Indian Horse

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. The Ojibway people are one of the Indigenous tribes that inhabited lands in North America. An important part of the Ojibway culture is the preservation of both the language as well as the traditions and way of life of the people. Use scholarly resources to learn about the Ojibway people and how the preservation of their way of life has been affected in contemporary society.

Teaching Suggestion: This question centers on supporting students’ discovery of the Ojibway culture and history. Students might be unfamiliar with this particular group; they can use the links below and their own outside research in answering the question.

• This article from The Canadian Encyclopedia provides an overview of the Ojibway people.
• This article from ShareAmerica is an opinion piece on steps toward preserving Indigenous culture and language.

2. “Re-education” systems were widely used by white colonial powers in order to assimilate Indigenous children on the North American continent into European ideals in the 19th and 20th centuries. More often than not, these “re-education” schools forced children to forget their heritage, culture, and languages, often through religious guilt, assault, and punitive measures. Based on your own knowledge of the treatment of Indigenous populations, consider and discuss the following questions: How does forced cultural assimilation harm future generations of Indigenous children? What is the legacy this treatment leaves behind on the relationship between Indigenous populations and contemporary governments?

Teaching Suggestion: This question provides context regarding the horrors illustrated in Wagamese’s novel during Saul’s childhood years. Suggested resources below provide information on both the Canadian re-education systems (where the novel is set) as well as similarly-structured American systems. Please note that content regarding this topic should be handled with sensitivity (content warnings: physical, emotional, and sexual abuse).

• This article from Open Library discusses the Indian Residential School System in Canada.
• This article from The Atlantic shares the family history of one woman’s grandmother about the “re-education” systems in the United States.

Short Activity

Research one of the Indigenous populations located in present-day Canada. Historically, where was this group located? What language did the group speak? Is this language spoken today? What are the historical and contemporary demographics of this population?

Teaching Suggestion: This activity might easily be adapted to focus on Indigenous peoples in the present-day United States or in parts of Latin America. Depending on class size, this activity may be completed individually or as a small group. Encourage the use of visuals such as maps and videos in presentations to the class. If applicable, connect questions on language to the novel’s theme of Communication versus Silence.