Native actor and activist Mo Brings Plenty gave a wisdom-filled speech while receiving the New Horizon Award at the Western Heritage Awards.
Receiving the Western Heritage Awards’ inaugural New Horizon Award, Mo Brings Plenty took to the stage and gave one of the most beautiful speeches in Western Heritage Awards history. Dedicating the award to his late nephew, Cole Brings Plenty, the actor got personal about his childhood, his faith, and his fight for diversity.
“I will never take my heart off of my sleeve, because that’s where I want God to see it,” The Yellowstone actor said. “And I want you to see it also.”
Mo Brings Plenty’s vulnerability and grace was apparent from start to finish. Check out some of the things we learned from the Native actor’s acceptance speech.
He is equal parts cowboy and Native.
As Brings Plenty reminisced on growing up in South Dakota, he let us in on his experience as an aspiring young bronc rider. “I was a little boy on the reservation laughing when my cousins got bucked off but not so much laughing when I got bucked off,” he said.
Brings Plenty shed some light on his experiences within the two contrasting cultures as he remembered holding a branding iron to the same fire that he poured ritual incense into. Despite the differences between the two cultures, Brings Plenty finds strength in both, declaring, “In spite of what we endure and go through, we are warriors and we are cowboys. And we keep smiling.”
He admired Western outlaws.
Among his many inspirations, Mo Brings Plenty name-dropped Billy the Kid and the James Gang, stating that he admired them because “they were standing and fighting for the rights and freedoms of their people.”
He thanks God for diversity.
Brings Plenty spoke of his belief in a higher power, thanking it for creating diversity. “It is apparent that the Higher Power is the one who created diversity from the very get-go,” he said. “If it weren’t so, then we would all be one race of people, would one be one species of trees, would only be one species of mammals with four legs. But it’s very apparent that God is the one who loves diversity.”
He also thanked Teton Ridge and other organizations who are providing a space for Indigenous voices to tell their stories.
He believes unity is key.
Commenting on the state of the country and his hope for the future, Mo Brings Plenty stated, “It is not a party that makes the country great. It’s the American people who continue to be American. Let’s all stand together.”
Mo’s advice for a better world:
Finding a love for life and compassion for others in the face of adversity is not an easy feat. Mo Brings Plenty offers a simple message: “Love one another. Protect each other. Remember, it is not a moment we are judged by. It is the life and how we leave others and how we care for each other.”
Watch the full speech.
PHOTOGRAPHY: Courtesy of National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum
