Living History
Ken Pollard teaches schoolchildren about the Buffalo Soldiers
For more than 25 years, Kenneth Pollard has dedicated him- self to educating Texans about the history of the Buffalo Soldiers — the first all-black, peace-time regiment recognized by the U.S. army. Pollard first learned of the Buffalo Soldiers while employed with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD); he went on to supervise the development and execution of the department’s Buffalo Soldiers Heritage and Outreach Program. Pollard’s program uses living history — interactive historical reenactments featuring authentic tools and dress — to immerse Texas school children in the Soldiers’ history. The 2005 Huff Wagon Train project — Pollard’s most ambitious living history program — saw Pollard guide 200 middle school students across Texas by way of horse and wagon.
By bringing black history to life in inventive and engaging ways, Pollard has himself become a noteworthy figure. During the 76th state legislative session, Pollard and his Buffalo Soldier cohorts were honored on the Senate floor for their testimony supporting Senate Bill 1457, which declared July “Texas Buffalo Soldiers Heritage Month.” In 2010, Pollard retired from TPWD after 30 years of service.
What drove you to start the Outreach Program?
Like most kids, I didn’t know about the Buffalo Soldiers growing up. When I started working for TPWD at Fort Griffin, I came across old portraits of black folks in uniform — the first Buffalo Soldiers. This spurred my interest; I wanted people to know their stories. At the time, TPWD was struggling with teaching African American history — it was all “slave this” and “slave that.” This program was my way of letting people — especially AfricanAmericans — know we have a deeper history.
The passage of Bill 1457 was a great victory for the Buffalo Soldiers.
What that meant for us was permanency — it’s now a state law. What many folks aren’t aware of was that bill allowed us to get our foot in the door in support of other legislation — American Indian Scout Month, Frontier Cowboy Month, Frontier Women Month. Our program was never a “black” thing — it was a “we” thing. Frontier women, for example … those women are teach- ing the role of the woman in nontraditional ways. You have a lot of strong, educated ranch-owning women who deserve to be recognized.
So the Buffalo Soldier program is a platform to teach the history of other Texan cultures.
That’s the basis of the program, yes. I have a unique background: on my father’s side I’m black Seminole Indian. Once I learned I had Buffalo Soldier ancestors, I looked deeper into African American history. I learned that black Seminoles and other enslaved blacks sought freedom in Mexico. I read these stories of Mexican people building rafts to help blacks to freedom. All of a sudden, African, Native and Mexican American history hit me in the heart. I knew the Buffalo Soldier story should be told in a holistic manner because — from an ancestry standpoint — we’re all connected.
What was the most rewarding moment during your time overseeing the program?
We were invited to march in George Bush’s 1999 inaugural parade, so we pulled our group together. We had American Indians with us, Vaqueros, Buffalo Soldiers, Junior Buffalo Soldiers, cow- boys — our lines went on for blocks. I was driving the buggy at the head of the parade, but when I looked back I caught a glimpse of the pride on the marchers’ faces. Seeing all these groups in the spotlight like that — it reminds me we’re making good memories for people, without the ethnic edge to it … just memories we can all enjoy.
LEFT Pollard demonstrating for a young history buff how the Buffalo Soldiers wrote using quill pens and ink. RIGHT Ken Pollard is introduced on the south steps of the Texas Capitol to speak about his Huff Wagon Train project, passing through Austin.
Your message of racial pride rubbed some folks the wrong way.
It’s real, brother. We dealt with the Klan and others several times. We were serving as the color guard for an MLK Day parade. Law enforce- ment told us, “We’ve received death threats for today’s parade; do you want to go through with this?” They were asking us. Now I’m just an ol’ park ranger from Lampasas, but they’re asking us like we’re the final word. I told them, “We’re here now, so we might as well follow through.” We did our job, but there were armed officers every half block.
You’ve listed the Huff Wagon Train Project as the most memorable event you’ve put on.
Riding from El Paso to Houston has always been on my bucket list, but it took about a year of heavy planning before the bells went to ringing and the birds were singing. That trip was one of my greatest challenges. When you’re cover- ing that much land, you eventually come across known drug-trafficking trails. The safety of the kids was always heavy on me. As a Parks and Wildlife employee, I knew how to deal with those dangerous situations, but that still doesn’t remove the stress. Luckily — knock on wood— we never had a serious incident.
What’s your favorite element of performing in a living history program?
The food. Buffalo Soldier cooking was done over a campfire, which is a passion of mine. It don’t matter if it’s deer, hog, bird or even them tennis shoes you’ve got on [laughs]. I got a Dutch oven — I can add enough salt, pepper and bacon to make them shoes taste real good. Of course, then you get moochers from other campsites tryin’ to get a sample when there’s not enough to go around. I’m an ol’ farm boy from Lampasas; I don’t like seeing folks go hungry.
How’d you deal with the moochers?
I’d put a rattlesnake hide on the woodpile to scare people away. They’d come up asking, “Whatcha cookin’?” I’d say “Whatever hide is on the wood- pile is what’s in the pot.” Now that don’t work in West Texas, because they eat snakes out there, so I switched to skunk hide. That usually does the trick, but I still run into a few folks who — god bless ’em — have tried skunk before.
Your programs receive national recognition, being featured on television networks like Discovery and TNT.
I’ll tell you what, them TV people with their cameras, they used to irritate me — even though we asked them to be there. I’d be trying to give my program — they’d be bumping kids out of the way trying to get their camera angle. Parks and Wildlife actually had to train me to be more “camera friendly.” Soon I was learning the correct way to hold props, give good camera angles and — I kid you not — how to breathe! Did you know there’s a certain way you have to breathe when you’re projecting your voice to an audience?
Have you been enjoying retirement?
I tell you what, if I could have figured out how to retire 50 years ago, I’d have done it. Retirement is a chance for me to discover my old interests, like hunting and fishing. It’s also a time for me to reflect, to be thankful for the opportunities I’ve had in life. I realize now there were moments in my life where I had to make tough decisions — maybe if I chose differently, I wouldn’t be where I am now. Most of all, I find myself hoping I’ve made a difference.
Are you still involved with the Buffalo Soldier outreach program?
There are things I still do for the program — but I’m not riding across Texas on no horse. My main goal now is to establish an alliance dedi- cated to teaching the Buffalo Soldiers’ history at a national level — not just in Texas. Buffalo Soldiers have history in many states. There are stories that still need to be told. An alliance like this only works if folks are taught this history so they can one day teach others. I want to carry the torch to a point where young folks can pick it up and move forward with the program.
