Facing Hardship and the Road to Healing

All cultures face challenges, but the First Nations of Canada have faced some of the greatest challenges of all. Some of these being racism, discrimination, and abuse. Based on history how does one recover from experiencing intense hardship? The novel, Indian Horse, written by Richard Wagamese is a story set in 1960, Ontario. This story is about a young aboriginal man named Saul, his journey through residential schools to his eventual recovery. After facing racism and discrimination he must find a way to heal from his trauma and move past his pain. Sugar Falls written by David Robertson is about a young girl, Betsy, who is taken from her family and sent to a residential school. She must find the strength to endure through hardship and keep her promise to hold onto her culture and relationships. Both Saul from Indian Horse and Betsy from Sugar Falls recover from their hardship by opening up to those close to them and remembering their culture. Saul goes through his recovery alone without letting others help him until the very end of his journey. He finally realizes he needs to let others help him when he reaches his lowest point; he is able to recover through talking about his experiences; whereas, Betsy opens up and tells her story to educate others. She is able to find peace through remembering her culture and letting it give her strength. Ultimately they both recover through embracing their culture and opening up to others; thereby showing others how to face hardship.

After facing abuse at the residential school and racism at the hockey rink Saul begins to give into his anger. Saul is running from his problems and he fears having a family again for he has felt the pain of loss. For example he says, “It was far easier to leave if you never truly arrived in the first place” (Wagamese, 188). Saul says this as he leaves his new friend Ervin who offered him a home, he does not get too attached to those he meets as it hurts to open up to people. The reason he will not open up and tell his story is because he is unable to face himself. Throughout Saul’s journey he has experienced plenty of pain from getting close to people, even from Father Leboutilier, a man who he believed was his friend. While this may be true he does have those who try to help him: “We’re here if you need us, don’t forget that” (Wagamese, 194). While many of Saul’s experiences end up hurting him he does eventually learn to trust people and open up. Saul’s great grandfather Shabogeesick says, “You have come to learn to carry this place within you. This place of beginnings and endings” (Wagamese, 205). While Saul has lost many people and places he would call home he has kept his true home and family with him at all times. When he opens up to people and embraces his culture he is able to start healing. He does this by going back to where it all began and he realizes that his family and culture give him strength even though there is pain as well.

Betsy finds the strength to endure the residential school by holding on to her relationships and remembering the strength of her culture: “Relationships, this is where we find our strength as a people” (Robertson, 12). Betsy promises to hold onto her relationships and whenever she has a moment of weakness she remembers the promise she made to her father. In one such instance of weakness Betsy is about to leave the school to go home but “as quickly as I forgot I remembered everything” (Robertson, 35). The promise she makes is something she holds onto even after she leaves the residential school; Betsy begins to embrace her culture even more and is open to sharing her story. The residential schools were built to assimilate the First Nations and get rid of their culture but it’s Betsy’s connection to her culture that gives her the will to keep going: “No matter what they did to me, I held onto myself, my language, and my spirit” (Robertson, 38). Betsy knew that no matter how bad things were, holding onto her culture and spirit through this terrible time was a victory.

Saul and Betsy both go through very different paths to recovery but their final solution is the same. “So I went back to talk. I went back to learn to share the truth I had discovered locked deep inside me” (Wagamese, 207). Saul has learned that he can no longer run from his problems but that he has to share his experience and get help. “It took me forever for me to learn how to face my own truth. I ran from it for years and years” (Wagamese, 209). Saul talks to his adopted family as they went through residential schools as well. Saul learns that he is not alone by talking to those who have had the same experience as he has. “We need to look at the past to teach others our stories and the look forward, together, with knowledge and healing” (Robertson, 40). On the other hand Betsy talks to the younger generation to help educate them on what really happened at the residential schools. Talking about their experience helps them face the past and come to terms with it. Furthermore they both grow in their First Nations culture and realize that this is a part of who they are; it’s something they should be proud of instead of feeling ashamed as the residential schools would teach them.

In conclusion, both the novel Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese and the graphic novel Sugar Falls written by David Robertson show that healing can be achieved through opening up to others and that one must face their past, in their case they must embrace their culture. Saul finds that his culture and family are always with him and because of this he finds the strength to open up to others. Betsy having already found that strength in her culture and relationships aims to educate people by telling her story. Facing ones past it always difficult but it is necessary; whether it’s to educate or to heal. One can’t run from their problems but they have to face them just as Saul and Betsy do.

Two things I did well:

I believe I was able to answer my original thesis while giving a good “so what” at the end.

I also believe that I chose good quotes to help answer my question.

Two things I need to improve on:

I need to make sure I stick to my thesis as there are times when I felt I was getting a bit off track.

I could have given more background information so that the reader would know the context of each characters problems.