Bill Dunmire, author of “New Mexico’s Spanish Livestock Heritage: Four Centuries of Animals, Lands, and People”, will give a free presentation at the Silver City Public Library on October 5th at 10 am. According to a news release from the library, Dunmire’s book is “the first book ever published on the history of livestock in New Mexico”, which is believed to have the most interesting livestock history in the United States.
The presentation will feature a history of several domestic livestock species brought over from Spain. It will describe how horses, donkeys, and other animals were adopted into Pueblo and Navajo culture and livelihood, and how horses became central to the Plains Indians. The talk will describe the spread of livestock and the effects of introduced livestock on the Native peoples and the environment.
The program will last about 45 minutes and involve a slideshow of photos from the 1880’s to 1930’s. A discussion about local livestock will follow. This program is made possible by the New Mexico Humanities Council. Call Bill Dunmire at 505-867-3474 or the Silver City Public Library at 538-3672 for more information.
