Indian Horse
Unit
Richard Wagamese
Indian Horse – Richard Wagamese
Pre-Reading:
1) What is racism?
2) Where are some examples of racism that you are familiar with or have experienced?
During Reading:
Read the following article about the author, Richard Wagamese. As you are reading,
underline anything that you think may have had an impact on his identity as an adult.
Richard Wagamese: Shebandowan
When I was a younger man, my idea of Canada was different than it is now. In fact, as I
grew the image of the country altered too, just as it has for generations of youth both
First Nations and not. We have that in common. We mature and our sensibilities and
what we learn to see become more focused and sharper. Or it doesn’t.
As a small boy Canada was a muddle. I lived in a foster on Tenth St. North in the Rideout
area of Kenora. There were not a lot of Ojibwa kids in my school and I played with kids
named Loranger, Zuleski, Waters, Campbell and Parks. I was left behind on family
vacations, and shunted to the side at celebrations. Home had no real reference point for
me and I thought Canada was where the white people lived.
In the home I was adopted into at nine, Canada became a huge city on the skyline. It
became endless, fast lines of automobiles. It became noise; of factories, manufacturing
and construction at the same time that it became the hurry-scurry of people on sidewalks
barely noticing each other or their varied colors. Home still had no real reference point
and I thought Canada was where anybody other than the Indians lived.
On the streets I drifted to at 16 Canada became a desperate venture into finding jobs,
shelter and a sense of purpose. It became the place where labels were attached. Labels
that I didn’t understand or felt that I deserved. I was a lazy, drunken, shiftless bum with
unmotivated, unskilled, uneducated and untrained thrown in for good measure. I thought
Canada was where the fortunate people lived.
Then, when I hit the road as a hitch-hiker Canada became a stunning array of awe
inspiring vistas, landscapes culled from the whimsy of an articulate God and the poignant
heartache and yearning of peoples coaxed from their homelands to start again here. I
identified greatly with that. In my late teens and early twenties I felt like an immigrant
myself, searching for a new shore to start a better story.
But there’s a place in northern
Ontario called Shebandowan. It’s a tiny little railroad town and in the mid-70s there
wasn’t a lot going on. Just a small store that doubled as a post office, a hotel where the
miners and the railroad workers drank and a few houses scattered about willy-nilly. The
highway ran through it though I doubt if many travelers ever really saw it.
Back then I was always on my way to somewhere else and I stooped to work in
Shebandowan for a while. The CNR hired me out of Thunder Bay to be a line labourer
responsible for levelling track, clearing switches and basically ensuring that trains could
always make it through. I got to know the land pretty well because I’d take long walks for
something to do when I wasn’t working. It was one of those places that’s really only a
stopover.
My only breaks came when we’d go to Thunder Bay every three weeks to load up on
groceries. There I’d get my fill of movies and restaurant food, buy new books and music
and then head back to work, set to earn enough money to get out of there. It was a
funny little place. It had an Ojibwa name but there weren’t any Ojibwa around except for
me. Sure, every weekend Indian kids would come in from Atikokan or Kaministiquia or
Kekabeka Falls but they were there and gone again come Monday morning.
I’d sit in the tavern and watch them interact with the miners and the other working men
who filled the old hotel. The tavern was nothing more than a wooden bar, a dozen tables,
a shuffleboard, a pool table and a big TV for the hockey games on Saturday nights. Those
kinds of places are everywhere across Canada and this one was typical. The miners would
let the Ojibwa kids win at pool so they could get them drunk and laugh. Every now and
then a fight would break out and the place would be mayhem.
For me it was difficult. I hadn’t really connected with my own people yet and to see this
display of subtle racism over and over again made me feel strange and odd as though
there were something I should do but I didn’t know what or how. It was the mid-70s and
Canada was a different place.
At 55, I’ve grown to be comfortable in my own skin and the pride I feel as an Ojibwa man
doesn’t allow me to condone racism whether it’s subtle or not. Shebandowan and the
early years of my life taught me there were differences – age has taught me to celebrate
them.
