Cruel Abuse In Richard Wagamese's Indian Horse

Adjusting to another culture is a difficult concept, especially for children in their school classrooms. In Sherman Alexie’s, “Indian Education,” he discusses the different stages of a Native Americans childhood compared to his white counterparts. He is describing the schooling of a child, Victor, in an American Indian reservation, grade by grade. He uses a few different examples of satire and irony, in which could be viewed in completely different ways, expressing different feelings to the reader. Racism and bullying are both present throughout this essay between Indians and Americans. The Indian Americans have the stereotype of being unsuccessful and always being those that are left behind. Through Alexie’s negativity and humor in his

Education —an institution for success, opportunity, and progress — is itself steeped in racism. In Sherman Alexie’s short story “Indian Education” from his book The Longer Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven is set in two places, the Spokane Indian Reservation and a farm town nearby the reservation. The story is written in a list of formative events chronologize Victor’s youth by depicting the most potent moment from each year he is in school. Alexie addresses the issue of racism in education by examining examples of injustice and discrimination over twelve years in a boy’s life. Victor faces his initial injustice in first grade when he is bullied by bigger kids, but his understanding of injustice becomes much more complex in grades two through twelve as he experiences discrimination against his American Indian identity. Familial experiences of a Native woman, Alexie’s style and humor, and Victor’s awareness of discrimination from grade one to twelve all reveal the grim reality of growing up and being schooled on an American Indian reservation.

The short story “Indian Education” by Sherman Alexie is about a boy who describes his life and how he was treated. The narrator describes his experience from first to twelfth grade. He was treated poorly at the beginning of the short story but later was acknowledged. An important theme that develops throughout Sherman Alexie’s “Indian Education” is that people often make wrong accusations about people from a specific race, which often leads to self-pity.

The main historical force that has contributed to Tom and his family’s situation, is the lasting effects of the residential school system on Aboriginal parenting. Although it is unclear in this case whether or not Tom’s parents are victims of residential schools, the lasting affects caused by residential schools still exists within every member of the Aboriginal community. The common misconception during the time of residential schools was that Aboriginal people were unable to care for their own children, and this responsibility must be put in the hands of the state. This misconception continues to exist within contemporary Canadian society, as the intergenerational trauma that exists within Aboriginal communities, which was caused by residential schools and the sixties scoop, has caused some members of Canadian society to believe that Aboriginal people are still unable to parent their own children. The misconception that Aboriginal parents, in this case Tom’s parents, are unable to parent their children grew due the fact that the development of effective parenting skills and child rearing behaviours within the Aboriginal community was ruined due to the residential school system, as children were separated from their family and were not able to be taught and shown how to properly handle parenting (Collins

In today’s world, many students have had some sort of tragedy happen to them or their families. In his novel, “Indian Horse,” Richard Wagamese chronicles the story of one man’s journey through his troubled life. He uses descriptive language to present painful memories of loss and abuse. "Indian Horse" accurately illustrates the effects of irresponsible drinking, the abuse that took place in Residential Schools, and the inspiring way in which adversity can be overcome; for these reasons, among others, Canadian students should engage with this subject matter despite its use of explicit language.

Although colonialism had large economic benefits for the European empires, the indigenous peoples of the colonies faced threats to their culture from the invading empires. For the indigenous people of Canada, the Europeans sought to assimilate them via residential schools. In Three Day Road, traumatic experiences with the wemistikoshiw changes the characters affected. For Xavier and Niska, their residential school experiences were extremely traumatic. Trauma is one of the ways in which people’s selfhood changes. As a result of these changes, their individuality, or selfhood, changes as well. The circular narrative of Joseph Boyden’s Three Day Road shows the transformative effects of trauma caused by the wemistikoshiw on Xavier and Niska through the residential schools,

Joseph Boyden’s novel, Three Day Road tells the story of two Indigenous men named Xavier and Elijah, in the Canadian army in World War II and how their time in it, comes to affect their identities and the rest of their lives. Boyden uses the fates of Xavier and Elijah, their aunt, Niska and Niska’s sister, Rabbit in the face of colonialism to demonstrate the important role of resilience in First Nations culture. Using the chapter entitled, “Kipwahakan (Captive),” where Niska tells Xavier the story of her leaving Residential School, my points are reinforced in the reading on “The Residential School System” found at the Indigenous Foundations. The writer theorizes, that one of the reasons for the discrepancy of cultural attachment within the

In Richard Wagamese's Indian Horse, the main character, Saul, experiences certain traumas that would normally launch him straight into adulthood. Instead, Wagamese shows the transition from the innocence of childhood to adulthood and how Saul is able to come to terms with his past by using certain motifs and symbols such as his vision, hockey, alcohol and circles.

