Return of rare Ojibwe horse lifts spirits -- but still needs help

Em Loerzel grew up hearing stories about the Ojibwe horse from her uncle, about small ponies that would roam free near Ojibwe communities tucked among the forests and lakes along the Minnesota-Canada border, and help with tasks such as hauling wood and trap lines.

"I think when people think about Native people and their horses, they think of Lakota people or southwest people, but he would tell me, don't forget that we are horse people too,” said Loerzel, a descendant of the White Earth Nation.

Loerzel has taken that teaching to heart. Earlier this year, the 28-year-old graduate student in social welfare at the University of Washington raised money to rescue six of the horses from a Canada rancher who could no longer afford to keep them.

She brought them to a farm owned by a friend outside River Falls, where Loerzel moved last year with her husband. And she started a nonprofit called The Humble Horse, to raise awareness about the breed–which is also known as the Lac La Croix pony, and to help revive it. Only about 180 Ojibwe horses remain, mostly in Canada.

The horses are small, sturdy and friendly. Last month, Loerzel nuzzled a 2-year-old stud colt named Mino. “Short for Mino Bimaadiziwin. That's our word for ‘a good life.’ All of our Ojibwe horses have their Ojibwe names,” Loerzel explained.

“He’s just one of the sweetest guys. We Anishinaabe people bred them to be really smart, sweet, docile."

https://www.mprnews.org/story/2022/08/23/return-of-rare-ojibwe-horse-lifts-spirits-but-still-needs-help