Indian Horse

Saul Indian Horse is the main character and narrator of the novel. He is writing it as a form of therapy while residing at the New Dawn Centre treatment facility for his alcoholism. He begins his life living in the bush, a fear of the white man having been instilled in him. He then lives in various border camps and eventually in his ancestral land of Gods Lake, where he experiences his first vision. When he leaves and his grandmother dies, Saul is taken to St. Jerome’s Indian Residential School, where he is an outsider due to his familiarity with English.

Only when introduced to hockey does he feel any sense of comfort or camaraderie, and he practices every day, covertly at first, then alongside his teammates. His visions help him master the game, enabling him to see patterns and anticipate plays. Saul is uncomfortable playing white teams but is asked to do so due to his skill. When he is shunned due to racism, he is at first steadfast in maintaining his ideal of the game but eventually succumbs to violence, unable to escape his rage at his painful childhood. When hockey stops providing escapism, he turns to manual labor and nature and, eventually, alcohol.