December 15, 2025

This Week in the West: Jackson Sundown, An Icon of the West

4 minutes

🤠This Week in the West

🎙️ Episode 59: Jackson Sundown, an Icon of the West

📢 Episode Summary:

The iconic cowboy silhouette in the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum’s logo is more than a symbol—it’s a real person with an extraordinary story. That figure is based on Jackson Sundown, a legendary early-20th-century rodeo competitor and a full-blooded member of the Wallowa Band of the Nez Perce tribe. Remembered on the anniversary of his death, December 18, 1923, Sundown’s life bridges Native history, frontier survival, and the rise of professional rodeo.

Sundown didn’t enter the rodeo world until later in life. Already in his late 30s, he was known across the Northwest as a skilled horse trainer and rancher in Idaho, breeding and selling horses with his wife. Rodeo competition began as a way to supplement his income, but it quickly became the stage where his talent—and resilience—shone brightest. By his late 40s and 50s, Sundown was so dominant in bronc riding that competitors sometimes withdrew rather than face him.

His most legendary moment came at the Pendleton Round-Up in 1916. At age 53, wearing bright shirts and distinctive orange Angora chaps, Sundown rode the bronc Angel into submission and captured the Broncho Busting title, along with the All-Around Cowboy belt. He became the first Native American to win the championship, a triumph made all the more powerful given his past. “Many years I ride and many times I win money,” Sundown said afterward, “But never did I get first place before.”

🔍 What You’ll Learn:

The true identity and remarkable story behind the cowboy silhouette in the Museum’s logo

How Jackson Sundown became a rodeo champion later in life, defying age and expectations

Why Sundown’s 1916 Pendleton Round-Up victory remains a landmark moment in both rodeo and Native American history

👥 Behind the Scenes

Host: Seth Spillman

Producer: Chase Spivey

Writer: Mike Koehler

🔗 Further research:

More about Jackson Sundown from The Cowboy’s blog archive: https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/blog/breaking-trail-the-real-story-of-jackson-sundown-the-cowboy-in-the-museum-logo/

Wild Rides TV: The Legend of Jackson Sundown: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqCC7KDsurw

More on the legendary 1916 ride at Pendleton: https://www.cowboysindians.com/2016/08/jackson-sundown/

📬 Connect With Us:

🌐 Website: www.thecowboy.org

📖 Read Our Blog: https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/blog/

📩 Email: [email protected]

📲Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/ncwhm/

📷Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nationalcowboymuseum

❎X/Twitter: https://x.com/ncwhm

💼LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/national-cowboy-&-western-heritage-museum

🗺️ Visit Us: The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd Street, Oklahoma City, OK, 73111. See us on the map

🎟️: You can now buy tickets to The Cowboy online, go to https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/tickets/

💡 Support Us:🏅Become A Member of the Museum: https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/support/memberships/

🛒Shop at Persimmon Hill, our Museum store: https://persimmonhillstore.com/

🎧 Listen & Subscribe:

🔹 Apple Podcasts:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-week-in-the-west/id1776228708

🔹 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2KYmd2BumVtQVH1ez1Cr2U

🔹YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFoE2kU21JpX9T6W9NonXuD9UapS1TsmN

🔹Podbean: https://thisweekinthewest.podbean.com/

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By The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum

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