Indian Horse: How is the grandmother significant in Saul's early youth?

Saul's grandmother plays a huge factor in his early childhood. Through the first few chapters, we have been introduced to Saul's grandmother. She shows perseverance, resilience, and a loving personality towards her grandchildren, her culture, and her religion. Even after losing two of her grandchildren due to residential schools and tuberculosis, she has shown strength on multiple occasions. I believe the reason the author began telling Saul's story with his grandmother is because she was his only parental figure after his mother and father lost both of their previous children. Saul's grandmother did her best to raise Saul.

She was the only parental figure that tried to carry on her Indigenous culture and religion, specifically when Saul's brother, Benjamin, was sick with tuberculosis. Unfortunately Benjamin passed on as set out later in chapter seven. In chapter seven, Benjamin's mother, father, aunt, and uncle all distanced themselves away from him in his final moments and only Saul and his grandmother did everything in their power to save Benjamin using the spiritual ways of the Ojibway culture. This is an example of the grandmother's perseverance, not in just her acts to save Benjamin but in her culture and religion. 

After Benjamin's passing, the grandmother wants to put him to rest in the Ojibway way, however, his mother refuses. She wants to have a more Christian burial, which is shocking since she was terrified of the residential schools in chapter one and now, she wants to bury him near the school. Saul’s father notices his wife’s struggle with grieving the death of their son and tries his best to be supportive by agreeing with her wishes. After Saul’s parents leave Saul and his grandmother to bury Benjamin, the grandmother realizes that they must leave before the winter so they do not die in the forest because of lack of protection and resources. The grandmother uses wisdom to tell Saul the Indigenous creation stories of their lands to keep him distracted while they are on their journey to his great-uncle Minoose in Manaki. Once again on this journey she showed her strength and perseverance. She put moss on Saul’s hands to keep them warm, gave him her shoes, and when he collapsed she carried him even though it was hard for her. She was always his protector and his guidance. Even after her death, Saul’s grandmother shielded him with her body to protect him from the keewatin otherwise known as the cold. She was a strong woman and I hope we hear more about her stories from Saul again. 

New cover I designed for this book - the orange hand print is representing reconciliation for the Indigenous children who were taken from their homes and put into residential schools. Since Saul was taken from his grandmother, as well as his brother and sister, this handprint is for them.