History was recently made as the Blackfeet Nation proudly became home to the first Native-led equine air scent detection Search and Rescue (SAR) team.
The Holding Hope SAR Equine Team, comprised of three dedicated members and an auditor, recently completed intensive scent detection training under the guidance of Terry Nowacki, a nationally recognized pioneer in equine scent detection.
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The team trained alongside seasoned SAR units, including the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Mounted Patrol and other teams from as far away as South Dakota. At the end of the training, three Blackfeet horses earned the distinction of wearing official Equine Search and Rescue masks, marking their certification in air scent detection work.
Team members Nugget Mad Plume (with horse Comanche), Kelsey Mad Plume (with Jack), and Thomas Corona (with J’ose) represented the Blackfeet Nation with pride and resilience throughout the rigorous training process.
“It was a really cool experience,” said team member Thomas Corona. “The horses got a couple days to train and it took us weeks. But the first time that my horse caught the scent… the subject was out in the field laying down in tall grass, couldn't see him from afar. And all of a sudden the horses picked his scent and beelined straight to him.”
While the path to success was not without its challenges particularly for Thomas and J’ose, whose partnership got off to a rough start, it ended in a resounding triumph.
During their first exercise, J’ose dramatically bucked Thomas off in a spirited display but Thomas’s perseverance paid off.
Over the following days, he built a new bond of trust with his horse and in the last challenge, J’ose caught the scent and found the target over 75 yards away in just 1 minute and 25 seconds, a record time, as other teams clocked between 2 and 10 minutes.
“Being a horseman, you don’t let your horse get away with too much,” Thomas explained. “With this, you have to kind of break away from that, especially when they’re giving you these signs of where to go, you have to actually put your trust into the animal and trust that they know where to go.”
When J’ose signaled he had picked up the scent, Thomas gave the command to "go search," and the rest went from there.
J’ose’s lineage is the last in a bloodline traced back to a legendary horse taken by Chewing Black Bones from the Crow Tribe decades ago. The Mad Plume family, custodians of this line, expressed pride in continuing the legacy of their ancestors in such a powerful way.
Thomas added, “For me, being on the Blackfeet reservation and having the missing people go often, this is just a huge gateway. These horses are important and its great to see that.”
Kelsey Mad Plume has been around horses all her life, and says that her connection to them goes back generations according to stories told to her by Blackfeet elders.
“There's actually a story we were getting told from one of our elders on how there were certain horses back in the day where they were trained to go into war to take out the wounded, and so that's how we see it. Bringing our ties to our ancestors back in taking our sisters, our brothers home who have been lost.”
Kelsey proudly showed off the horse’s search and rescue masks that not only prevent them from losing focus but lets them know when it’s time to work. She said, “Just like when rescue dogs put on the vest, when the horses put on the masks, they know what it means. Horses have incredible senses of smell and can go farther than dogs and are higher up so they can really smell where a trail goes.”
The team’s mission began with the heartbreaking search for Blackfeet toddler, Arden Pepion who went missing in 2021 and has yet to be found.
Nugget Mad Plume and his wife Diana Burd had been involved in the search efforts since the search began, and now around 4 years later, they still have hope that Arden’s body can be recovered.
“We’ll never stop looking, we made a promise to her parents that we would continue to search until she’s brought home. Her mother and her father wanted her life to mean something, and this is the way we pay it forward,” Diana said.
This milestone not only highlights the strength and resilience of the Blackfeet community, but also sets a powerful precedent for Native-led initiatives in public safety and rescue operations.
Kelsey added, “It's really lifted us to where it's not only just for the Blackfeet community, but it's all indigenous communities, no matter where you're at.”
With three horses certified in equine air scent and more on the way, the Holding Hope SAR team hopes to expand their training and work with other tribal communities across the state.
Team Members:
- Nugget Mad Plume with horse Comanche
- Kelsey Mad Plume with horse Jack
- Thomas Corona with horse J’ose
