The Value of Nature
The Ojibway culture greatly values nature and believes that nature is the source of all things good. The theme of the value of nature is shown many different times in the story, starting when Saul's family goes to live in the woods to hide from the government agents. In this situation, the family believes the woods would protect the boys from being taken away. When Saul's brother grows ill with tuberculosis, the family takes him to Gods Lake to "ease his spirit" (17). Gods Lake is where the rest of the Indian Horse family had passed away and acts as a unique territory for their family only. Saul frequently refers to Gods Lake when in the residential school and goes to revisit it at the end of the book to let go of his trapped feelings and start anew. The value of nature brought by Saul's culture acted as an escape from his current life and a way to replenish his mind.
"The moon hung in the sky like the face of a drum. As I watched, it became the shining face of a rink where Indian boys cast-off skates laughed in the thrill of the game, the smallest among them zooming in and out on outsized skates. I offered tobacco to the lake where everything has started and everything ended, to the cliff that had made this place of my people, and I offered my thanks aloud in an Ojibway prayer." (206)
"The moon hung in the sky like the face of a drum. As I watched, it became the shining face of a rink where Indian boys cast-off skates laughed in the thrill of the game, the smallest among them zooming in and out on outsized skates. I offered tobacco to the lake where everything has started and everything ended, to the cliff that had made this place of my people, and I offered my thanks aloud in an Ojibway prayer." (206)
Racism
A huge problem that becomes the cause of Saul's tragic lifestyle is the racism towards the natives in Canada. Residential schooling for the native children whose rights are taken away completely is where racism is first demonstrated in the novel. As illustrated in the book, the white nuns and priests have no respect for the Ojibway culture and force these kids to forget everything they know about their family and what they were taught to believe in. Later, racism occurs again as Saul is taken on the Moose, an Indian hockey team, who plays against teams who are unfamiliar with native players. Fans of the game shout racial comments to the boys on the Moose because "[the white people] think it's their game." (129). When the team goes to eat at a cafe, they are rudely approached by some working men saying "We don't eat with Indians." (133). It is this racism shown throughout the book which pushes Saul to lose sight of the great game he used to love and stop playing to the benefit of his teammates and respect the sport of hockey.
Integrity
The character of Saul shows an important trait- integrity. Integrity is the quality of being honest and having strong moral uprightness which is a perfect description of how Saul deals with the reactions from the fans, fellow players, and the opposing team during his game. Saul has a very high level of respect for the game of hockey. He shows this by refusing to fight back with the other team when they pick fights with him or by not retaliating when a racial comment is made from the stands. Even when his own teammates tell him to hit the opposing team back, he replies with "That's not my game." (141). Saul knows that by hitting the other players it will cost penalty time for his own team and cause him to lose his love of simply playing the game, He doesn't let others take the game away from him. Unfortunately, by the end of the story, Saul loses his integrity of his vision for hockey and looks for negative ways to replace the love he lost.
"There are times in this world when you have to look hard at yourself. The challenge you feel is the one that burns in your gut. I knew my team wanted me to buckle. They wanted me to bare my fights and fight. But I would not do that. I would not surrender my vision of the game. I would not let go of my dream of it, the freedom, the release it gave me, the joy the game gave me. it wasn't anybody else's game to take away from me." (143)
"There are times in this world when you have to look hard at yourself. The challenge you feel is the one that burns in your gut. I knew my team wanted me to buckle. They wanted me to bare my fights and fight. But I would not do that. I would not surrender my vision of the game. I would not let go of my dream of it, the freedom, the release it gave me, the joy the game gave me. it wasn't anybody else's game to take away from me." (143)