Meet the Horses

Mista

Their story

Their Tragic History

The common story we hear about horses in North America is that they arrived with the Spanish. That story is a fiction. Even at the time of first contact with Europeans, our horses were written about. These horses, often referred to as ponies, have lived here for as long as we have, if not longer, and we are excited to share their story with you.

Indigenous people here in Ministik (North, Central and South America) had horses, and some of them are still alive today despite incredible efforts to eradicate them.

Settlers treated Ojibway horses the way they treated Indigenous people. One Indian Affairs report called them “worthless, useless little ponies we need to get rid of”. The horses were hunted and shipped to glue and dog food factories. Our original horses narrowly escaped extinction, through a purposeful extermination effort that lasted hundreds of years.

In 1977 there were only four left, and they were ordered to be killed. In an effort that everyone who loves this breed will be forever grateful for, the remaining horses were taken across the border, and they were not only protected but revived.

Decades later there are over 250 of these horses, with caretakers across Ministik, in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and other places. For each caretaker (we tend to avoid the word owner), tending to these animals is a labour of love. For us at Wâsakâm, it’s an act of reclamation for our family, our nation, and all Indigenous peoples. We are reclaiming kinship with these horses and the land.

My Family’s Story

I was told by ketehayah (an elder) that we should always try to find the roles our family played in community. These roles are passed down through families, along with the knowledge and teachings that go with them. Colonization interrupted this lineage of skills, knowledge, teachings, and roles. I am blessed to know much about my family’s roles in community, and one important way we served community was through horses.

One of my Chapans, my great great great grandfather Onesime Falcon, was a horse trainer. He had a way with horses. He spent his time working with them, “softening” them, or in today’s words, training them. This relationship was part of my family’s identity. Horses were vital on our buffalo hunts and as we travelled across the plains.

Onesime was murdered in Winnipeg in the early 1900s, and my family’s life took a drastic turn. It was understood in the community that he was robbed and killed, likely after trading horses.

So for my family, reclaiming this relationship with horses is one of reconnection. We are re-establishing a long-standing and important relationship, and we are healing ancestral wounds.

Why These Horses?

About 15 years ago I read a short online article saying that survivors of our original horses were being protected, and that efforts were being made to recover their numbers. I felt then that I would find these horses and have a relationship with them. It wasn’t urgent. Back then we lived in a city in Southern Alberta and couldn’t have housed even one horse. I simply felt completely certain that someday those horses would find me.

When we moved off grid, started farming, and finally had space for horses, I thought many times about looking for them. It still didn’t feel like the time. Then, after our home burned down and we were starting to think of rebuilding, a voice said, it’s time, look now. I have learned to listen to that voice. I found many articles saying caretakers were being actively sought, and that there were families of these horses near me.

I put the word out that we were looking to host these horses, and she answered. A caretaker near me had been looking for us too. In a bold and beautiful act of reconciliation, she wanted to help return these Indigenous horses to Indigenous peoples. Everything clicked.

We had been preparing the land and our minds for their arrival, but spirit had other plans. I got a message asking if I could take a group in two weeks. As I tend to do when spirit prompts, I said yes and got to work. We moved sheep and cattle, cleaned up a winter pen, cleared deadfall and stumps, and fixed fences. With only a couple of hours to spare, we finished the work and welcomed the horses.

We are thrilled to have them here. Their presence is a healing blessing in so many ways, and this relationship we are rebuilding isn’t for us alone. It’s for our community.

Your part

We are inviting you in, to support these incredible beings. Wâsakâm runs without public funding, and we care for our horses with the support of community. There are many ways you can help, whatever you’re able to give.