I recently had the chance to watch a film from INDIgenesis: GEN 3, the Walker Art Center’s recent Indigenous Film Festival. Thanks to the Walker for moving this content online during Covid-19 pandemic closures.
The film is called Fast Horse, by Edmonton-based Cree filmmaker Alexandra Lazarowich. The 13-minute documentary gives glimpses into a horse relay race that takes place at the annual Calgary Stampede. Indigenous jockeys from around the Blackfoot Confederacy (near Calgary) compete for champion of “North America’s Original Extreme Sport,” as Lazarowich calls it. The racers ride bareback, and, unlike most relays, the jockeys ride the entire race, switching horses each lap. This means the horses are sprinting at full gallop the entire race, and requires extraordinary training and physical demands from the riders. Not least of these demands are the moving transitions from one horse to the next between each lap. I found it difficult to forge a strong emotional bond with the protagonist racer, mostly, I think, because of the relatively short length of the film. Lazarowich, however, showcases striking footage of the process of training for and competing in the race. Most importantly, she makes it clear how important this event is for the racers and their teams, the social and animal networks that must be forged and maintained before entering the event. The success of the film lies in its ability to help viewers recognize that this event breathes life into Blackfoot identity and pride. A question that remains for me concerns the race track venue itself: Calgary Stampede Park, which is not exclusively (or even mostly) an Indigenous venue. What does it mean that a Blackfoot tradition is housed in a place defined by “Western Heritage?,” rodeos, square dancing, and sponsored by Coca-Cola?