Universally, the horse revolutionized every culture that came to adopt its power. Spanish Barbs (Mustangs) who escaped the tyranny of the conquistadors gladly accepted placement with the Plains Indian peoples and co-evolved themselves with the cultures they touched. With the reins of the horse in one hand, and Hudson Bay implements (guns and ... see Hudson Bay Blues, Noble Heart CD © 1995) in the other, Blackfeet warriors stopped cold the economic expansion of the U.S. into the Upper Missouri for 25 years (1806 – 1831). It was the early 1830s when they finally allowed “Fur Mart” (the American Fur Company) into our homelands south of the Medicine Line (US/Canadian border).

Locally, the song is dedicated to the Lodge Pole Gallery outside of Browning, Montana, Blackfeet Reservation, which is proud to be recipient and home to descendants of these Spanish Barb Mustangs. (The majestic horses pictured on the back of this CD booklet are part of that herd.) This is just one of many factors contributing to a cultural reawakening in Blackfeet Country today.

Thousands upon thousands of years before the quest
Of Christopher Columbus’s mission to the West
People of the New Land from coast to ocean coast
Were living lives in syncopated rhythm with the host

Now in sober retrospect, Chris wasn’t all that clean
His dreams demanded slaves and gold in service to his queen
Sinister conquistadors followed in his wake
With degrees in rape and plunder, they’d civilize and take

So with the Coming of the Horse and the dawning of the gun
There were two new roads for our tribes to travel on
We were people of the Plains long before we held the reins
When the spirit horse arrived a reckoning began

Beneath the awning of the sky upon the open plain
Like a bulb in fertile ground awaiting warmth and rain
People of the flowing grass envisioned with the wind
That elk and dog become as one, together born again

Weaving amidst the buffalo stampeding from our bows
Our ponies hooves were fleet and sure the meat would be brought home
The power to select, the power to protect
Before us stood the challenge of balance and respect

So with the Coming of the Horse and the dawning of the gun
There were two new roads for our tribes to travel on
We were people of the Plains long before we held the reins
When the spirit horse arrived a reckoning began

Feel the heart embrace the glory days of youth
With wild herds countless as the stars.
Grandfather Spirit sparks vision touched with truth.
Granddaughter’s eyes reflect a fascination longing to be ours.

They ride the wind...

Clouds of thunder rumbled inside the Earth’s backbone
With the tone first set by light strangers to our home
A crazy proclamation, our Mother was now owned
By some far away White Father where the morning sun had shone

With a Hudson’s Bay connection and ponies primed for speed
We penalized this arrogance a quarter century
Nomad warriors of the Earth neutralized the force
That "willed to power" o’er our home, the domain of the horse

So with the Coming of the Horse and the dawning of the gun
There were two new roads for our tribes to travel on
We were people of the Plains long before we held the reins
When the spirit horse arrived a reckoning began

Both Tribe and Spirit Horse survives...    Reborn again!