Ojibwe Horse Visits Grand Portage

No saddle needed to ride these calm horses

Photo courtesy of Grey Raven Ranch

A horse from Grey Raven Ranch from the Seine River First Nation in Canada visited Grand Portage Rendezvous Days, 2022. Known in the Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) language as bebezhigooganzhii (one big tonail) or mishtadim (horse or big dog), these horses, called Lac La Croix ponies or Ojibwe horses, stand only 14 hands high (just under 5 feet). They once roamed free in Minnesota and northwestern Ontario, and are perfectly adapted to life in the north country. These are gentle horses that can be trained to follow people without use of a halter or lead. Like the bison of the west, their population rebounded from four mares found in 1977 on the isolated lands of the Lac La Croix Nation. Five men trailered them across the then frozen lake to Bois Forte to save them from destruction deemed necessary by Canadian health officials. Now they number 175 yet, with only 24 stallions left, still one of the rarest breeds on Earth.

Snowmobiles and cars replaced horses as transportation. At one time they were community animals, serving as winter labor and wandering free to forage in the summer months. In the winter they browse like deer on moss and willows. Their hooves are hard enough so that they do not need shoes, even on the hard rocky ground of this landscape. Look for subtle “zebra stripes” on their legs, a sign of feral horses. Now they are important aids in connecting Anishinaabe children and teens with their own culture. They learn how to care for and train the horses as well as important leadership skills. The relationship builds trust between the kids and horses that turns into mentoring as youths pass on what they learn to newer students.