Richard Wagamese is one of Canada’s foremost Native authors and storytellers. Working
as a professional writer since 1979 he’s been a newspaper columnist and reporter, radio
and television broadcaster and producer, documentary producer and the author of
eleven titles from major Canadian publishers with a new novel, Indian Horse, coming in
early 2012.
Source:
"Richard Wagamese: Shebandowan - Working Effectively with Aboriginal People„¢.comWorking Effectively with Aboriginal
Peoples„¢.com." Working Effectively with Aboriginal Peoples„¢.com | Your guide to working effectively with Aboriginal
Peoples including the Indian or First Nations, Inuit, and Metis Peoples. Working Effectively with Aboriginal People„¢.com |
Your guide to working effective. N.p., 12 Oct. 2012. Web. 25 Sept. 2013.
<http://workingeffectivelywithaboriginalpeoples.com/richard-wagamese-shebandowan>.
After Reading:
Now that you have some background on the author, read the quote below that is from
the first chapter of Indian Horse and answer the following question:
“They say I can’t understand where I’m going if I don’t understand where I’ve been”
(Wagamese 2).
1) What does this quote mean? Think of an example from your life where this quote
could be significant and write down what it means to you in the space below.
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2) How do you think this story will be related to the life of the author?
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Indian Horse – Richard Wagamese
As you read chapter one in Indian Horse, create a list of questions that you have about
what is going on. Write your questions to the left of the page. After we read the chapter
together, get into groups and share the questions that you created. Answer them as a
group, and place the answers on the right side.
Questions
Answers
What do you think the purpose of this chapter is?
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Indian Horse – Richard Wagamese
Answer the following questions with as much detail from the book as you can.
1) Chapter two describes how the name Indian Horse came to be. What do you think
is the significance of the story? What could it reveal about Saul Indian Horse?
2) Explain what you believe is the significance of God’s Lake. (Chapters 5 and 6)
3) In chapter 8, the mother and the grandmother disagree about how to honour
Benjamin. What does this conflict of interest reveal to you?
4) In chapter 9, the first sentence is “The adults didn’t come back.” Why do you think
the adults did not come back?
5) What are your thoughts about the grandmother, by the time you get to the end of
chapter 10? What are some words you would use to describe her?
Response:
On a separate piece of paper, discuss what you consider to be family. What is your
definition of family and who fits into this? Explain your ideas with as many details as
possible. Complete the self-assessment below and hand in with your response.
Evaluation:
Thoughtfulness of response
Fully Meeting
The composition is
original and insightful.
Product is well crafted,
fully developed and
appropriate for the
audience and purpose.
Planning is evident and
the composition comes
together as a secure
whole. The student has
demonstrated confident
control of the language
elements and there are
few mechanical errors.
Those errors made are
likely a result of risk
taking.
Meeting
The composition is clear
and thoughtful. Product
is logical and
straightforward and
appropriate for the
purpose with some
awareness of the
audience.
Planning is evident and
the composition seems
complete. The student
demonstrates control
over language elements
and techniques. Minor
errors are noticeable but
do not impede
understanding.
Indian Horse – Richard Wagamese
/5
Not Yet Meeting
The composition is
satisfactory but
unrefined. Product is not
always clear or
organized and does not
show an awareness of
audience or purpose.
Less than adequate
planning resulted in
inconsistent
development of ideas.
Many errors result in
awkwardness and/or
obscured meaning.
Frequent mechanical
errors impede
understanding.
Insufficient
The composition is
unclear and unfocused.
Product is difficult to
follow. The purpose is
unclear, and may be off
topic.
There is no evidence of
planning. The
composition shows an
uncertain grasp of basic
language elements.
Sentences are
incomplete, run-on or
simple in structure.
Numerous mechanical
errors impede
understanding.
Before Reading:
List everything you know about residential schools below:
During Reading:
Read the graphic novel entitled Sugar Falls. While you are reading it, write down
any new points about residential schools that did not come up in our discussions.
Listen to the podcast.
http://archive.org/details/DaveRobertsonSugarFallsAResidentialSchoolStory
After Reading:
What do you see are the greatest impacts that residential schools had on First
Nations people?
