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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
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Mural drawn by public recalls 1858 slaughter of horses

Lindsey, 12, left, and her parents, Heather and David Long, paint some of the horse silhouettes on the floor of the Tribal Gathering Place plaza by Spokane City Hall on Friday. The “900 Horses” art project, organized by Spokane Arts, commemorates the horse slaughter of 1858, when the U.S. Army killed a large herd of Indian horses on the banks of the Spokane River. The paint is chalk-based and will eventually wear or wash away. The Long family is traveling through the area from Lexington, Kentucky. (Jesse Tinsley)
By Pia Hallenberg piah@spokesman.com(509) 459-5427

Volunteer artists of all ages and abilities have been getting on their knees at the Spokane Tribal Gathering Place to paint as part of the “900 Horses” community art project that began last Saturday.

Friday, as the temperature crept toward the high 90s and the sun heated up the concrete, the plaza next to Spokane City Hall was slowly filling with multicolored horses big and small, as drops of sweat diluted the gritty chalk paint.

Artist Ryan Feddersen is the creator of the project, which is sponsored by Spokane Arts and meant as a tribute to the hundreds of horses ordered slaughtered by Col. George Wright on Sept. 8, 1858.

The horses belonged to local tribes, and the bloody slaughter took place on the shores of the Spokane River near what’s now Stateline.

It was a devastating blow to local tribes who were dependent on horses.

“I’m interested in integrating local history in public art,” Feddersen said.

When the project is finished, the plaza will be completely covered in multicolored galloping horses running off toward the river on a blue background.

“I’m trying to show the scale of what happened and the impact it had on the tribes,” Feddersen said.

She grew up in Wenatchee and is a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.

Researching Spokane history she was surprised to learn about the horse slaughter.

“There’s a monument there and a plaque at the site, but the tone of what’s written is not right,” Feddersen said. “In response to the monument I wanted to create a memorial honoring the lives of the horses.”

It’s easy to be part of the project: Feddersen and her helpers have painted outlines across the plaza, using blue paint and stencils. Participants pick from a lineup of paint colors and brushes – promise to stay within the lines, not write anything or paint any logos – and go at it.

Trina Helms brought her children Coby and Alia Olson.

As Alia painted her horse mostly pink, Helms felt so inspired she went and got her own paint.

“This is really cool,” Helms said. “I didn’t know anything about the horse slaughter.”

Gary Olson, the children’s grandfather, came across “900 Horses” on a trip downtown Thursday.

“I’ve been trying to find the monument out by the river, but I haven’t made it yet,” Olson said. “I like the project. It’s very representative of the area and the Native Americans who live here.”

By noon Friday, Feddersen had created 700 stenciled outlines, about 400 of which were colored.

The “900 Horses” project continues through Sunday, or until all the horses are colored, whichever comes first.

Photographer Dean Davis is creating a time lapse video of the project that will be available in a few weeks, Feddersen said.

The paint is temporary and will either be washed off by rain – of which there’s none in the forecast – or cleaned off by power washing.

“The rain would be great,” Feddersen said, “but they will probably have to wash it off in two weeks.”