Rose Bowl Parade Controversy

For Immediate release – December 30, 2010

National Tribal Horse Coalition Opposes Madeleine Pickens Wild Horse Float in Rose Bowl Parade

Pendleton, Oregon – The National Tribal Horse Coalition (NTHC) represents member land based Tribal Nations who are experiencing devastating issues with overpopulation of feral horses on their homelands. These feral horses on federally recognized Reservations are free roaming animals, virtually the same as the antelope, deer, elk and moose, and are not mustangs. The reservations have also become dumping grounds for unwanted/abandoned horses; this has caused undue economical stress on the Tribes. The NTHC is working diligently to find resolution to the overpopulation/abandonment problem, the NTHC authored both resolutions for the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians and the National Congress of American Indians to bring focus to the problems being encountered; NTHC has not been dictated by any outside influences and has made public the various possible solutions, in this effort the NTHC has encountered much opposition from animal rights advocacy groups who have freely used the symbolism of the North American Indians and horses.
The NTHC strongly opposes a Madeleine Pickens sponsored float depicting a herd of wild mustangs galloping down the Rose Parade route on January 1, 2011 – under the watchful eyes of a concerned “Native American” . The NTHC is opposed to animal rights groups like the Madeleine Pickens Wild Mustang Foundation who have freely used the symbolism of the North American Indians and horses to promote agendas in direct opposition to the tribes’ position, this float is a perfect example of the romanticism affiliated with the North American Indians and their horses, therefore, the NTHC calls on the leadership of the Rose Bowl Parade and any and all other decision makers to prevent this float from being in the parade as it is an abuse of the reputation of the North American Indian.