Five Little Indians

Unlike many of her schoolmates who feel the need to resist their tormentors at the school, Lucy has always been obedient. However, her docile temperament doesn’t exempt her from Sister Mary’s abuse. While Lucy’s friends frequently experience bursts of rage in later years because of their traumatic childhoods, she exhibits symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Whenever she feels anxious, she cleans her small home from top to bottom and repetitively counts objects: dishes, floor tiles, etc.

Lucy aspires to succeed in the white world. After she is released from the Indian School at the age of 16, she attends nursing school and carves out a career for herself. When she meets Kenny years after they both leave the Mission, they marry and have a daughter named Kendra. Lucy never stops believing in Kenny’s goodness even though he can’t believe in himself. After his death, she decides to remain in their house to stay close to his spirit even though she now has the financial means to leave.

Clara is Lucy’s friend at the Mission and is also her coworker at the Manitou Motel. Unlike Lucy, Clara is feisty and prone to outbursts of rage. She attacks a white man after he approaches her for sex. She also beats the owner of the Manitou when he disparages Lucy’s high grades in her equivalency exam.

Clara finds a constructive outlet for her anger once she begins attending presentations at the Friendship Centre, where she meets George. He opens her eyes to the possibility of resistance against discrimination and abuse. Clara eventually finds a meaningful career as a legal advocate for Indians who find themselves on the wrong side of the law. This is how she meets Howie.

While Clara manages to function successfully in the white world, the internal damage from her years at the Mission requires help to heal. Clara’s real transformation doesn’t occur until she stays with Mariah, whose traditional remedies are both physical and spiritual. With Mariah’s help, Clara experiences a psychological cleansing that enables her to develop a meaningful relationship and a bright future with Howie.

Unlike the other Mission children, Howie’s family is Cree, and his home is in Saskatchewan. He was abducted by the police while visiting Vancouver and placed into the British Columbia school system over his mother’s objections. As a child, Howie is small and frightened, which makes him the perfect target for Brother’s abuse. He credits Kenny with helping him to endure the Mission and eventually escape from it. Howie lives at the Indian School for a few years instead of the full 10 because his mother takes him to the United States.

Despite the reprieve, Howie’s memories of those dark years will haunt him into adulthood. His rage first surfaces when he encounters Brother as an adult and nearly beats his abuser to death. This act puts Howie back into confinement for the second time in his life. After his release from prison, he almost follows the same downward trajectory as most of his classmates but is saved by the intervention of the Courtworkers.

Howie eventually regains his emotional balance. Returning to his mother’s house on the reserve reestablishes his connection to his people and their traditional way of life. His journey toward healing is complete once he goes on record to speak out against the abuses at the Mission. Howie is then free to let go of his past and advance toward a better future with Clara

Maisie’s story is the most tragic of the children who survived the Mission. She is the eldest of the group and has already established a life for herself in Vancouver. She has a job, an apartment, and a boyfriend.

However, because of Maisie’s sexual abuse at the hands of Father Levesque, she loathes herself and indulges in self-destructive behavior. She conducts an abusive sexual affair with an older white man and periodically cuts her skin to relieve her self-hatred. Lucy’s arrival on Maisie’s doorstep seems to reignite Maisie’s rage at her childhood helplessness. After Maisie’s boyfriend discovers her covert activities, he leaves her. Maisie then finds herself in a downward spiral with no one to catch her. As a result, she overdoses on heroin to end her pain permanently.