Four people, three horses, two exchanges, one display of Indigenous culture in North America.

In Indigenous relay racing, a rider competes in a three-round race, changing horses twice by jumping off their horse at full stride and on to the next without the use of a saddle or stirrups. Two team members keep the waiting horses ready for the exchange, while a so-called 'mugger' steps in front of the running horse after the rider has leaped off to bring it to a stop. Indigenous relay racing (IRR) is a longstanding tradition within Indigenous communities in North America.

NOHR highlights how IRR as a cultural practice enables participants to assert agency, renegotiate history and navigate Indigenous identity in a rodeo context that largely affirms the White settler colonial narrative, symbolically charged by myths of the Wild West and the frontier. The project shows how Indian relay races are practiced, perceived and represented in the 21st century as they gain unprecedented popularity within and beyond Indigenous contexts. The project researches different sociocultural contexts, including the Calgary Stampede (Canada) and the Sheridan WYO Rodeo (Wyoming) as White-organised and mainly White-attended events, as well as races like the Championship of Champions in Casper (Wyoming), which are organized by Native associations like the HNIRC.

The research offers a comprehensive analysis of Indigenous relay racing, focusing on its historical evolution, contemporary significance, and social dynamics. The perspectives and priorities of Indigenous participants are central to the project, which foregrounds themes identified by community members in personal conversations that highlight the significance of IRR for Indigenous people(s).

By integrating oral history, participant observations, archival research and sociocultural analysis, the project advances a mixed methods approach and aims to contribute meaningfully to the IRR community by way of scientific publications as well as knowledge transfer to a general public. Rooted in Indigenous forms of knowledge, NOHR provides meaningful insights into Indigenous relay races, highlighting their cultural and social significance in the past, present, and possibly future.

NOHR is a cooperation with Prof. Dr Stefanie Schäfer, University of Mannheim.