After decades of criticism from Indigenous communities, the Golden-based Westernaires will end their program that teaches and portrays Native American dancing to Colorado youth, the horse-riding organization announced in an email over the weekend.⁠ ⁠ “This was not the boards (sic) preferred outcome, but it is necessary for the organization at this time,” the Westernaires said in an email to members on Saturday.⁠ ⁠ The Westernaires have been teaching horsemanship to kids in Colorado and performing equine entertainment with Wild West themes for more than 70 years, with a team of entirely volunteer staff dedicating time to the craft.⁠ ⁠ For decades, the organization’s romanticism of cowboys-and-Indians tropes — including a reenactment of the 1876 Battle of Little Bighorn and white children dressed in Native-inspired regalia performing sacred Indigenous dances — has garnered protest and pushback from Native American communities.⁠ ⁠ Read the full story at the link in our bio. ⁠ ⁠ 📝: Elizab...