Woods, Eric Taylor. A Cultural Approach to a Canadian Tragedy: The Indian Residential Schools as a Sacred Enterprise. Vol. 26, No. 2 (February 16, 2013), 173-187. Web. 25 November 2014.

As a result, illnesses such as tuberculosis, small pox, and measles went uncured which led to the death of many Indigenous students (The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, 2012). This was illustrated in Wenjack where it is mentioned how Chanie had developed a lung infection, tuberculosis, which he had failed to receive treatment for. It is noted by Boyden (2016) that “tuberculosis and similar diseases had taken thousands of Indian children’s lives” (p. 11). The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (2012) state how the high mortality rates of students caused devastation within families hoping their children would return home. As a result, they spent their lives grieving never knowing how their child died or where their body was placed. Thus, it is no surprise that the statistics demonstrate that the Aboriginal population has higher rates of premature death (Pederson et al., date). Unfortunately, neglect in Aboriginal’s health care still continues to occur to this day. In particular, Pederson et al. (date) mentions how poor economic and social conditions in the Indigenous community exist which contribute to these individuals viewing their health status as low. Additionally, the neglect in this population has resulted in a reduction in their social determinants of health. For instance, Pederson et al. (date) recognize how physical neglect has resulted in “poverty, poor housing and substance abuse” (p. 297). As a result of being neglected, the Aboriginal population is continuing to suffer which further leads to consequences in their health. Thus, Wenjack enables the reader to acknowledge how neglect continues to play a role in harming the lives on the Aboriginal

Hook: Laurell.K Hamilton, an American author once said, “There are wounds that never show on the body that are deeper and more hurtful than anything that bleeds. Trauma and emotional scarring in residential schools was very common among indigenous children. This internal pain was caused by a missing void in these children’s lives before they arrived at the residential schools.

(Hanson). Aboriginal heritage and culture was seen as inferior, and traditions as “the devils works”, thus children of the communities were victim to the Euro-Canadian system. Native children were forcibly taken from the nurturing care of their families as young as four years of age to remote institutes where they would soon be introduced to horrors of rape, malnutrition, beatings, confinement, and forced labour (Animikii). Aboriginal peoples were treated as savages, their identities’ demeaned.

Other characters affect Sheila and Sheila’s ideas. Gerald affects Sheila’s character and makes her less naïve and makes her realise that their relationship isn’t perfect. He also makes Sheila become more serious. The break down in Sheila and Gerald’s relationship and when she finds out about Gerald’s affair, shows her maturity as she doesn’t get upset about it and respects Gerald more. The inspector influences Sheila and breaks down her traditional ideas and situates Eva in relation to Sheila. The inspector influences Sheila and encourages her to change and think about other people rather than herself. The Inspector teaches Sheila about social morals and how discriminative the class system is. Because of this, Sheila changes her morals and views on society.

In the play, Jonny outline about the life she had in the residential school, the effect and how it lead to a street life for her. As mentioned earlier, First Nations children experience all kind of abuse in the school. Abuse can result in high risk of developing both mental and physical health issue for the victim, which can further affect their living ability. The impact does not stop when they left the residential school, it was a long-term effect for the survivors. The disconnecting of children with their parents also causes the loss of the First Nations culture, tradition, language, and the loss of their families connections. Some are fortunate to return and reunite with their families, but some never did had the chance. This became one of the despair in many survivors’

Yellow Horse Brave Heart, Chase, Elkins, and Altschul (2011) define historical trauma as “cumulative emotional and psychological wounding across generations, including the lifespan, which emanates from massive group trauma” (p. 283). This theory stems from the field of social work and psychiatry, as Yellow Horse Brave Heart is a mental health expert. She is also a Native American (Conversations About Historical Trauma, Part One, 2013). The theory of historical trauma is central to thinking about the Native American experience, especially when considering “histories of genocide, colonization, forced assimilation, and exclusion that undermine intergenerational health and well-being” (Yellow Horse Brave Heart et al., p. 283). This theory shows that interactions with systems, such as those posited by Bronfenbrenner, have ripple effects that can last for generations. It also shows that the direct cause of a problem may not be immediately visible, and may not be an individual’s fault. It may, in fact, be the cause of years of exploitation, abuse, and disempowerment. This is particularly important for Native Americans because they continue to be disproportionately affected by extreme poverty, substance abuse, depression, and other health issues. For human service professionals, it is important to remember that clients may have an entire history of traumatic experiences that the professional may know nothing about.