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Fully Meeting
The composition is
original and insightful.
Product is well crafted,
fully developed and
appropriate for the
audience and purpose.
Planning is evident and
the composition comes
together as a secure
whole. The student has
demonstrated confident
control of the language
elements and there are
few mechanical errors.
Those errors made are
likely a result of risk
taking.
Meeting
The composition is clear
and thoughtful. Product
is logical and
straightforward and
appropriate for the
purpose with some
awareness of the
audience.
Planning is evident and
the composition seems
complete. The student
demonstrates control
over language elements
and techniques. Minor
errors are noticeable but
do not impede
understanding.
Not Yet Meeting
The composition is
satisfactory but
unrefined. Product is not
always clear or
organized and does not
show an awareness of
audience or purpose.
Less than adequate
planning resulted in
inconsistent
development of ideas.
Many errors result in
awkwardness and/or
obscured meaning.
Frequent mechanical
errors impede
understanding.
Insufficient
The composition is
unclear and unfocused.
Product is difficult to
follow. The purpose is
unclear, and may be off
topic.
There is no evidence of
planning. The
composition shows an
uncertain grasp of basic
language elements.
Sentences are
incomplete, run-on or
simple in structure.
Numerous mechanical
errors impede
understanding.
Indian Horse – Richard Wagamese
1) On page 48, Saul says “I learned that I could draw the boundaries of my physical
self inward, collapse the space I occupied and become a more, a speck, an
indifferent atom in its own peculiar orbit.”
Do you think this is a realistic portrayal of what would happen for a child this age?
It appears he is one of the few that is able to do this – why?
2) What is the significance of chapter 13 (with the fish)?
3) Chapter 15 introduces hockey into the novel. What do you think it was about
hockey that spoke to Saul?
4) What are three ways that Saul is isolated or separated from everyone else in this
section?
5) “When your innocence is stripped from you, when your people are denigrated,
when the family 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” (81).
Where is there evidence of this in this section?
Indian Horse – Richard Wagamese
“But I knew that loneliness would be dispelled by the sheen of the rink in the
sunlight, the feel of cold air on my face, the sound of a wooden stick shuffling
frozen rubber” (73).
Saul had a connection with hockey the second he learned what it was. By the end
of chapter 24, you should have a sense of the impact it had on his life at that time.
Your task is to research the reason why hockey has such an impact on people,
specifically Canadian people. You have one class to do research on this.
The Steps:
1) Go to the website http://rightojibwe.blogspot.ca/2011/03/hockey-part-ofindian-reserves.html which is a blog called Native Perspective and Ojibway
Confessions. Read the blog entry and think about how that connects with what
you have read so far.
2) Start looking at what other websites say about hockey and its impact on
Canadians. Why do we go crazy for hockey?
3) Write a one-page response about what you have learned. You need to
incorporate at least one quote into this response from a website. See the separate
page on referencing to determine how to do this.
Evaluation:
You will be evaluated on your content, whether your quotes are incorporated
correctly and whether they contribute to the response, writing style, Works Cited
page, spelling and grammar. You will also go through the editing process with this
paper, so you will be evaluated on your assessment of yourself and others.
Indian Horse – Richard Wagamese
)
1) In Chapter 29, the Kapuskasing Chiefs challenge The Moose to a hockey game.
Why do you think they did this? Why did Saul feel uncomfortable agreeing to
do so?
2) Examine the following quotations carefully, and explain why they are
significant in the story.
Quotation
“The Moose went from jubilant boys to
hard, taciturn men in no time at all” (131).
Significance in the story
“We crossed a line. Their line. They figure
they got the right to make us pay for that”
(136).
What line?
“I knew my team wanted me to buckle.
They wanted me to bare my fists and fight.
But I would not do that” (143).
Why?
Why?
3) This section ends with Saul drafted to the Toronto Marlboros. What is one
prediction you can make about how this will affect Saul?
