National Cowboy Poetry Gathering: Henry Real Bird

Deep West Video filmmaker Gregory Collett caught a recitation by Henry Real Bird at the 28th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada in 2018. Henry, a native Crow Indian, grew up ranching on the battlegrounds of the Little Big Horn on the Crow Reservation in Montana. A former rodeo cowboy, now a renowned poet, Henry still lives in and draws inspiration from the land of the Little Big Horn Valley. Horses picture large in Henry’s creative work, and he still rides eight to nine hours a day. In January 2012, this former Montana Poet Laureate was named Cowboy Poet of the Year at the 16th annual Academy of Western Artists Will Roger Awards. His latest book is Wolf Teeth, published in 2013. He also mentors youth, recently teaching poetry reading and writing at the Wind River Reservation Arapaho Ranch Safari summer field program.