Racial Oppression

One of the book’s primary goals is to illustrate the severity of racial oppression against native Canadians, and Saul’s experiences at the missionary school demonstrate how elements of genocide were active in Canada as recently as the 1960s. Near the beginning of the novel, the narrative emphasizes the fact that the native Canadian children in this missionary schools are nearly all kidnapping victims and that the schools function to harm the children and stop the continuation of native Canadian cultures. As Saul experiences during his time there, the faculty forbid native languages and cultural practices, and they heavily abuse the children. Saul states, “St. Jerome’s was hell on earth” (78), as the children are physically and even sexually abused, and they receive no real education. Instead, they are forced to perform heavy labor. Many of the children die of injury, disease, and suicide...