The breed is still endangered there are fewer than 200 Ojibwe horses alive today.
"So the pressure was to get rid of them, and a lot of the old chiefs fought it for a long time." (Laura Beaulne-Stuebing/CBC)Īs part of this research, Snow discovered an Indian Affairs report which she says called the animals "worthless little ponies." She travelled to First Nations communities in Canada and the U.S., spoke with elders and combed through archives to piece the animal's story together.ĭNA testing shows that the Ojibwe spirit horses are a separate breed from the horses introduced to North America by Europeans, according to the Ojibwe Horse Society. Since then, she's dedicated her life to finding what remains of these animals and bringing them back to the areas where they used to live. To save them from slaughter, a group of men from the United States and Canada took the mares to Minnesota, where they were bred with a Spanish Mustang.Īround 2004, when Snow heard there were a few of these horses still living in Minnesota, she gathered up what funds she could find and brought three horses back to Fort Frances. border to Minnesota, according to the Ojibwe Horse Society. (Submitted by Rhonda Snow)īy 1977, only four mares remained in the Lac La Croix First Nation area, in northwestern Ontario near the U.S. She is also an artist who paints some of the stories she's heard about Ojibwe Spirit Horses into bright woodland-style scenes. Rhonda Snow raised funds to bring three horses back to Ontario from the U.S.
Without any human influence, they were the strongest little ponies."īut Snow didn't see a single Ojibwe horse until she was an adult. The strong survived and somehow the Creator understood this. "The Anishinaabe learned from these little ponies … they were their teachers," she said. Their stories intrigued and inspired her. 'Worthless little ponies'Īs a young girl living in Fort Frances, Ont., in the '70s, Rhonda Snow would hear elders and loggers talk about these powerful little horses. Now, although their numbers remain low, Ojibwe horses have a chance of survival because of the help they've received from people who have dedicated their lives to saving the breed.
#MY LITTLE PONY JOY PONY GAME FREE#
Most of the animals were culled because, as wild animals roaming free - they grazed on farmers' fields and bred near settlements, upsetting missionaries - they were considered a "nuisance." The horses were traditional helpers and assisted the Anishinaabe with checking trap lines, moving goods and transportation.īut European settlers weren't so keen on these little horses. Paleontologists - who say the ice age wiped out horses in North America millions of years ago - dispute those accounts, but scholars such as Yvette Running Horse Collin, who is Lakota, Nakota and Cheyenne, have found evidence and compiled oral histories across the continent that back up elders' stories.Īccording to the Ojibwe Horse Society, a volunteer organization that promotes and protects the endangered breed, DNA testing shows they are a separate breed from the horses introduced to North America by Europeans. (Laura Beaulne-Stuebing/CBC)Ĭalled the Lac La Croix Indian pony or Ojibwe horse, the small North American breed is said to have lived mainly in the boreal forest around the Great Lakes.Īccording to oral history and knowledge passed down by elders, the horses were in the area long before European contact. They usually have a dark stripe running down their backs. Ojibwe horses are small - between one and 1½ metres - and sturdy.
0 kommentar(er)
