Freshly washed Wrangler jeans and a shiny silver belt buckle. Coors Light and Michelob Ultra are available at the concession stand. It could have been any of the 650 professional rodeos sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), the oldest and largest rodeo organization, attended by 6 million Americans each year. But instead, this was the recently held Indian National Finals Rodeo (INFR) in Las Vegas. Contestants were members of 574 Native American tribes, and most of the 20,000 participants were also Native American. During one afternoon’s show, Apaches sang the national anthem. “Where are the Navajos?” the announcer called out, soothing the audience.
Although historically sidelined, rodeo in India is thriving, with more than 100 separate events held across the country. The sport is extremely popular among tribal members, and although Native Americans make up only 3% of the U.S. population, INFR claims there are 3,500 cowboys and cowgirls, about half of the PRCA’s membership. doing. Even in mainstream rodeos, Native competitors are becoming increasingly prominent. Among the biggest stars are bullfighter Dakota Lewis (pictured) and roper Derrick Begay, who will compete at the PRCA National Finals Rodeo in December, also in Las Vegas.
For many people living on rural tribal lands, rodeo is more than just a sport. Bo Vok, a former bullfighter and INFR president, says this is “one of the few opportunities to get out of India and earn a living and get an education.” Native American unemployment rates are more than double the national average, hovering around 50% on some reservations. With jobs in short supply, bull riding and rope pulling can provide income and even college scholarships.
But rodeos, while the material rewards are real and appealing, are more than just the proverbial “lesbian ticket.” (INFR paid out more than $1 million this year.) It also celebrates the fact that many Indians have long been cowboys and “rodeos.”
The sport is often associated with white cowboys. But modern rodeos, which began in the 1880s and 1890s, were originally “a very multicultural, multilingual space,” says Rebecca Schofield, an associate professor of history at the University of Idaho. Rodeos attracted European immigrants, Mexican vaqueros, freed blacks, and Native Americans.
The name rodeo comes from the Spanish word “rodear,” meaning “to round.” Regular round-ups to sort and brand the cattle led to competitions to see who could rope and ride with the greatest skill. The 1888 rodeo in Prescott, Arizona, was the first to charge an admission fee and the first to award prizes. By 1922, rodeo had reached Madison Square Garden. When rodeo cowboys unionized in the early decades of the 20th century, some organizations specifically excluded Blacks and Native Americans, who were often relegated to separate events. By the late 1940s, Ms. Schofield said, the typical rodeo cowboy had become “white, straight, and very masculine.”
INFR provides a forum for Native Americans to connect and join the rare rodeo majority. “This is definitely a collection of nations for Indian cowboys,” says Megan Lunak, a roper from the Blackfeet tribe. At a time when poverty and mental illness are a growing concern, rodeos are a celebration of resilience. Delphine Redshirt, a lecturer in Native American studies at Stanford University, said it’s also “a way to feel free” because it makes it easier to travel.
Indian rodeos provide competitors with a practice of being defeated and beaten in order to develop the skills needed to succeed on the high-paying mainstream rodeo circuit. Vocu’s son, Beau Tyler Vocu, a talented bronc rider and bull rider, said INFR is not just about “following local rodeos,” but “encouraging more Indian cowboys to get out there.” It is said that
Pro rodeos are beginning to accept Native American participants, in no small part because of the loyal following of tribal riders. Many Native Americans know someone who rodeo, or who has rodeo. As the sport seeks to grow its audience (as rural white populations decline), rodeo will become more diverse. The rodeo of the future may look a lot like the rodeo of the past.
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