Indigenous people across Canada have been suppressed by the government, system, and settlers still to this day. The residential school system was a system of boarding schools that were established by the Canadian government and administered by various churches to assimilate Indigenous children into Euro-Canadian culture. Many of these children suffered physical, sexual, and emotional abuse from school staff. Even though residential schools have been abolished they can still affect indigenous people today. The book “Indian Horse” clearly represents the intergenerational trauma of Indigenous communities in Canada.
Five Little Indians by Michelle Good is a moving tale that exposes readers to the brutal truth of Canada's residential school system. The story follows five Indigenous people who, after years of abuse and suffering at these schools, are left to negotiate life as adults in Vancouver. Michelle Good invites readers to confront painful facts about Canadian history via their journeys of healing and reconciling with the past. The backstory for Five Little Indians is similarly interesting. Michelle Good, a member of the Red Pheasant Cree Nation in Saskatchewan, draws on her personal experiences and significant study to bring this narrative to life.
By using metaphor and simile, Joe conveys the assimilation and conformity imposed upon Indigenous children in the residential school system, emphasizing the effects of cultural suppression and the longing to reclaim one's authentic voice and
The establishment of residential schools marks a dark chapter in Canadian history. The residential school system was a nationwide network of boarding schools with the purpose of destroying the Indigenous identity and assimilating children into the dominant European-Canadian culture. The schools were known for their harsh environments, abuse, and mistreatment, which led to generational trauma and long-lasting effects. Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese, narrates the life story of Saul Indian Horse, a young Ojibwe boy whose identity is stripped away and who is taken from his family to attend one of these schools. The book examines Saul’s journey, from his traumatic school experiences to his love for hockey.
However, what is presented is even more dark and appalling. This book differs from typical non-fiction works on residential schools in its unflinching revelation of the ugly truths. Benjamin does something remarkable by shifting the focus from the victims to the perpetrators. While most people are familiar with the survivor stories of Indigenous children, with emphasis on the abuse they endured and loss of their cultural identity; few works delve into the actions of the oppressors. Benjamin's approach is not intended to diminish the survivor's experiences, but rather to shine a light on the abuse of power by the priests, nuns, and government, which has gone unchecked for too long.
The book depicts the heartbreaking incidents of the main character, Saul Indian Horse, and the children around him who suffer cultural, mental, and physical abuse at the hands of the government-run schools. The cultural abuse that Indigenous children endured in residential schools is one of the most devastating aspects of residential schools’ destruction. In these schools, children are treated like clay, where the priests and nuns “work to remove the Indian from [the] children” (Wagamese 46-47). This cultural erasure is a form of colonization, where the dominant group seeks to assimilate the minority group into their culture, often at the expense of the minority group's cultural identity.
They were stripped away from their traditional and ordinary lives and introduced to the “oppressors’” way of life. If they stepped out of line and attempted to retain their previous lifestyle, they were physically abused through a system that wanted to spend as less money as possible to “kill the Indian, save the man.” It was this trauma that they went through as children that they reflect on their own children as they grew accustomed to it. It was this that many Navajo families of the reservation have a sense of fear to teach the younger generation the culture and language they were forced to grow apart from. The result and impact of the boarding school system can still be seen
The intergenerational trauma portrayed by Robinson introduces one of many real-world problems in the book. The author is able to incorporate in the novel the fact that “Several generations of Indigenous Peoples were denied the development of parenting skills not only through their removal from communities and families but also from the severe lack of attention paid to the issue by school officials” (The residential school system). Because Josh did not grow up around a functional and healthy family life or an adequate caregiver, he is unsure how to take care of children himself. In the novel, he sexually abuses his daughter Adelaine Jones known as ‘Karaoke.’
At St. Jerome’s Indian Residential School, Saul see’s the lonely world, which crams on him like a black hole with no light, however creates a determination for him to stay strong. As he is expeditiously thrown in to the vast world of a different religion he quickly realizes, “They called it a school, but it was never that” (79) … “There were no grades or examinations. The only test was our ability to endure” (79). The emotions and perspectives present in each quote signify the feelings of Saul towards the school and define the school to be unnerving and painful for the Indians living there, however they also show that Saul knows his expectations and is strong enough to tolerate the torture.
Lynda also loved painting and drawing as her teacher viewed it as a healing technique as Lynda colored and drew with naturalness. These pastimes that Lynda and Alexie enjoyed gave these characters a resemblance. “Indian Education” by Sherman Alexie and “The Sanctuary of School” by Lynda Barry are unconnected when it comes to experiences in the education system. “Indian Education” is a personal essay that critically analyzes the American educational system as experienced by a Native American student. This essay highlights the
The two main goals of the residential school system and government jurisdictions were to separate and isolate children from the influence of their homes, families, customs, and cultures as well as assimilate them into the dominant culture. The concept of trauma is emphasized in each chapter in Richard Wagamese's book Indian Horse. The work skillfully conveys this dilemma through the use of literary devices like vivid imagery, symbolism, and narrative structure. Wagamese's descriptions of the novel's horrifying incidents fully immerse the reader in Saul's dreadful encounters, demonstrating the ability of visuals to arouse strong feelings. The illustration of the hockey rink and the residential school as representations of both individual and
“Indian Boarding School: The Runaways” by Louise Eldrich bears overwhelming notes of running away from what could be what one assumes to be the Indian boarding school and returning to home. The beginning few lines provide the idea of wishing to return home on boxcars and an escape in their dreams. The next line, “the rails, old lacerations that we love/ shoot parallel across the face and break,” indicate a guiding force in memories and pain, but also a longing for what the lacerations represent in the phrase ‘old lacerations that we love.’ The lacerations refer to emotions and memories of home, and using the imagery of train tracks cutting through the ground like lacerations, show how home might not be a particularly perfect idea.
Neither were the parents allowed to visit their children so the time the kids were finally able to go back with their family they started to become practically like strangers to each other because they knew very little about each other especially since many of the children were younger and had spent most of their lives in these school. The lack of communication between the Native American parents and children was another reason many parents weren’t aware of the trauma the kids were suffering in the homes. The kids were so affected they remember that even at night when they were left alone to sleep they were all so quiet and no one talked about what was happening to them. The native children didn’t have normal childhoods they didn’t play or interact with each other this alone shows how affected they were with the boarding
The nature of these boarding schools was to assimilate young Native Americans into American culture, doing away with any “savageness” that they’re supposedly predisposed to have. As Bonnin remembers the first night of her stay at the school, she says “I was tucked into bed with one of the tall girls, because she talked to me in my mother tongue and seemed to soothe me” (Bonnin 325). Even at the beginning of such a traumatic journey, the author is signaling to the audience the conditioning that she was already under. Bonnin instinctively sought out something familiar, a girl who merely spoke in the same “tongue” as her. There are already so few things that she has in her immediate surroundings that help her identify who and what she is, that she must cling to the simple familiarities to bring any semblance of comfort.