Writing Task:
This section focuses on how Saul deals with everything that is dealt to him
after the residential school; it is really a testament to how he deals with
pressures in his life. Your task is to write a minimum of one paragraph on how
people deal with pressure. How long can someone take being bullied or
taunted? What are some ways that people deal with being bullied or taunted
repeatedly?
Your response will be evaluated based on the level of thoughtfulness. Complete the selfassessment below and hand in with your response.
Fully Meeting
The composition is
original and insightful.
Product is well crafted,
fully developed and
appropriate for the
audience and purpose.
Planning is evident and
the composition comes
together as a secure
whole. The student has
demonstrated confident
control of the language
elements and there are
few mechanical errors.
Those errors made are
likely a result of risk
taking.
Meeting
The composition is clear
and thoughtful. Product
is logical and
straightforward and
appropriate for the
purpose with some
awareness of the
audience.
Planning is evident and
the composition seems
complete. The student
demonstrates control
over language elements
and techniques. Minor
errors are noticeable but
do not impede
understanding.
Not Yet Meeting
The composition is
satisfactory but
unrefined. Product is not
always clear or
organized and does not
show an awareness of
audience or purpose.
Less than adequate
planning resulted in
inconsistent
development of ideas.
Many errors result in
awkwardness and/or
obscured meaning.
Frequent mechanical
errors impede
understanding.
Insufficient
The composition is
unclear and unfocused.
Product is difficult to
follow. The purpose is
unclear, and may be off
topic.
There is no evidence of
planning. The
composition shows an
uncertain grasp of basic
language elements.
Sentences are
incomplete, run-on or
simple in structure.
Numerous mechanical
errors impede
understanding.
Indian Horse – Richard Wagamese
1) Examine the following quotations carefully, and explain their significance
in the story.
Quotation
These guys weren’t mean. They weren’t
vicious. They were just indifferent, and
that hurts a whole lot more” (163).
Significance in the story
“But the press would not let me be.
When I hit someone, it wasn’t just a
bodycheck; I was counting coup…If I
inadvertently high-sticked someone… I
was taking scalps… When I did not
react… I was the stoic Indian(163).
“Yeah, well, maybe I’m better suited to
a tomahawk than a hockey stick” (166).
How does this affect Saul?
“I discovered that being someone you
are not is often easier than living with
the person you are” (181).
2) Chapter 39 is a flashback to St. Jerome’s. Read this chapter over again. What is
the purpose of it?
3) Chapter 42 shows that Saul fights back when he plays hockey now, something
he did not do before. However, the results are not what the players had hoped
for. What happens based on how he plays?
Indian Horse – Richard Wagamese
Let’s head to the computers and investigate the treatment of First Nations people today.
This book is set in the 1960s. Do you think that much has changed?
Find a newspaper or magazine article, news story, government report, etc. that discusses
any issue that is present in this book; you could discuss racism in sport, living conditions,
education. Complete the following assignment using that article.
Issues faced by First
Nations people in the
novel
Current Event related to this
Indian Horse – Richard Wagamese
Explanation of whether things
have changed or not
1) In Chapter 45, Saul meets Erv Sift, who he describes as his angel. Despite having
him, he still struggles: “There was a part of me that desperately wanted to close
the gap I felt between myself and people. But there was a bigger part that I could
not understand. It was the part of me that sought separation. It was the part of me
that simmered quietly with rage I hadn’t ever lost, and a part of me that knew if
the top ever came off of that, then I would truly be alone” (187).
Explain this quote. What does Saul mean? What do you think is the source of his
conflict?
2) Chapter 49 leads Saul to an important realization about his past and what he had
been doing with his life. What did his realization about Father Leboutilier allow
him to realize about his life?
3) What is foreshadowing? Looking back in the book, what are two examples that
could be considered foreshadowing?
Indian Horse – Richard Wagamese
Your task is to do some research about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of
Canada (TRC). You will learn what it is by summarizing information from the website
below:
Fill in the flowchart below to determine its significance and connection to this story. The
information can be found in the website under FAQs.
http://www.trc.ca/websites/trcinstitution/index.php?p=3
What is the TRC?
What
does the
TRC hope to achieve?
What
will the TRC do?
What
is their focus?
