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The animals on Bill Frank Brown's farm in Poplarville, Mississippi may look like ordinary sheep, cattle and horses but they're not.
在密西西比州波普勒维尔，比尔·弗兰克·布朗农场的动物看起来像普通的绵羊、牛和马，但它们并不普通。
Their ancestors were brought to America by Spanish conquistadors
它们的祖先由西班牙征服者带到美国，
and bred by Choctaw Indians in what are now Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.
由乔克托族印第安人进行培育，就是如今的阿拉巴马州，密西西比州和路易斯安那州
Colonial Spanish horses are among the world's few genetically unique horse breeds and their ties to Native Americans run deep,
殖民时期的西班牙马匹是世界上少数几个基因独特的马品种之一，它们与美洲原住民息息相关，
says Francine Locke Bray, a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.
俄克拉荷马州乔克托族成员弗朗辛·洛克·布雷如是说。
When they first started using them, they used them as pack animals,
他们最初是把它们当做驮兽来用的，
so they'd literally, you know, they took them on hunting trips.
毫不夸张地说，他们带着它们到处去打猎。
Of course, the women were responsible for processing the meats and all that,
当然，妇女们要负责处理肉，
but instead of carrying it on their backs, they now could carry it on the horses.
但她们不扛着它们，她们现在可以把肉背在马背上。
The small sturdy horses were thought to be long gone from the Deep South
人们认为这些小儿敦实的马匹早已从东南部消失，
expelled along with the Choctaw and other tribes in the mid-1800s.
在19世纪中期与乔克托族和其他部落一起被驱逐。
Their forced migration to Oklahoma became known as the Trail of Tears.
被迫迁往俄克拉荷马州的旅程被称为“血泪之路”。
A few hundred Choctaw horses have been bred in Oklahoma but the gene pool is small.
在俄克拉荷马州已经培育了几百匹乔克托马，但是基因库很小。
In 2005 an expert on the breed visited Brown's farm to check on the descendants of colonial cattle and sheep and discovered DeSoto.
2005年，该品种的专家到访布朗农场，查看殖民地牛羊的后代并发现了德索托。
DNA testing proved the stallion is Choctaw, a thrill for members of the Choctaw Nation.
DNA检测证明这匹种马是乔克托族的，乔克托族成员兴奋不已。
These horses were so important to our people, our, you know, our ancestors.
这些马对我们的人民和我们的祖先来说都是非常重要的。
Rare farm animals like the ones on the Brown's farm are also important for the future
布朗农场的稀有家畜对未来也十分重要，
because of their robust health, mothering and foraging instincts and the proven ability to thrive in a changing climate.
因为它们身体强壮，拥有母性和觅食本能，在气候变化下也能够不断发展。
Before commercial agriculture took place, they evolved on their own to live off the land on their own.
在商业农业出现之前，它们靠自己进化，在这片土地上生存下来。
Through you know drought, you know, through you know winter time, a lot of these animals lived on whatever they could find
在经历干旱和冬天时，这些动物靠着一切能够找到的东西存活下来，
in the long-leafed pine forest years ago and in the coastal plains and flatwoods.
比如在年份较久的长叶松森林里，在沿海平原和低平林地。
So, they have ability to survive where your commercial-type animals will not.
它们都能存活下来，商业型动物是没法存活的。
The mares that were the best genetic matches for DeSoto were brought to Mississippi last year.
去年，基因匹配德索托最好的母马被带到密西西比。
The Browns say some of the foals will remain with them while others will go back to Oklahoma along with pregnant mares.
布朗一家人说一些小马驹将留在他们身边，而另一些将与怀孕的母马一起回到俄克拉荷马州。
I'm Faith Lapidus VOA news.
VOA新闻，法斯·拉皮德斯报道。
