Indian Horse Ticket-In, Week One: The Struggle for

Identity (pages 1-52)

Answer the following questions as you read the novel:
1. In the beginning of the novel, what does the narrator say is needed for
people to understand who they are?
2. What are three examples of ways the Zhaunagush try to control First
Nations people by deciding what they will be called?
3. Why did Gods lake belong to the Indian Horse family?
4. What are the things Sauls family does at the Lake that help establish who
they are?
5. What is an example of Sauls family fighting about what their identity
should be?
6. What is the mission of the residential school?
7. What are three ways the residential school tries to control the First
Nations children?
BLOG ENTRY 1:
SECTION 1: Think about how Sauls grandmother tries to maintain their old
ways. Think, as well, about how others, like Sauls mother, the government,
and religious figures try to stop them from doing so. Using her and Saul as an
example, what are some ways the novel suggests those with power try to
control identity?
SECTION 2: Write about a time in your life when someone tried to control
your identity (how you and other saw yourself). As you tell the story, explain
how this persons attempt to control your identity could be seen as an
attempt to gain power over you?

INDIAN HORSE TICKET IN, WEEK TWO: SOCIAL ISOLATION

(pages 53-107)
Answer the following questions as you read the novel:
1. Why did taking the fish out of the creek cause the kids to cry?
2. Why did Saul decide he wouldnt let the nuns and priests hear him cry?
3. On page 62, Saul explains why the dream of hockey means so much to him.
Put his explanation into your own words.
4. What does Saul say is the way to honour Mystery?
5. On page 73, Saul talks about why hockey is so important to him. What does
he say?
6. When is a time you have put a lot of time into something because it allowed
you to forget your own circumstances for a while?
7. How are the kids treated at the school? How would this treatment lead to
them feeling so isolated and alone?
8. What are three ways the society around Saul ensures he feels alone and/or
less-than-human?
9. Even though the Moose treat him roughly during his first scrimmage, why
does Saul feel grateful for this?
10.How do the Moose, in the end, show Saul they accept him? How is this
different from the way most of us would expect to be treated if we were
accepted?
BLOG ENTRY # 2:
Section 1: What does the novel suggest are the causes and consequences of
feeling isolated?
Before your write section 2, think about the following: What was your
experience with the social media challenge? How do your own ideas and
experiences with the challenge compare to the ideas of others? What are some of
the reasons why people did or did not do well with this challenge?
Section 2: Using the ideas from section 1, discuss how your experiences with the
social media challenge relate to the ideas about isolation in the novel. Talk about a
time you felt isolated and discuss how it connects to the experiences of Saul. What
is an insight into this experience the novel provides?

TICKET-IN #3: The Fight To Control Our Identity, Part 2

(pages 108-157)
1. What are three quotations from 109-144 of the novel that suggest everyone
in the First Nations, spectators and players, feel equal and like they belong?
2. How does the Mooses behaviour change when they get ready to play
Kapuskasing? Why does it change?
3. These were Indian boys. They may have been lumberjacks and mine workers
when they werent playing the game, but concrete arenas and carpeted
dressing rooms intimidated them (122). Why do you think the arenas and
dressing rooms intimidated the players on the Moose?
4. How does the crowd respond to Sauls performance?
5. According to Virgil, why do white people play the game? What is wrong, in his
eyes, about the way they view the game?
6. Why does Saul consistently decide not to fight?
7. What starts being the primary motivation for Saul and his teammates to
achieve?
8. How can the scene in which each member of the Moose is beaten up one at a
time be seen as an example of one group trying to control the way another
group sees itself?
9. Why does Virgil tell Saul that he has to try to make the Marlies?

Blog # 3
Section 1: Making between 3-5 specific references to the novel, discuss
places in the novel where we see conflict arising from characters or groups
attempting to control the identity (how a person sees him/herself) of another
character, or group.
Section 2: Tell the story of a time you got involved in a conflict with
someone else. Tell the story of this conflict, then explain how this conflict can
be understood as a struggle for control over identity.

TICKET IN #4: PHONINESS AND LYING (pages 158-221)

1. Why do you think books gave Saul such a sense of security?
2. What is most hurtful about the way the elite players treat Saul? Why did this
hurt so much?
3. What does Saul feel people wont let him just be? What do they see him as
instead?
4. What do the players do to show Saul doesnt belong? What is it they want
him to do?
5. Why does Saul eventually start fighting?
6. In Chapter 40, Saul says We sat in the dark, and there were no more words.
The silence was enough (171). Why do you think he find such comfort in the
darkness?
7. At the logging camp, where does Saul find peace?
8. Why doesnt Saul react to the racist comments the loggers make? What is it
that eventually causes him to fight?
9. On page 181, Saul says . . .I discovered that being someone you are not is
often easier than living with the person you are. Do you understand what he
means? How much do you agree with this statement?
10.What does Saul finally discover is the reason for his rage? What is his
explanation for why he began fighting?
11.What are three things Saul does in order to reclaim a sense of dignity and
pride in who he is?

Blog #4
Section 1: Making between 3-5 specific references to the novel, discuss places in
the novel where we see Saul lying to others and, more importantly, to himself. Some
questions to consider are: What is the truth he is hiding from? How does he hide this
truth from himself? What does he have to do in order to deal with this truth? In this
response, be sure to explain the link between lying and feelings of powerlessness.
Section 2: Write about a time where you successfully lied to yourself, or to
someone else. How could this lie be explained as a reaction to feeling powerless, or
less powerful than the person to whom you were lying? In what way did the lie
hide this imbalance in the power dynamic?