IndexIntroductionIndian Horse: Saul's TraumaConclusionIntroductionA good childhood experience reflects a lot on the way you behave as you get older, school life for a child should be memorable and he should be able to apply the teachings to their lives, but unfortunately that's not what Saul Indian Horse can relate to. Richard Wagamese's novel Indian Horse illustrates the trauma and abuse that Saul Indian Horse endures at St Jeromes, an Indian residential school where nuns and priests are expected to inculturate Canadian culture in them. Children are taken away from their families and are forced to live in these residential schools and forced to follow their ways. Saul is negatively affected by residential life due to his identity, being separated from his family, stripping him of his culture that made him feel unworthy, and resisting the trauma and abuse he experiences. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayIndian Horse: Saul's TraumaSaul was taken away from his family by the white men also known as Zhanagush in St.Jermomes. Naiomi and Saul were both headed to Minaki to meet her nephew Minoose, along the way they encountered many obstacles such as the canoe breaking in the river and they didn't have much clothing to keep them warm, once they got to Minaki Naiomi passed away with Saul in his arms and the Zhanagush sees him and takes him away in the car with a blanket over him. Saul states: “Someone picked me up, I felt the old woman's arms fall, I approached her shouting in a mixture of Ojibway and English. She remained slumped in the corner, her hair covered in snow, her hands cupped as if she were still holding me. I wanted to help her up so we could continue walking. And instead I let myself be carried away." Saulo felt heartbroken and scared, he didn't want to be taken away from his grandmother and he wanted to continue walking with her. He doesn't want to leave his body there, Saul and his grandmother Naomi are very close to each other, Saul loves her very much, he did everything he could to keep him safe. His grandmother is part of his identity and the white man took that part of his identity away, his grandmother is the only person he knows who will always take care of him and be there for him. Being taken away from his grandmother was very heartbreaking for Saul, but no more so than the stripping of his culture. At St. Jerome many children are beaten and deprived of their culture and rituals that shatter the human spirit. The children who attend residential schools are children who have their own culture and rituals that are part of their identity, just like Saul, but who are taken away from the schools. Saul says, “When your innocence is stripped from you, when your people are vilified, when the family you come from is denounced and your tribal ways and rituals are declared backward, primitive, savage, you come to see yourself as less than human . This is hell on earth, that sense of unworthiness.” It is clear that the children of Saint Jerome and Saul are stripped of everything, of their language, their clothes, their rites and their traditions. This made them feel unworthy and useless. Saul describes the schools as “hell on earth,” meaning they never treated that place as a school but as daily torture. This also shows that the threats and beatings have belittled the children, including Saul, and by sowing that fear in them, they rob Saul of his lifelong identity as well as his innocence. Being deprived of a culture and learning a new one is a lot for a child to bear,.