What some people know of the “Buffalo Soldier” begins and ends with Bob Marley’s song of the same name, but on Saturday afternoon, local kids learned about the members of the 19th century African-American cavalry regiment of the United States Army through living history demonstrations.
One of the demonstrations at Glenwood Dunes, part of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore in Furnessville, involved the help of 6-year-old Braeden Briggs, of Gary, who served as an honorary member of the cavalry sent to capture the Ponderosa Kid, a fictional criminal played by Leroy Dorsey.
“I do this for the kids,” said Dorsey, out of breath after trying to outrun Briggs, “and to give them a different outlook on history.”
Other activities included lasso demonstrations, horse rides, and plenty of desperado roundups, said Cassandra Cannon, CEO of the United Urban Network who partnered with the national park for the program.
“We want to keep kids involved and interacting with history, getting our community in touch with our roots,” Cannon said. “Most people have heard of the Buffalo Soldiers but they don’t know that they served all over the United States. They were the first park rangers, they were there to prevent forest fires, and they helped to prevent uprisings.”
She said that she hopes the program will continue to grow with the help of additional partners.
“Next year we would like to do this on a larger scale and reflect all ethnic groups in the region and the contribution they made to celebrate all heritages for the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service,” she said.
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Mario Longori, urban anthropology manager with Chicago’s Field Museum, said they also seek to grow the program.
“We want kids to have a greater appreciation of nature and see that there are many ways to enjoy nature — hiking, climbing, riding, and interacting with animals. You can always find your place in nature and often times culture and heritage can be that entry point,” Longori said.
Horse trainer Ron Hunter of Riverdale, Ill., participated to show kids that the horses ridden by the Buffalo Soldiers were not only modes of transportation, but also gentle and peaceful animals.
“I want kids to know about their history and give back. I’m 76 and I’ve ridden horses since I was 12 years old,” he said. “When I was a kid, the milkman used to let me ride his horse and I’ve ridden ever since.”
Heather Augustyn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.