We Can Become Stronger Together

As told to Brian Calvert | Photography by Tailyr Irvine

Farming 250, A Series with Civil Eats focuses on the question is being asked: What does America look like right now? In this new series, Farming 250, Civil Eats seeks to answer that question from the soil up. The newroom is partnering with NPQ for the #WeTheCivic America 250 campaign.

This piece was originally published on Civil Eats and can be read here.

I have always grown up around horses. My whole life, I’ve been just a crazy little horse girl. I used to go outside and bring cereal treats to a horse of mine. He was a young horse, so we basically grew up together. I just knew I always wanted to be around horses.

My parents, my family and I are all enrolled members of the Blackfeet Tribe. My dad is a big outdoorsman, more the hunting, packing type. On my mom’s side, my grandpa and mom raised cattle, so I grew up around that, around brandings, around cows. I just knew I always wanted horses in my life. I also enjoyed cattle, and then when I got with my husband, back in our college days, his family was big into cattle, and so it just kind of naturally flowed I guess you could say.

Right now, we own and raise registered quarter horses. We train horses and sell them. My husband and I also do colt starting and training, so we have some client horses that we take in. We like to get them to a good place in their life, to where they’re going to do well and excel in the next person’s hands.

We also have a cow-calf operation. We raise the mama cows, turn the bulls out with them in the summertime, and then calve, usually around the end of March, through April. In the fall we sell the calves. And that check—you hope for that check to get you through the year, for expenses and hay and all the things, and living.

The things we can’t control are in the market, basically. Right now cattle prices are really good, so of course every cattle rancher is pretty happy about that. When cattle prices are lower, it’s definitely a lot tougher, but it’s really good right now, double what it was in recent years.

Ranching is a lot of hard work, but it’s also very rewarding, especially in the family realm. I love the opportunity this lifestyle gives our family. The values it teaches, enjoying time together, creating that legacy and lifestyle, and seeing your hard work pay off.

So many amazing things, people, and opportunities have come into my life since I started working with Women in Ranching. The Rooted in the Land program was created by Indigenous women, for Indigenous women.

Each year, I have the privilege of leading a gathering in my community that brings together women who live and work on the land. We come together to share resources, build meaningful connections, and focus on caring for the whole woman.

My favorite part of these gatherings isn’t just the workshops or speakers, it’s the relationships that are built. Ranching can be incredibly rewarding, but it can also feel stressful and isolating, especially during seasons of hardship and uncertainty. The thought, care, and intention behind these gatherings remind us that we don’t have to carry those burdens alone. We can learn from one another, support one another, and become stronger together.

Another project that is especially close to my heart is our Spirit of the Horse Camp.

Spirit of the Horse is a one-day, leadership-through-horsemanship camp for Blackfeet girls, ages 12 to 15. Through culture, connection, and the horse, we create a space where our girls can learn from elders, mentors, and one another while building confidence and leadership, in who they are as young Blackfeet women.

I saw a need in our community and wanted to create impact and share the healing of what horses have always done for my soul.

Creating and watching both of these programs grow has been one of the greatest blessings, and I can’t wait to see the lives they’ll continue to impact for years to come.