Good People Chasing Horses

                 

Sometimes I wonder how much one person’s voice can actually help when “fighting the good fight” against what seems like an impossible foe. But last week, my faith was bolstered.

For the last two years, the non-profit organization, Chasing Horses Wild Horses Advocates (chwha.org), has been fighting to save the remaining herd of horses in the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. These horses are the progeny of the very same horses that the park brought in to replace the Nokota forty years ago. 

NokotaⓇ horses are the direct descendants of Sitting Bull’s war ponies inadvertently trapped inside the park when the park got fenced in back in 1968. The park service decided these Lakota/Hunkpapa native horses (the Nokota) were not aesthetically pleasing to tourists (among other suspected prejudicial reasons) and, therefore, decided to eliminate them. That’s where Frank and Leo Kuntz stepped in to save as many as possible. There are no longer Nokota horses in Theodore Roosevelt National Park. (Frank and others, to this day, continue to preserve the future of these Nokota.) In the meantime, however, the park introduced domestic breeds (Shire, quarter horse, and Arabian) in attempts to propagate an appearance they thought would appeal better to people visiting the park. It’s these “replacement” horses that are now at risk! 

In December of 2022, the park laid plans to eliminate all horses … again … just like they did some 40 years ago when the Nokota were set to be exterminated. Under the guise of “historically accurate representation”, the park deemed all “livestock” to be removed. They claimed that the horses were not originally a part of the natural landscape and habitat; therefore, in the name of historical accuracy, they didn’t belong. This is all after years of questionable herd management tactics that involved population control via chemical sterilization and cruel helicopter roundups. This type of management, as I have learned from lifelong horse breeder Frank Kuntz, has been done in such a way that it basically weeded out the young, and kept the old. The inbreeding and lack of genetic diversity has detrimentally weakened the herd’s strength.

So the fight began. Chasing Horses Wild Horses Advocates (chwha.org) began reaching out and speaking up for the herd. And good people responded!

They raised funds, educated, asked for support, and helped followers know how they could help contribute to the herd’s safety and longevity. Frank has shown his support numerous times by going to speak and educate the legislature on the matter - something he is all too familiar with. He has asked them to create a policy that involves both keeping the horses in the park, as well as - in cooperation with Lakota people of the horse - slowly and carefully reintegrating the original Nokota bloodlines. 

I’ve been following their fight, and I contribute in whatever ways I can. It feels like so little. This is government policy we little people are up against! We’re trying to convince them how important an animal is to us. In the grand scheme of life, saving a herd of horses might seem very low on the priority scale, but if I've learned anything in the past twenty years from watching Frank Kuntz being a voice for the Nokota, it’s that you have to choose your fight … then fight like Hell won’t have it. No matter the odds or attitudes surrounding you. At some point everyone needs to wake up each day and believe in something a little bigger than themselves. It feels right when you find it. When you know whose side you’re on. It backs you up. Fills a gap. Gives you purpose.

All that said, it is my great pleasure to tell you that last week, a major leg of the fight to save the Theodore Roosevelt National Park horses was won! The headline read, “National Park Service to leave the wild horses in TRNP.” And even though, as Frank and CHWHA say, there is still much work to be done, it is fully gratifying that the persistent voices of some wild horse lovers have indeed been heard. Change has begun in favor of the herd. 

So let’s all celebrate the value of our voices as we also celebrate the decision to let the horses stay in the park. It all goes to prove that good people doing good things can make a difference!

To learn more and to order a copy of Nokota Voices, go to chwha.org and Kuntz Nokota Ranch.