Cowboys & Indians May/June 2022

Best of the West The people of the West are inspiring and community-minded, so it’s no surprise C&I’s Heroes spilled from the pages of the magazine to cowboysindians.com. After you read the feature on page 98, hop online for more profiles showcasing the best of our American character. C&I New Music Playlist We’ve been curating the greatest new Indigenous, country, and Americana tunes in our C&I Approved playlist on Spotify. Hit “play” for more than 24 hours of the best music around. Search “C&I Approved” on the website to find out how to listen. Real Estate Are you looking for your next home in the West? Search our Hot Property and On The Market listings — you’ll find plenty of rugged and rustic real estate properties throughout the West. Extra! Extra! Are you subscribed to our weekly…

ELLISE PIERCE, WRITER “C&I’S HEROES OF THE WEST” ON PAGE 98 My mom will always be my greatest hero. She taught me how to knit (which I do poorly). She taught me how to cook (I’m decent). Most of all, she taught me how to see beauty everywhere, even in the smallest of things. A colorful fallen leaf. A rock. A seashell. CHUCK THOMPSON, WRITER “HERITAGE TRAIL” ON PAGE 114 Last year, I received my COVID-19 vaccine on the Oregon Coast courtesy of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians. The experience was A-plus from start to finish. Friendly, professional staff. Modern clinic. Super-efficient. It was yet another reminder to me of all the unheralded volunteer and professional workers keeping people safe and healthy every day on tribal lands across the West. HEIDE BRANDES, WRITER “REMEMBER THE REMOVAL”…

AT THE INTERSECTION OF WRITTEN poetry and musical performance, you will find two unparalleled masters in Joy Harjo and Red Steagall. Harjo, the current U.S. poet laureate, and Steagall, the legendary cowboy poet and songwriter, are two of the Western heroes we proudly honor in this issue’s annual Best of the West feature. With a brilliant economy of words, both have written and spoken volumes about the worlds around them, the positive and negative effects of culture, and the universal human experience. I’ve been lucky enough to put together Steagall’s Cowboy Corner page in this magazine for several years now. It’s something I always look forward to, no matter what my other work demands, because of the insight and entertainment in his poems and songs. With a plainspoken, authentic dialogue or campfire-style…

The Duke’s Legacy I grew up faithfully watching John Wayne movies as a baby boomer, so seeing him brutally gunned down in The Cowboys was a shocker. To me, it felt like not only was John Wayne dead, but so was everything he stood for—truth, justice, and patriotism. But John Wayne was too big to die. He and his beliefs couldn’t be killed or canceled so easily. Fifty years later JohnWayne’s legacy lives on, as is evidenced by the front cover of Cowboys & Indians magazine. —Paul Hoylen, Deming, New Mexico Real Life Reflection When the film The Cowboys was being released, I saw the Life magazine photo retrospective with the sepia-toned images looking very much like they were shot a hundred years earlier. I also remember the spoiler alert that The Duke’s character…

There is more to Western fashion than lace blouses, blue jeans, summer dresses, and pearl snap shirts. Accessories can rope in the cowboy or cowgirl aesthetic to help you nail the Western look. Make your next outfit stand out with these accessories. WILD TURQUOISE Dare to walk on the wild — and turquoise — side of life. St. Marteen boots ($798), rockwelltharp.com DIVIDE & CONQUER Sport a hat that embodies the best of both worlds. Cruel Intentions wool hat ($244), toppedhats.com CUSTOM STATEMENT Be one-of-a-kind, just like this squash blossom pendant. Leigha Cleveland (Navajo) Royston Turquoise squash blossom pendant (contact for price), lanterndancer.com MODERN WEST Pay tribute to spring wildflowers with these earrings. Wade Patton (Oglala Lakota) Triangle Pendulum Earrings ($125), byellowtail.com SCARF ACCESSORY Accessorize your scarf with sterling silver and turquoise. Thunderbird scarf slide ($110), fringescarves.com NEW VINTAGE Take your cowgirl…

Ancient Peaks Winery spreads its vines on a working cattle ranch nestled at the base of the rugged coastal Central California Santa Lucia Mountains that give the 1,000-acre winery its name. Had they not chosen that evocative name, it might have equally been called Three Paso Robles Families, for the Wittstroms, the Filipponis, and the Rossis, who founded the winery as a natural extension of their deep roots in local agriculture. Ancient Peaks grows 19 varietals — the predominant is cabernet sauvignon. The estate’s vineyard, Margarita Vineyard, is the southernmost vineyard in the Paso Robles region and the only vineyard in the Santa Margarita Ranch AVA. “The combination of interesting soil profiles, the cooling pattern from the ocean, and three families’ love for agriculture and bringing people together around wine is really…