The lifestyle and enduring relationship with horses contribute to the popularity of rodeo in Indian country.

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) – Sending up a cloud of dust, naked men on horseback scramble to be the first to jump on top of the horse and grab a chicken that’s buried up to its neck in mud. Was. Ground.

This competition is rarely held these days, and live chickens are almost never used. But this Navajo tradition, and other horse competitions practiced in tribal communities, evolved into the modern sport of rodeo, which today fills wide-ranging arenas.

Native Americans have made it their own, sport by sport. This is a shift from past centuries of Wild West shows and Fourth of July celebrations that reinforced stereotypes. Rodeo has provided a platform for Native American people, who lived nomadic lives before the United States established reservations, to hone their skills and deepen their relationships with horses.

“This is a great way to make something good out of a really tough situation, be financially successful, and of course have joy and celebration in the world of rodeo,” said Jessica White Plume, director of horse culture for the Oglala Lakota Tribe. It was a way to do that.” Program for the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nations in North Dakota.

The sport was born out of the skill acquisition that came with horses revolutionizing hunting, travel, and welfare. The general bleachers often host mini-family gatherings while local cowboys and cowgirls show off their roping, horseback riding, and livestock wrestling skills.

One of those rising stars is Nazia Knight, a 17-year-old Paiute from the Klamath tribe who is trying to become the first female bullfighter to compete on the Professional Bull Riders Tour. She grew up riding livestock in a small town, and her story is well known throughout Indians.

As a child, Ed Holian’s grandmother sent him and his younger brother to Coyote Canyon, an isolated and rugged part of the Navajo Nation, to herd sheep. When they got bored, they would hang ropes around rocks, Shetland ponies, and small horned calves.

“We watched our dad rodeo and our brother rodeo, so we knew we had the foundation,” said Holian, a rodeo coach at Diné University in Zeile, Ariz. said. “It was in our blood.”

For Kennard Real Bird, who has been riding saddle broncs for 16 years, horses have given him freedom on the Crow Reservation in Montana. The river where the Battle of Little His Bighorn took place flowed over the land, the meadows widened with pine trees, and the high hills afforded views of an even wider range.

Life on the ranch evolved into a career as a stock contractor and as a reluctant rodeo announcer, doing observational comedy at rodeos such as Sheridan, Wyoming.

No event pleases as many spectators as the Indian Relay Race in July. This race has its roots in buffalo hunting and camp raiding on the Great Plains. It depends on who you ask.

A team consists of one person who catches the incoming horse, two people who hold the horse, and a rider who gallops around the track naked, changing twice to another horse.

The Real Bird, 73, jokingly tells the audience, “I have the most fun in my moccasins.”

All kidding aside, horsemanship is a well-known part of the tribe’s history.

On the Crow Reservation and Fort Berthold Reservation, tribe members compete for the title of ultimate warrior in running, canoeing, and bareback horse racing. In the Navajo Nation of the Four Corners region, the rodeo is still called “Ahoo Hai.” It comes from the Navajo word for “chicken.”

Nueta Hidatsa Saanish University, located on the Fort Berthold Reservation, offers Great Plains Equestrian Studies as part of its two-year equine studies program, the only such program at a tribal university.

Lori Nelson, director of the college, said the instructors keep prized horses at Earthlodge, and bronc riders including Joe Chase, an MHA Nation citizen who shined on the rodeo circuit in the 1950s. and the history of the North Dakota Sixpack, a group of bull riders, among others. of agriculture and land subsidies.

Jim Baker, who manages the tribe’s Healing Horse Ranch, said the tribe recently purchased a miniature bull that is safe for children and is raising bucking horses to revive rodeo among youth. It is said that there is.

“One of our goals is to keep horse culture alive among our people,” he said.

The biggest stage for Native rodeos is the Indian National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. Tribal regalia, blessings from elders, and the tribe’s national anthem are as classic as big buckles and cowboy hats.

Tydon Tsosie of Crown Point, New Mexico, restored his town’s nickname to the “Capital of Navajo Nation Steer Wrestling” when he won an open event this year at age 17. In his family, rodeo is passed down through the generations, along with songs, prayers and respect for horses.

Tsosie intends to continue this tradition, proudly declaring, “I plan to do this for the rest of my life, until I’m old.”

This story is part of The Associated Press’ Inclusive Journalism Initiative in collaboration with the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education and the Ida B. Wells Institute for Investigative Reporting.