'Indian Horse' Essay

How is Alcohol Represented in ‘Indian Horse’? Consider the Methods used by Richard Wagamese.

The lasting effects of residential schools and systematic forced assimilation on Canada’s Indigenous population can be felt in a variety of ways. The alarming prevalence of alcoholism within this community is an issue that is often overlooked and misrepresented. In award-winning Canadian author Richard Wagamese’s 2010 novel ‘Indian Horse’, alcohol plays a key role in the life of Saul Indian Horse, and shapes many significant events in the story. Wagamese’s focus on Saul’s parents’ alcoholism demonstrates the ways in which intergenerational trauma deeply influences Saul’s future decisions; Saul’s choice to turn to alcohol as a coping mechanism leads to further social isolation and racial ridicule, ultimately worsening his situation; and after he has finally reached a breaking point, needing to be hospitalized and sent to a treatment centre, Saul is able to begin addressing these problems and discovering new ways of healing.

Richard Wagamese intentionally includes the detail of Saul’s parents’ drinking habit to foreshadow Saul’s future struggles with alcohol. In the third chapter, he writes: “When they returned they brought the white man with them in brown bottles … Sometimes my mother lurched to her feet and danced around the fire, and the shadow she threw against the skin of the tent was like the outline of a skeleton” (11). The simile “like the outline of a skeleton” evokes imagery of lifelessness and emptiness. Describing how his mother’s mental state deteriorates further when she starts relying on alcohol shows readers early on the effects it can have. This early on in the story, Saul is already witnessing the negative consequences of drinking. The use of limited narration when Saul attempts to describe the substance his parents are drinking and the effect it is having reminds readers how young Saul is at this moment. He doesn’t fully understand yet what is making his parents behave this way or the impact this could have on his family. This innocence and unfamiliarity was emphasized to show how Saul may be unintentionally inheriting these patterns, by observing them in the adults around him. This detail was likely inspired by the author’s own childhood, as Richard Wagamese and his siblings struggled at a young age, experiencing parental neglect, due to his parents’ drinking problems. It can be assumed this was one factor that contributed to Wagamese’s own alcoholism in the years that followed. In an article from ‘Addiction’, a journal that publishes peer-reviewed reports on behavioural and pharmacological addictions, published on behalf of the Society for the Study of Addiction, it is stated that: “Almost all prospective studies on this topic have found that parental drinking predicts drinking behaviour in their children; that is, when one or both parents drink more, their offspring are more likely to report more drinking or more alcohol-related problems later on than others in the cohort” (Rossow et al. 214). This phenomenon is seen clearly through Saul’s experiences, as well as those of Wagamese. This makes it clear why Wagamese would choose to include that aspect of Saul’s upbringing, and how it would hint at his future alcohol-related troubles.

Chapter 44 shows Saul starting to use alcohol as a primary coping mechanism, which further enforces the stereotypes that he has spent years trying to escape, and ultimately exacerbates his problems. “I’m not sure when I began to drink myself. I only know that when I did the roaring in my belly calmed. In alcohol I found an antidote to exile” (180). This moment illustrates the sense of isolation Saul is experiencing after suffering through severe racial abuse and the trauma of his childhood, and how it has contributed to his reliance on alcohol. By using limited narration, readers can see that his drinking has impaired his memory. This is included to create a sense of worry, indicating that the problem has progressed to such an extent that he can’t even remember how it started. Saul soon realizes this coping mechanism does more harm than good. “I’d move on to a new crowd in a new tavern, a new place where the Indian in me was forgotten… I spoke less and drank more, and I became the Indian again; drunken and drooling and reeling, a caricature everyone sought to avoid” (181). This period of first-person, stream-of-consciousness narration gives an excruciating look at Saul’s despair at his failure to escape the prejudice and judgments that have followed and tormented him for years. Wagamese included this commentary to demonstrate the irony in Saul’s action: he uses alcohol to cope with being “othered” and alienated because of racial stereotypes, only for this to result in more racial discrimination. An article in ‘Depression Research and Treatment’, published by Hindawi Publishing Corporation, which specializes in peer-reviewed scientific journals with a focus on medical literature, discusses how Indigenous youth tend to struggle with excessive drinking in greater numbers than adolescents of other races.

