When the boy dies, they take him away to be blessed by a priest, leaving Saul with his grandmother deep in the woods. His parents have converted to Christianity and believe that their eldest son will go to heaven. Saul resolves never to go to a residential school. The Indian Horse family, including six-year-old Saul and his older brother, retreat in canoes deep into the wild to avoid the authorities after Saul's older brother is left seriously ill by his time in an Indian residential school. He said that he regrets such actions, and has reformed since attaining sobriety in 2010. Strongheart has attributed his past actions to problems with drugs and alcohol. Minor controversy arose over the casting of Will Strongheart in the supporting role of Virgil in the film the actor was known to have a history of criminal domestic violence. The film was shot primarily in Greater Sudbury and Peterborough, Ontario. Originally slated for production as a television film to air on Super Channel, Indian Horse premiered as a theatrical film after Super Channel filed for bankruptcy in Canada in 2016. The film is an adaptation of the 2012 novel Indian Horse, written by author Richard Wagamese ( Ojibwa). The film stars Sladen Peltier as Saul at age 6, Forrest Goodluck as Saul at age 15, and Ajuawak Kapashesit as Saul at age 22 along with supporting roles by Edna Manitowabi, Evan Adams, Michiel Huisman, Michael Murphy, and Martin Donovan.

The film centres on Saul Indian Horse, a young Canadian First Nations boy who survives the Canada's Indian residential school system to become a star ice hockey player. Campanelli and written by Dennis Foon, it premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival and received a general theatrical release in 2018.

Indian Horse is a 2017 Canadian drama film adaptation of the 2012 novel by author Richard Wagamese ( Ojibwe) of the same name.

The indian horse novel