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| Nokota |
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wild horses in North Dakota during the 1830s. Nokota horses are
descended from the wild horses in North Dakota.
It is believed these horses are direct
descendent of horses used by Sitting Bull and the Sioux Indians. |
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Dr. Castle McLaughlin, a cultural
anthropologist and professor at Harvard University, conducted a
study of the Nokota horses between 1987 and 1990. Her report
concluded that the Nokota horses are descendants of those that have
roamed the badlands of North Dakota at least since the 1880s. It is
believed these horses are direct descendent of horses used by
Sitting Bull and the Sioux Indians. The photo of War Chief was taken
by Dr. McLaughlin. The
Nokota Horse Conservancy
is a nonprofit organization established to preserve the unique and
historical Nokota Horses. |
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Nokota horses are descended from the last surviving population of
wild horses in North Dakota. For at least a century, the horses
inhabited the rugged Little Missouri badlands, located in the
southwestern corner of the state. When Theodore Roosevelt National
Park was created in the 1950s, some of the wild bands were fenced
in, an accident that proved to have far-reaching consequences. While
the raising of federal fences provided the horses with a measure of
protection, the National Park Service (NPS) does not allow wild or
feral equines, and is exempt from related protective legislation.
Consequently, the park spent decades attempting to remove all of the
horses. During the 1980s, Frank and Leo Kuntz began purchasing
horses after N.P.S. round-ups, named them "Nokotas," and started to
create a breed registry. |
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Today’s Nokotas are descended from generations of
wild horses that lived in the rugged Little Missouri badlands in
western North Dakota. Early Euroamerican travelers such as the
artist George Catlin wrote about the presence of wild horses in
North Dakota during the 1830s. Native people occasionally chased and
caught wild horses, but generally acquired their horses through
trade and by raiding enemy camps.
During the early 19th century, North Dakota was a
crossroads of international commerce and colonialism. The Mandan,
Hidatsa and Arikara villages along the Missouri River were centers
in a vast intertribal exchange network that linked communities
across the continent. French and English fur traders based in Canada
joined this system in the late 18th century, and were displaced by
American traders during the 1830s. Trade goods from distant parts of
North America and from unseen parts of the world flowed in and out
of these riverine villages, and horses were among the most important
commodities. |
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