In Canada, the Aboriginal Peoples Survey showed that 73% of First Nations respondents reported that alcohol was a problem in their communities. A recent review concluded that rates of alcohol misuse are higher among American Indians than among those in the general U.S. population, and that this is true for both adults and adolescents. (Stewart et al. 1)

The research indicates that this particular aspect of Saul’s alcohol issues (hopelessness, resulting in “becoming” the stereotype, which further enhances the problem) is quite common among people who share his background. In fact, Wagamese himself struggled with alcoholism throughout his lifetime, potentially due to similar factors. 

It is only after Saul hits “rock bottom”, is hospitalized for his problems with alcohol, and subsequently visits the New Dawn Centre, that he can begin to understand the extent of his trauma and find healthier ways to manage it. “I saw things I can’t even begin to describe and I was reduced to an incoherent babble and thrashing about” (190). The limited narration style used shows that Saul chooses not to provide information about the things he saw, because of how disturbing and emotionally troubling they were. This makes it evident to readers how badly he was affected by his drinking. “Getting to the part about that long downward spiral let me surface into the light for the first time in a very long time” (190). This metaphor is used to illustrate how reaching such a low point allowed Saul to obtain the help and support he needed and begin to work through his trauma in a healthier way. The correlation between Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Substance Use Disorder (SUD) has been researched extensively by licensed clinical professional Amie Myrick, who worked at an outpatient mental health centre for ten years, and Priscilla Dass-Brailsford, a Psychology professor at Georgetown University. They argue that integrated approaches, which simultaneously address both disorders are necessary for effective treatment. 

Adverse events in childhood have been correlated with the onset of alcohol use at an earlier age (Dube et al., 2006)… a review of multiple epidemiological studies found a higher occurrence of SUD among individuals diagnosed with PTSD compared to those without such a history (Chilcoat & Menard, 2003). An earlier prospective study by one of the same authors found that individuals diagnosed with PTSD had a four times higher risk of developing SUD (Chilcoat & Breslau, 1998). (202)

Understanding how these two issues go hand in hand, particularly among individuals who have experienced some form of childhood trauma, allows us to more accurately analyze cases like Saul’s. The relationship between these two disorders is what quickly leads to the deterioration of Saul’s mental health, and makes it harder for him to seek help and recovery. This makes the role of the New Dawn Centre in Saul’s journey so much more significant. The fact that he is finally able to receive support in managing his conditions is extremely consequential to the events that follow. PTSD and SUD are extremely common among residential school survivors, as a result of the horrifying experiences they have endured during their developmental years. Too often, survivors are left without any kind of support or assistance, leading them to rely solely on alcohol and other substances to cope with their trauma. The impacts this can have is disastrous and is an unfortunate reality for countless people. Richard Wagamese endured the second-hand effects through the neglect he experienced from his parents, who struggled with substance abuse as a result of their trauma. This likely inspired him to write a story that sheds a light on this issue and provides a sense of hope for people who have been impacted by it in some way.

The role that alcohol plays in ‘Indian Horse’ and the impacts it has on Saul’s life is central to the story, and reflects a broader issue that persists today among Canada’s Indigenous population. The influence Saul’s parents have on his future reliance on alcohol, the relationship between his substance use and the racism he experiences, and his ultimate recovery and acceptance of the trauma he endured all confirm how deeply intertwined alcohol use is in the life of Saul Indian Horse. His story seeks to represent those who continue to suffer from alcoholism today due to systematic and institutionalized racism, and prove that despite all odds, healing is possible.

Works Cited

Dass-Brailsford, Priscilla, and Amie C. Myrick. “Psychological Trauma and Substance Abuse: The Need for an Integrated Approach.” Trauma, Violence & Abuse, vol. 11, no. 4, 2010, pp. 202–13. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/26638083. Accessed 4 Mar. 2026.

Rossow, Ingeborg et al. “Does parental drinking influence children's drinking? A systematic review of prospective cohort studies.” Addiction (Abingdon, England) vol. 111,2 (2016): 204-17. doi:10.1111/add.13097

Stewart, Sherry H et al. “Hopelessness and Excessive Drinking among Aboriginal Adolescents: The Mediating Roles of Depressive Symptoms and Drinking to Cope.” Depression research and treatment vol. 2011 (2011): 970169. doi:10.1155/2011/970169

Wagamese, Richard. Indian Horse: A Novel. Douglas & McIntyre, 2012.