Why is it important to Canadians?
How will they receive stories and ensure that everyone is heard?
Now that you have done some research, explain how this could connect to Indian Horse.
Complete the self-assessment below and hand in with your response.
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Fully Meeting
The composition is
original and insightful.
Product is well crafted,
fully developed and
appropriate for the
audience and purpose.
Planning is evident and
the composition comes
together as a secure
whole. The student has
demonstrated confident
control of the language
elements and there are
few mechanical errors.
Those errors made are
likely a result of risk
taking.
Meeting
The composition is clear
and thoughtful. Product
is logical and
straightforward and
appropriate for the
purpose with some
awareness of the
audience.
Planning is evident and
the composition seems
complete. The student
demonstrates control
over language elements
and techniques. Minor
errors are noticeable but
do not impede
understanding.
Not Yet Meeting
The composition is
satisfactory but
unrefined. Product is not
always clear or
organized and does not
show an awareness of
audience or purpose.
Less than adequate
planning resulted in
inconsistent
development of ideas.
Many errors result in
awkwardness and/or
obscured meaning.
Frequent mechanical
errors impede
understanding.
Insufficient
The composition is
unclear and unfocused.
Product is difficult to
follow. The purpose is
unclear, and may be off
topic.
There is no evidence of
planning. The
composition shows an
uncertain grasp of basic
language elements.
Sentences are
incomplete, run-on or
simple in structure.
Numerous mechanical
errors impede
understanding.
Indian Horse – Richard Wagamese
Literary Criticism Essay
Your task is to write a well-organized five-paragraph keyhole essay on one of the
following choices. You need to develop a strong thesis statement and include a minimum
of two quotes within your essay.
Topics:
1) Examine how escaping from situations is a way to cope with life.
2) Discuss how racism and discrimination is shown in the novel.
3) Examine how love and support can affect anyone’s life positively.
4) A topic of your choice (check with Ms. Schaan please)
Requirements:




A five paragraph essay with an introductory paragraph, three body paragraphs,
and one concluding paragraph.
You will need to create a thesis statement, which will be approved by Ms. Schaan
BEFORE you start any research.
You will fill in an Essay Planning Sheet (EPS) before you start writing out your
essay
Your essay must have a MINIMUM of TWO quotes which are cited properly within
your paper. I will show you how to do this.
Steps:
1)
2)
3)
4)
Choose a topic that interests you.
Create a thesis statement and have me approve it.
Start filling in your Essay Planning Sheet.
When your EPS is done, you can start writing your paragraphs for you rough draft.
This draft does not have to be perfect, as it is ROUGH!
5) Self-assess your work.
6) Peer edit the essays.
7) Take in your editor’s advice and revise your essay. This will be your good copy.
8) Hand it in – You will hand in:
Typed good copy, with proper format
and title, on top
Edited rough draft
Editing guide that someone else has
filled out for your paper
Self-assessment sheet
Essay Planning Sheet (EPS)
Evaluation:







Content (details and examples to prove your thesis)
Quotes (cited correctly within the paper)
Sentence structure (complex sentences – not short and choppy)
Organization (effective introduction and conclusion, transitions used within and
between paragraphs)
Spelling and grammar
Process (completing the EPS, rough draft, self-assessment, and peer editing)
Formalities and tense (no I, you, etc., and PRESENT tense is consistent)
Timeline:
EPS Due: ________________________________________________
Rough Draft Due: _______________________________________
Good Copy Due: ________________________________________
ONE FINAL THOUGHT…
Plagiarism is a serious offence in school. You may NOT take someone’s ideas and pass
them off as your own. You are more than welcome to take other’s ideas for this paper,
but you must cite your sources. Any suspected plagiarism will be dealt with in a serious
manner.
Example of how to put a quote in your essay:
Saul knows that fighting back against those who are taunting the team is not appropriate
way to handle the situation, however, he also knows that it will not go away: “I didn’t
want the Moose to fail. I didn’t want them coming back defeated, bearing the memory of
a battle they’d never had a chance to win” (Wagamese 120).