Legacy of the American West: Indian Cowboys, Black Cowboys, and Vaqueros
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Social Education 72(4), pp 189–193 ©2008 National Council for the Social Studies Legacy of the American West: Indian Cowboys, Black Cowboys, and Vaqueros S. Kay Gandy Oh, I’m a lonely cowboy and I’m off the Texas trail, My trade is cinchin’ saddles and pullin’ bridle reins. For I can twist a lasso with the greatest skill and ease, Or rope and ride a bronco most anywhere I please. —“Lone Star Trail,” recorded by Ken Maynard, 1930. he cowboy is viewed as an Association. The Professional Rodeo their horseback riding skills, particularly American icon: rider of the open Cowboys Association sanctions around Comanche warriors, noted for their abil- range, rugged individual, and 700 rodeos annually. ity to shoot arrows from under a horse’s T 4 champion of good. Many young chil- Why is it important to study cowboys? neck while galloping onwards. dren pretend to be cowboys, riding stick The introduction of cattle and horses by Since laws of the day made it necessary ponies and shooting “bad guys.” When the Spanish conquistadors transformed to register cattle brands, annual round- I was growing up, Western shows pep- the local culture, influenced the econom- ups were held. Branding cattle, riding pered the television screen: Bonanza, ics of the times, and created a national horses, and roping skills were a natural Have Gun Will Travel, Stagecoach identity with the cowboy. Yet our under- part of the cowboy existence and often West, Rifleman, High Chapparell, Lone standing of cowboys has, for the most part, led to competitions for bragging rights Ranger, Gunsmoke, and Johnny Ringo. been informed by movies and television as to who was the best. The rodeo was a Authors, such as Louis L’Amour and shows. Dime store novels and Wild West natural extension of activities that were Zane Grey, have documented the life shows helped construct the stereotypi- a fundamental part of the cowboy life. of a cowboy through more than 200 cal images of the “white” cowboy and In a rodeo, the Native was not locked stories. Recordings by singing cowboys the red-skinned “savages.” However, the in the stereotype of primitive savage, Roy Rogers and Gene Autry were a part cowboy culture and history are a product but could be established as a skillful of my early music collection. of men and women of many ethnicities; horseman or roper. Some noted Native But the cowboy life was not an easy therefore, it is imperative that students cowboys include: life. Beans, bacon, and coffee were the be exposed to the many influences that leading sustenance, a bedroll under the shaped the American cowboy. 1. Jackson Sundown (Nez stars served as home most days, and Perce), winner of the World pay was about $30 per month.1 The When Indians were Cowboys Championship Rodeo in 1916; work was tough. Cowboys faced cattle As the West was often portrayed as a rustlers, stampedes, Indian raids, and battlefield between cowboys and Indians, 2. Tom Three Persons (Blood), hostile white settlers. They had to make it may be difficult for students to under- winner of the first World sure the herd had plenty to eat and drink, stand that so-called Indians were often Bucking Horse Championship at and often had to drive cattle hundreds cowboys. The early Spanish missionaries the Calgary Stampede in 1912; of miles to the nearest railroad. trained Native Americans as cattle herd- Cowboys are still very much a ers. Many Natives adopted ranching into 3. Will Rogers (Cherokee), noted part of American culture today. High their economies.2 As Native Americans writer and actor who grew up as a school and college students participate had historically worked with animals and cowboy; in rodeos sponsored by the National lived in close relation to the natural world, High School Rodeo Association and ranching provided connections to that 4. Teesquantee Woolman the National Intercollegiate Rodeo heritage.3 Natives were recognized for (Cherokee), three times National M AY /JUNE 2008 189 racial oppression, many blacks went west in the 1800s. The Civil War gen- erated many African American cowboys, as white ranchers went off to fight in the war. White and black cowboys worked together, sharing the same bunkhouse, same food, and often the same pay. Yet blacks still faced social discrimination. Rarely did a black cowboy advance to the level of trail boss or foreman; and in saloons, blacks were forced to stay at the end of the bar.8 Saloons often segregated by class and race, charging from five cents to twenty-five cents for a mug of beer.9 Although most movies and books excluded the black cowboy, Herbert Jeffries (the first singing black cowboy) convinced Hollywood to make sev- eral all-black cowboy movies.10 These 1930s Western musicals created the hero known as the Bronze Buckaroo, acknowledged later