It would be easy to imagine that the Comanche, Crow, and other Native Americans from America's breadbasket represented a timeless tradition, stretching back thousands of years. They certainly had an abundance of such traditions, but they were also bold innovators. This is an aspect of their culture not often celebrated. The story of horsemanship and the Plains Indian turns out to be a perfect example of Native innovation.
The Native American warrior on his horse, solitary and communing with the land, is a truly iconic figure. It's a little disconcerting to be reminded that those classic scenes reflect a period that, in actual historical terms, did not last two hundred years. Horses are not, in fact, native to the New World, and the Natives' ability to master them represents a triumph of boldly adapting to a new opportunity.
The first horses were brought to the New World by the Spanish, which means that Native American history had gone on for thousands of years without any of those familiar scenes. The Spanish knew their domination over the Indians had a lot to do with their horsemanship, so they tried to keep access to the animal and its secrets away from them. Throughout the 16th Century, too few horses were brought across the Atlantic to initiate any real population.
Eventually, the Spaniards took to hiring Pueblo and Navajo ranch hands to work their stables. Rumors apparently spread regarding the advantages this strange creature provided the invading Spaniards, because throughout the 17th Century the Indians often raided their sprawling properties, always hoping to make off with horses. It would not be until late in the century that the secret of the horse would truly start making its way to the peoples of Plains.
In the year 1680 Pueblo warriors handed the Spanish a major defeat, winning for themselves thousands of horses. At last the number of horses had grown large enough for continent-wide trade to become common among Native Americans. Near the turn of the 17th and 18th Centuries, the Comanches took the lead in beginning to cultivate the potential of the horse.
The Comanche warrior established a level of communion with the horse that was powerful, and an expert level of horsemanship. To an outsider, it was at such a high level that it looked like an ancient teaching. What it really was, was an act of genius, and the Comanche peoples should get more credit for it. On horseback, they overran neighbors the way Genghis Khan and his Mongols once overran theirs, and taught them the value of mounted warriors.
The Comanches became the model of expert horsemen for the tribes north and east of them. The Texas Rangers would also become students of their techniques. They had become famous for daring physical feats, such as dangling off the sides of a galloping horse, firing arrows.
Mastering the horse would become the obsession of people after people throughout the 18th Century, especially since it was so important to the buffalo hunt. The Lakota Sioux cultivated the armies on horseback that would destroy Custer at Little Big Horn. The story of their horse riding skills should be celebrated as an historical example of the power to innovate.
The Native American warrior on his horse, solitary and communing with the land, is a truly iconic figure. It's a little disconcerting to be reminded that those classic scenes reflect a period that, in actual historical terms, did not last two hundred years. Horses are not, in fact, native to the New World, and the Natives' ability to master them represents a triumph of boldly adapting to a new opportunity.
The first horses were brought to the New World by the Spanish, which means that Native American history had gone on for thousands of years without any of those familiar scenes. The Spanish knew their domination over the Indians had a lot to do with their horsemanship, so they tried to keep access to the animal and its secrets away from them. Throughout the 16th Century, too few horses were brought across the Atlantic to initiate any real population.
Eventually, the Spaniards took to hiring Pueblo and Navajo ranch hands to work their stables. Rumors apparently spread regarding the advantages this strange creature provided the invading Spaniards, because throughout the 17th Century the Indians often raided their sprawling properties, always hoping to make off with horses. It would not be until late in the century that the secret of the horse would truly start making its way to the peoples of Plains.
In the year 1680 Pueblo warriors handed the Spanish a major defeat, winning for themselves thousands of horses. At last the number of horses had grown large enough for continent-wide trade to become common among Native Americans. Near the turn of the 17th and 18th Centuries, the Comanches took the lead in beginning to cultivate the potential of the horse.
The Comanche warrior established a level of communion with the horse that was powerful, and an expert level of horsemanship. To an outsider, it was at such a high level that it looked like an ancient teaching. What it really was, was an act of genius, and the Comanche peoples should get more credit for it. On horseback, they overran neighbors the way Genghis Khan and his Mongols once overran theirs, and taught them the value of mounted warriors.
The Comanches became the model of expert horsemen for the tribes north and east of them. The Texas Rangers would also become students of their techniques. They had become famous for daring physical feats, such as dangling off the sides of a galloping horse, firing arrows.
Mastering the horse would become the obsession of people after people throughout the 18th Century, especially since it was so important to the buffalo hunt. The Lakota Sioux cultivated the armies on horseback that would destroy Custer at Little Big Horn. The story of their horse riding skills should be celebrated as an historical example of the power to innovate.
About the Author:
If you would like more Plains Indian info, come to the Arapaho Legends website. To find out more on the Blue Sky People who, not that long ago, hunted the buffalo and protected our families on the Great Plains of the Rocky Mountain region, go to http://www.arapaholegend.com today.
No comments:
Post a Comment