Re-Creation, Re-Membrance, and Resurgence: Richard Wagamese’s Indian Horse
This article examines the novel Indian Horse (2012), written by Ojibwe Wabaseemoong Independent Nations member Richard Wagamese (1955-2017) at the height of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission era. Wagamese finds inspiration in the testimonies and experiences of hundreds of victims of Canada’s r...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Canada and Beyond |
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| Online Access: | https://revistas.usal.es/dos/index.php/2254-1179/article/view/31459 |
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| author | Celia Cores Antepazo |
| author_facet | Celia Cores Antepazo |
| author_sort | Celia Cores Antepazo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article examines the novel Indian Horse (2012), written by Ojibwe Wabaseemoong Independent Nations member Richard Wagamese (1955-2017) at the height of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission era. Wagamese finds inspiration in the testimonies and experiences of hundreds of victims of Canada’s residential school system, including those of his own family members. The article contextualizes the novel in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission era and explores Saul’s narrative journey to recover his suppressed memories of personal and collective abuse at St. Jerome’s Indian Residential School through the lens of Indigenous resurgence and grounded normativity. Thus, the paper draws on Michi Saagiig scholar Leanne Betasamosake Simpson’s writings on Indigenous radical resurgence to explore the retrieval of Indigenous ways of existing in the world as the way towards decolonization and Indigenous sovereignty. The paper argues that Saul is able to overcome his trauma-induced amnesia, born from the necessity to endure and adapt, and to escape the spiral of shame, isolation, and self-destruction in which he engages only after he embraces discursive Indigenous ways of healing. Wagamese therefore constructs a narrative in which the protagonist’s development mirrors the ideal that the author sets for Canada, in which reconciliation with Indigenous truth will not take place unless the whole story is acknowledged. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a9c7f89dcd684f1a8fa5ac69113f22c4 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2254-1179 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Canada and Beyond |
| spelling | doaj-art-a9c7f89dcd684f1a8fa5ac69113f22c42025-02-07T08:51:16ZengEdiciones Universidad de SalamancaCanada and Beyond2254-11792025-01-0114274310.14201/candb.v14i27-4336928Re-Creation, Re-Membrance, and Resurgence: Richard Wagamese’s Indian HorseCelia Cores Antepazo0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4509-6635Universidad de SalamancaThis article examines the novel Indian Horse (2012), written by Ojibwe Wabaseemoong Independent Nations member Richard Wagamese (1955-2017) at the height of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission era. Wagamese finds inspiration in the testimonies and experiences of hundreds of victims of Canada’s residential school system, including those of his own family members. The article contextualizes the novel in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission era and explores Saul’s narrative journey to recover his suppressed memories of personal and collective abuse at St. Jerome’s Indian Residential School through the lens of Indigenous resurgence and grounded normativity. Thus, the paper draws on Michi Saagiig scholar Leanne Betasamosake Simpson’s writings on Indigenous radical resurgence to explore the retrieval of Indigenous ways of existing in the world as the way towards decolonization and Indigenous sovereignty. The paper argues that Saul is able to overcome his trauma-induced amnesia, born from the necessity to endure and adapt, and to escape the spiral of shame, isolation, and self-destruction in which he engages only after he embraces discursive Indigenous ways of healing. Wagamese therefore constructs a narrative in which the protagonist’s development mirrors the ideal that the author sets for Canada, in which reconciliation with Indigenous truth will not take place unless the whole story is acknowledged.https://revistas.usal.es/dos/index.php/2254-1179/article/view/31459canadaindigenous literaturesindigenous resurgencememoryresidential school systemtruth and reconciliation |
| spellingShingle | Celia Cores Antepazo Re-Creation, Re-Membrance, and Resurgence: Richard Wagamese’s Indian Horse Canada and Beyond canada indigenous literatures indigenous resurgence memory residential school system truth and reconciliation |
| title | Re-Creation, Re-Membrance, and Resurgence: Richard Wagamese’s Indian Horse |
| title_full | Re-Creation, Re-Membrance, and Resurgence: Richard Wagamese’s Indian Horse |
| title_fullStr | Re-Creation, Re-Membrance, and Resurgence: Richard Wagamese’s Indian Horse |
| title_full_unstemmed | Re-Creation, Re-Membrance, and Resurgence: Richard Wagamese’s Indian Horse |
| title_short | Re-Creation, Re-Membrance, and Resurgence: Richard Wagamese’s Indian Horse |
| title_sort | re creation re membrance and resurgence richard wagamese s indian horse |
| topic | canada indigenous literatures indigenous resurgence memory residential school system truth and reconciliation |
| url | https://revistas.usal.es/dos/index.php/2254-1179/article/view/31459 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT celiacoresantepazo recreationremembranceandresurgencerichardwagamesesindianhorse |