Welcome back to the 2022 Inspirational Western Women series!

April is my favorite month.

And not just because it’s my birthday month, but because it’s when vivid colors begin to surround us, the land is warming up, the nights are getting longer, and more times than not, it’s Easter. A time to celebrate Christ’s resurrection.

This month’s featured gal also gives reason to celebrate. My best friend got me onto her, and I now subscribe to her blog.

It’s such a pleasure to introduce Cheyenne Glade Wilson – The Native Cowgirl.

So let’s meet her, shall we?

I actually got started in business at a young age, which I’ll speak more about later. When I found out I could make money doing things I enjoyed it was game on. I began braiding reins when I was 10. I became a published poet at age 11 and I wrote for our newspaper when I was 12 and beyond. I’ve never not worked.

I can’t imagine ever not working.

I feel that as human beings we can either work for ourselves or work for someone else. I like being my own boss and knowing what that looks like for myself. I enjoy recreating myself every few years.

I don’t do it on purpose. It just sort of happens.

I recently read that every seven years every cell in our body renews so we truly can’t be the same person we were. I love this and it makes total sense to me.

We are on a journey in life…and it is our own.

We should relish in the fact that we are unique.

Comparing ourselves to others isn’t where happiness grows. Whenever I need to get to work I shut off social media, put my blinders on, and reach down to my creative core. That’s where the good stuff is for everyone.

Speaking of good stuff, I love working with our draft cross colts and cattle. We have used draft cross horses for 20+ years. We love everything about them. Their size, demeanor, and willingness to do anything are big attributes that we enjoy.

We cross our draft studs on foundation Quarter Horse mares. The cold blood of the Percheron and Gypsy Vanner studs crosses really well on the blood of the Quarter Horse mares.

The colts we are producing have a great build, good bone, and super minds. We enjoy seeing our colts go on to become part of the family and we are glad to see how loved they are.

A lot of the time, what I’m doing leads to photo opportunities. Also, writing comes easier to me when I’m living what I’m talking about. I find that everything I do on the ranch leads me down one of these paths.

Being a fifth-generation rancher has given me many opportunities that I am extremely grateful for. The best thing is that I don’t have to choose one or the other either. I get to do them all whenever I feel like it. I’m also adding a few more things to my accomplishments too.

It’s fun to create new things!

Being raised on a working ranch doesn’t allow for laying around.

I was working since I can remember. When I found out I could make money day working, I was off to the neighbors. My dad got wise of that and began offering me earnings for going above and beyond on our place too. Learning that how hard I worked determined what I earned settled in my mind at an early age. I was working for others by the time I was 12.

I’ve never not had a job of some sort or another.

My grandfather was quite the entrepreneur.

He was in a family of 10 and he only had an eighth-grade education, yet surpassed a lot of the folks he grew up around. He had cattle in Alaska, Mississippi, and even Australia. Mind you, this was back in the 1960s and 1970s. There was no social media to check on things. He was far ahead of his time. I believe I got my entrepreneurial spirit and my work ethic from him.

And maybe even my love for Montana, which is home for me.

Southeastern Montana is cowboy and cattle country.

I love the fact that I grew up on the place that my family homesteaded back in the 1800s. I’m extremely proud to be fifth generation. Even though Montana is such a big state, it’s really small when it comes to knowing someone who knows someone.

Southeastern Montana is unlike anywhere else. You just have to grow up there to understand.

Not only am I proud to come from Montana, but I’m also proud of my Oglala Lakota heritage. 

Truth be told, I didn’t grow up on the reservation.

I have always cherished my Oglala Lakota Sioux heritage, and I’ve shared bits and pieces of our beliefs over the years. Recently someone messaged me on Facebook and basically raked me over the coals for sharing my culture with people. This person more or less said that I wasn’t traditional so I shouldn’t be sharing.

This really ticked me off. This person said they came from a place of love telling me this. It was a big slap across the face. Believe me, I didn’t sit quiet about it. In the end, this person tried to degrade me with words.

But I chose to rise above it all. I guess the thing I love the most about my heritage is that I believe I come from a very honorable and fierce people. They loved truly and held onto the things they believed in with everything they had. I think there is much to be admired about that. I guess the fact that I didn’t grow up “Indian” isn’t my fault.

I’m glad for the way I grew up.

I enjoy sharing things about my culture with those who want to know. I don’t consider myself an authority, and I am certainly not trying to solve all of the issues on the reservation. I will just say that I’m proud to be an enrolled member of the Oglala Lakota Sioux tribe.

Relocating to the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota has certainly been good for us. My husband and I moved down there in 2005 to help my folks ranch. Within a few months, we bought our own cow herd and were full-time ranchers.

About Cheyenne

Cheyenne Glade Wilson is a woman in agriculture. When she hooked up with other women living similar lives to her own, it was a perfect fit. She is inspired by women who are going after their dreams, not letting excuses hold them back, and thinks it’s important to surround yourself with people on the same mission as yourself.

“It’s also important to make sure those close to you are uplifting and positive. I find a lot of that among fellow women in agriculture. We have a lot of responsibilities, but we never let that hold us back from doing what we feel led to do.”

Our brand is a Lazy Six over a Nine. We call it the Lazy Six Nine. The brand was my parents for 50 years. They gifted it to me for my birthday a few years back when we were starting our draft cross horse business. I cherish it and am very proud of what we are building. The history behind the brand makes it that more special.

Facebook and Instagram: @The Native Cowgirl