CULTURED COWBOYS

Westerns were a cornerstone of living room entertainment during the 1950s and '60s, and on the big screen before that.

Watching "The Lone Ranger" or "Wagon Train," you'd swear all cowboys were white and that the only role Native Americans played was attacking them or, in Tonto's case, serving as the brains behind the Lone Ranger.

Actually, Spaniards were the first cowboys in North America, bringing horses to the continent after Christopher Columbus got lost and stumbled ashore.

This weekend at the South Point Equestrian Center, Native American cowboys and cowgirls are celebrating their culture while competing in the 33rd annual Indian National Finals Rodeo (INFR).

About 300 athletes will compete today through Sunday in all traditional rodeo categories.

Most top Native American rodeo competitors -- such as former bareback world champion Tom Reeves (Cheyenne River Sioux) and 13-time NFR steer wrestling qualifier Blair Burk (Choctaw) -- focus on Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association events and the goal of qualifying for the National Finals Rodeo, which will be Dec. 4 to 13 at the Thomas & Mack Center.

The regional Indian rodeo circuit rarely leads to major league rodeo, but team roper Derrick Begay, a Navajo, is bucking the trend this year.

Begay, 25, was the Indian association's season champion as a team roping header last year and is on his way to qualifying for his first NFR. The roper from Seba Dalkai, Ariz., ranks 12th in the PRCA (the top 15 advance to the NFR).

Rollie Wilson, a 25-year-old member of the Ogalala Sioux tribe in Buffalo, S.D., is trying to win his second INFR all-around title this weekend and might have had a chance to challenge for an NFR berth had he not severely injured his knee in July.

"I was in the top 50 (in PRCA) when my horse jumped in the chute and hit my knee on the fence," he said.

Wilson and his wife, C.J., are expecting their second child, so he doubts he'll be able to compete in many PRCA events next year because of the considerable travel that is required.

But that's fine with him. He enjoys the all-Indian events in which he competes with other members of his family.

"(Indian rodeos) make it easier to stay close to home," he said.

Family is a key element of western and American Indian culture. The event opened Thursday with Native Americans sharing aspects of their culture and performing ceremonial dances. Unlike the multimillion-dollar production for the NFR at the Thomas & Mack, there were no laser light shows or typical Las Vegas glitz at the INFR.

Nathan Morris was among the Horse Creek Tribal Dancers who opened the event with Indian music, dance and history.

Although a sparse crowd was on hand, Susie McCabe, a Navajo who moved to Las Vegas in 1983, appreciates the opportunity the next three days provide.

"A lot of people don't know much about native people. This is very important," she said of the event.

She talked about pow wows -- native gatherings -- as being important to maintaining tradition. To her, this rodeo is another way of strengthening families.

U.S. flags were held proudly on the arena floor while the national anthem played before the first bareback ride. It was clear Native Americans are proud to live in the United States.

After all, at one time, all of this was theirs.

Contact reporter Jeff Wolf at jwolf@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0247.