The title of the book comes from the words of the Lakota holy man Lame Deer:

We didn’t have a word for the strange animal we got from the white man: the horse. So we call it sunka waken, “sacred dog”. For bringing us the horse we could almost forgive you for bringing us whiskey. Horses make a landscape look more beautiful.

Horses beautify a landscape is a short volume of poetry written by noted writer/activist Alice Walker. The work is a powerful collection of poems that are raw, honest, and celebrate the ability to celebrate life and stand up to injustice and abuse.

In fact, the horses beautify the landscape. It is a delight to watch them graze and commune with the land and their flock. This quote is poignant because, of course, alcoholism has wrought such lasting devastation on Native American peoples. European settlers, including my own ancestors, also brought other diseases, violence, and the forced removal of native peoples from their tribal lands. Yet amid this devastation, Lame Deer honors the horse’s return to the Americas and says it was almost worth it.

“Holy Dog” come home

Interestingly, we know that Eohippus, or Dawn Horse, the ancestor of the modern horse, lived about 58 million years ago. The horse is one of the few Ice Age animals still surviving today, originating in the forests and swamps of North America. Especially prevalent on the Great Plains, Eohippus was only about 14 inches tall. More dog-like than horse-like, EM Ensminger describes Eohippus as “an elegant little animal, scarcely more than a foot tall with a slender face, an arched back, short neck, slender legs, and a long tail, adapted to live in swamps”. .”

incredible adaptation

When the swamps dried up 18 million years ago, Eohippus adapted by developing a longer neck for grasslands, a single toe or hoof, longer legs, and eyes with nearly 360° vision to detect predators. The ability to switch feeds as tall grasses replaced the swamp habitat allowed the horse to survive. Other large animals that survived the Ice Age and drastic climate changes became extinct because they could only eat certain foods that were not available.

Evidence suggests that descendants of Eohippus crossed the land bridge from the Great Plains into Europe and Asia. 10,000 years ago, horses had disappeared from the United States. Ironically, the descendant of the horse that became extinct in the Americas was returned to the home of its ancestors by the conquistadors and European invasions.

Holy Companion

The Lakota use of “Holy Dog” to refer to horses is interesting, especially since their ancestor Eohippus was similar in size to a dog. Santo captures the spiritual or otherworldly nature of the horse, while the dog confers the special relationship of companion. The words “Holy” and “Dog”, when put together, become a sacred companion.

Is beauty enough?

Lame Deer talks about the beauty of horses and how they enhance the landscape. About fifty years ago, horses lost their jobs in transportation, agriculture, and the military in the Western world. Today it is expensive and time consuming to care for horses that are no longer of “practical” use on the farm, for transportation, or for waging war. However, more and more women are becoming horse owners and riders. Is the beauty of horses enough to ensure their care and survival, in a culture that values ​​youth, productivity and usefulness?

Hundreds of thousands of women are voting “yes” with their money, their time, and their love of horses. Perhaps they are looking for a Sacred Dog, a sacred companion to accompany them on life’s journeys.