‘Your Favorite NDN’ Visits LG

Blackfeet cowboy Dougie Hall, known on social media as “Your Favorite NDN” spoke to students in Lodge Grass April 5 as the motivational speaker for Gear Up Week. 

“(Dougie) was here to top off the college application week” to motivate students to continue on to higher education after high school, said Tena Three Irons, Gear Up Coordinator for Lodge Grass High School,

Hall, of Browning, is known for his motivational speeches and comedic rodeo adventures on Tiktok and Instagram.

“Everybody is very welcoming,” Hall said “I might even take home one of your guys’ dogs!”

On a more serious note, Hall says that he spoke to the students with the hopes that he passes on what was once shared with him. 

“When you let your light shine, you give other people permission to do the same thing.” Hall said. “That's what I hope to do; that's what I hope I did today.” 

Living within the borders of any reservation is quite difficult, yet to find someone who can relate to that struggle, and not bring others down, is like the proverbial needle in a haystack. 

“As Indians it gets tough because we’re really clannish, we like being around our own people, but in order to be successful you got to get out of your comfort zone, and get comfortable being uncomfortable and it's really uncomfortable being in the outside world,” Hall said with a chuckle. 

To go out into the world off the reservation is one thing, yet to be able to come back into your own circle, is also a challenge that no one ever mentions, Hall says about his experience. 

“The most difficult crowd I’ve ever had to face was my own people,” he said, sharing a story about an old rodeo buddy from back home once asked if he felt he was “too good” to compete with Indians when Hall began to rodeo in the PRCA arenas outside of the Indian rodeo circuits.

Yet he did not let that discourage him, but rather pursued on. Speaking about how his uncle told him that surrounding himself with positive, optimistic, and uplifting people was also a great help to him even today. 

“As my uncle Mouse told me, ’You're only as good as the company you keep,'” Hall said, speaking of his personal experiences and those he has met from the rodeo, to social media, and then to professional acting and stunt work, Hall credits going outside of the comfort zones he had established shaped his message to Lodge Grass High School this morning. 

Hall also spoke of how within many Native communities, as uplifting as the community is, there are those who unfortunately tend to fall victim into the trope of lateral oppression and violence, resulting in many being discouraged from leaving beyond the reservations borders. 

However, Hall says that the fact that there was someone in his youth who also once told him that he made it off the rez, lived his life, came back, and then told him that he could also do it too, was the driving force behind his brand. 

“Somebody was brave enough to share their story with me, that's what helped me and saved my life, and that's what I hope I did for these guys.” Hall said. “It makes me feel really good. That's what I think helps people the most, is when somebody is willing to be vulnerable and share their story, a lot of the times you find yourself in other people, and it feels good to do that. I’m really blessed that it's gotten this far, and I hope to continue to do that.”