To Save the Man

Antoine LaMere has been sent off to the Carlisle School so he can assist his family. His attendance at the school will cement his family’s status as Indians in order to receive land under the recently passed Dawes Act. The Carlisle School was founded and is overseen by Captain Richard Henry Pratt, whose objective is to educate the students to the American Way of life while acclimating them to the civilized world. When Antoine arrives at the school, he is introduced to boys and girls from various tribes who are either newcomers like himself or returning students. As the days pass, Antoine sees how rules are enforced with military discipline and how the school seeks to Americanize their hearts and minds. Meanwhile, other students begin to bridle at the forced and regimented environment and plot an escape regardless of consequence.

To Save the Man is the latest exceptional novel from the polished writer and auteur John Sayles. Acclimation at the expense of sacrificing one’s identity is the paradox at the heart of this gripping historical fiction book. The historical wrongs done to the Native Americans reverberate throughout the pages of this masterly work.