Soul Catcher | Themes

Soul Catcher Themes

Mistreatment of Native Americans

In Soul Catcher, Katsuk and others make some very overt references to the struggle between Native Americans and white people in the past. This is his stated reason for sacrificing David: "I want your world to understand something. That an innocent from your people can die just as other innocents have died." Through his captivity, David, an American boy who knows nothing about Native Americans before he goes to camp, learns more than he wishes about the treatment his ancestors have given Native Americans: "His people had stolen this land. He knew Katsuk was speaking the truth.... He had even sinned as his ancestors had, with a woman of these people." Katsuk also notes other ways in which early Americans mistreated his

people, such as giving them blankets infested with smallpox: "You hoquat have used sickness blankets on us before." The knowledge of these offenses against Native Americans weighs...
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