in The Untold West, Turner Broadcasting Service’s documen- tary on the legacy of black cowboys on the American frontier. Jeffries sang his own Western compositions in the mov- ies, some of which were released in a 1995 CD, The Bronze Buckaroo (Rides Again).11 Fred Whitfield of Hockley, Texas, competes to score a time of 7.4 seconds in calf roping Like Native American cowboys, during the opening night of the National Finals Rodeo on Dec. 6, 2002, at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Joe Cavaretta) African American cowboys soon orga- nized their own competitions and asso- ciations. The Southwestern Colored Finals Rodeo (NFR) Team Peoples and Cattle Ranching in the Cowboys Association was formed in Roping World Champion; American West (Iverson, 1997), and the 1940s. The Bill Picket International Tom Three Persons: Legend of an Indian Rodeo, which has been in existence 5. Tom Reeves (Sioux), team cap- Cowboy, (Dempsey, 1997). more than 20 years, is dedicated to tain for U.S. Olympic rodeo team keeping the legacy alive of black cow- in 2002. Black Cowboys boys who helped define the American American history textbooks frequently West (www.billpickettrodeo.com/web/pages/ Native cowboys were often dis- omit contributions of black cowboys, yet main.htm). criminated against in early profes- about one in every four cowboys was There are many famous black cow- sional rodeos, which led to the forma- African American.5 A former cowboy, boys documented in historical records tion of such organizations as the Indian Silver Walker (an African American), and children’s literature. Some books National Finals Rodeo (www.infr.org) was one of the leading horse racers in I recommend are Black Cowboy, Wild and the All Indian Rodeo Cowboys 1870. In fact, the winning jockey of the Horses: A True Story (Lester, 1998), The Association (www.aircarodeo.com). Other first Kentucky Derby was black. Until Story of Stagecoach Mary Fields (Miller, famous Native cowboys can be found at the early 1900s, there were many black 1994), and Bill Pickett, Rodeo-Ridin’ the Indian Rodeo News website (indian- jockeys winners, such as Ike Murphy Cowboy (Pinkney, 1996). Information rodeonews.com/PRCAIndianCowboys.htm). who won the Derby three times.6 on many black cowboys can also be Two books that teachers could use to The word “cowboy” may have first found at www.blackcowboys.com. Listed find background information include been used as a description of a black below are some of the more famous When Indians Became Cowboys: Native slave’s role with cattle.7 Impelled by cowboys. S OCIAL EDUCATION 190 Nat “Deadwood Dick” Love, Charles Sampson, first black • Piales, lassoing an animal former slave considered expert champion bull rider for ProRodeo roper, rider, and shooter (Nat in 1982. • Coleada, grabbing the tail of bull, wrote the only known autobiog- wrapping it around your right leg raphy of an African American Vaqueros (Charros) and spinning the bull to the ground cowhand); When the Spanish introduced horses and cattle to the Americas, large haciendas • Jineteada de toros, bull riding Bose Ikard, former slave who were established in Mexico. This created became right-hand man to one a demand for skilled vaqueros to rope, • Jineteada de yeguas, riding a bucking of the richest cattlemen in Texas ride, control, and protect the animals. wild horse bareback (The character played by Danny The word “vaquero” came from the word Glover in the movie Lonesome vaca, the Spanish word for cow. Cowboys • Escaramuza charra, equestrian ballet Dove was based on Bose Ikard); often referred to themselves as buckaroos. performed by women and girls In Spanish, the “v” is pronounced like Bill Pickett, first African a “b,” so vaquero may have evolved into • Paso de muerte (leap of death), three American inducted into the bukero, then finally buckaroo. Charro is teammates chase a wild horse; one National Cowboy Hall of Fame; another Spanish term that means expert charro brings his horse alongside and credited with inventing “bulldog- horseman or cowboy. Charro became the leaps onto horse, grabs the mane, and ging” (Until he became famous, cultural construction of maleness to the rides until the horse tires.18 Pickett was often forced to dress Spanish settlers.12 Charro referred to the as a Mexican toreador, as many landowner and vaquero to the poorly Regulations of the Federacion de rodeos did not admit black contes- paid laborer. The dirty work of the Charros prohibit women from compet- tants); cowboy was beneath the nobility. Ranch ing in any charro event. Mostly they serve hands consisted of Indians and mestizos behind the scenes as organizers and host- Two famous African American (the mixed race descendants of Indians esses of La Charreada. The only event lawmen were Willie Kennard and Spanish).13 Thousands of vaqueros for women is the precision riding team, in and Bass Reeves.