Discrimination In Richard Wagamese's Indian Horse

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. Throughout the novel, prejudicial comments directed towards Saul inflict a major impact on him and his teammates by confining their abilities, thus leading him into a troublesome mental state of mind.

Through the continuation of Saul’s games on the ice rink, constant discriminative comments from the white race that dominated the game (and the crowd) impact him in a negative way, limiting his skills on the ice rink. Subsequent to Saul’s introduction to the Moose and his spot as the center, him and his team play against various others, after substantiating to be a potent hockey team. In the midst of northern

White mens’ criticism against Saul’s darker skin negatively impact him on the rink, slowly imprisoning him to a corner of the rink, where his abilities have nowhere to shine. Due to these persistent preferential remarks, Saul falls into the depths of his own suffering, where his mental state suffers terrible consequences. Many in society today suffer harsh consequences solely due to their gender, skin tone, and ethnic background. What if you were one of many in society, suffering discrimination