Thousands of years passed before they were finally united, but horses and Indians were made for each other. In the 450 years since horses and Indians were first brought together, many nations have had a presence in North America. Some, like the Spaniards, used the horse to establish a stronghold, while others—the French and English—saw their power washed away. Throughout the course of these changes, the connection between Indians and horses remained strong. Visit any Indian reservation—particularly on the plains, where hunters once relied on their mounts—and the continuing relationship between Indians and horses is illustrated in celebration parades, in the presence of horse herds in fields along the highways and back roads, and among schoolchildren who write and draw pictures of nothing else.
The horse was brought to North America by Spanish exploratory expeditions. Many have speculated about how the horse first came into the Indians' possession. It was once thought that horses from the Francisco Coronado expedition may have been taken by Indians in 1541, but careful analysis lends greater credence to another theory. It is most likely that horses were obtained by Indians in a gradual process. The transfer probably began as the Spanish conquistadors taught the Indians the art of horsemanship in return for logistic support. Later, trained Indian horsemen transferred horses to other Indians through trade and raiding.
The first tribes to have horses in their possession were those who came in contact with the Spaniards. In the early period the number of horses in North America was small, and it was not until greater numbers arrived that their mass diffusion took place. Herds established in South America were the first to become large enough to be considered abundant. Horticultural tribes probably had a limited interest in horses and acquired them in limited numbers. Most used the horse primarily as a pack animal at first, as they used the dog, converting only after some time to mounted use. After mastering the art of horsemanship these tribes acted as intermediaries in the dispersal of the horse culture to other Indians.
Obviously, Indian tribes carried out an active trade in horses, since many were skilled in training and rearing horses prior to contact with non-Indian explorers. Each tribe acquired such skills during the trading process, enabling various tribes to utilize the horse quickly. The Plains Indians have the image of having been closely associated with the horse, yet it is likely that the wide-scale diffusion of the horse among them did not occur until between 1640 and 1885. The horse had certainly spread to the northern reaches of the Great Plains by 1750. In 1754, Anthony Hendry, a Hudson's Bay Company employee, met horse-mounted Indians in what is now Saskatchewan who were skilled in buffalo-hunting horsemanship. By 1885, reservation life had become the only option for all the tribes, and intertribal diffusion of the horse came to an end.
The anthropologist John C. Ewers has traced the diffusion of the horse among the Plains Indians. He cites Santa Fe, New Mexico, as a distribution center. The horse trade moved in a northern direction over the plains. Southern tribes such as the Kiowas, Comanches, Arapahos, and Cheyennes obtained the horse well before the northern tribes. The southern tribes brought the horse northward; numerous tribal histories note this fact. The Shoshones are credited by the Blackfoot, Flathead, and Nez Perce tribal oral traditions as having delivered the first horses to them.
Later, tribes such as the Nez Perces, Flatheads, Pend Oreilles, and Kootenays, located west of the Rocky Mountains, were noted for having large numbers of horses. Many of these horses crossed the mountains and contributed to the buildup of herds on the Great Plains. The Crows are often cited as having large herds of horses and distributing them to many neighboring tribes.
Undoubtedly, horses were at first distributed among the tribes according to established trade patterns. As tribes learned the value of the horse, more coercive measures were applied. Horse raiding became an accepted method of procurement as soon as men learned the basic elements of stealth horsemanship. Plains societies quickly developed such raids into an art form, if not an essential element in their lifestyle.
Certainly, word of the horse preceded its actual sighting and use. Tribal histories abound with stories of first sightings and initial possession, as well as many elaborate and mystical tales of how the horse came among the tribes. The tribal names given to the horse reflect the mystery associated with the animal. Elk dog and big dog are common names that remain today in the languages of many Plains tribes.
Many scholars believe that the horse radically changed the way of life of the Indian, but this is an overstatement. In fact, horses actually enhanced a preexisting way of life. For example, nomadic tribes were greatly influenced by the horse's ability to carry large loads. Such tribes could thus transport themselves farther, with less effort, which made life easier for the whole tribe. Farmers used horses primarily for personal transportation. Nevertheless, the effect of the horse may have been more profound for the horticultural tribes as these people came to realize that the animal would be of greater use in hunting. Hunting buffalo on horseback became a viable method of obtaining food. Many sedentary tribes were also encouraged to abandon their farms because the horse-based mobility of neighboring tribes placed them at risk to raiding parties.
Many universal elements of horse use were diffused along with the horses themselves—for instance, the practice of mounting the horse from the right side. Methods of breaking horses were also passed along. It was common practice to break wild horses by riding them in a lake or river or boggy area; later, experienced Indian horsemen employed the same methods used by horse trainers today. Another Indian practice was the use of a quirt instead of spurs. Perhaps the most surprising facet of Indian horsemanship was the fact that the animals received no branding or making of any kind. Owners identified individual horses by sight, and their ability to do so was remarkable. Even if they owned large numbers of horses, they had no difficulty in keeping track of their herds by this method.
The Indian and the horse were compatible in every way. In 1910, older Blackfoot men lamented the loss of their horses more than the loss of their land. The affinity between horses and Indians remains one of the most powerful images in American history.
See also
Herding and Ranching.
John C. Ewers, The Horse in Blackfoot Indian Culture (Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1955).
Darrell Robes Kipp
Blackfoot
Piegan Institute
Blackfoot Indian Reservation
