Horse, growing up and surviving Residential School and how the effects him for the rest of his life. He turns to Hockey to escape the horrors of his reality and it becomes a lifelong passion of his.

Saul's relationship with Hockey is in the forefront of this novel but as you read farther into it and discover more about his life the reason why the game is so important to him becomes very evident. There is also some beautiful scenes of him starting the journey in recapturing his relationship with his Indigenous roots. Especially the parts about Gods Lake.

Trigger Warnings: Residential School, Racism, Sexual Assault, Physical & Emotional Abuse

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challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

Indian Horse is a hard hitting, unflinching look at racism faced by indigenous people living in Canada and the impact it has had on their lives. It follows Saul Indian Hose from a childhood spent in the loving embrace of a family, through the unspeakable horror of his time in a residential school, the highs and then the lows of playing hockey, a a period of alcoholism and self-sabotage, to him eventually facing his demons and tentatively finding a new path in life.

No matter how many times I read about it, the realities of the residential school system and the abuses perpetuated there never fail to sicken me. This book was no exception. The escape that hockey offered Saul and his exhilaration on the ice really shone through and captivated my attention, even though I have less than no interest in the game itself. The way racism impinged on that, robbed him of his love for the game, and stole his joy was heartbreaking and infuriating.

This book is a work of fiction. Yet it is filled with undeniable truths. It is beautifully and impactfully written, a painful yet important read, and one I highly recommend.

“When your innocence is stripped from you, when your people are denigrated, when the family that you came from is denounced and your tribal ways and rituals are pronounced backward, primitive, savage, you come to see yourself as less than human. That is hell on earth, that sense of unworthiness. That’s what they inflicted on us.”

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