From a question related to the disappearance of a young Indian girl in Canada, which underpins the novel, Through Black Spruce by Joseph Boyden (2009) concentrates on the various wounds of Will Bird the narrator. This article will investigate the interconnection of the wounds in the history of Canadian Indians and the traumatic repercussions on the protagonist. It will show how vulnerability stems from absence, loss and isolation. Finally the various possibilities of escaping this vulnerability that Boyden offers will be examined.