The news, nearly all of it grim, coming out of the Bureau of Land Management’s latest round of wild horse roundups in Nevada makes a person long for the return of cult movie hero Billy Jack. An ex-Green Beret who settles on an Indian reservation after his return from Vietnam, Billy Jack quickly assumes the role of protectorÑof the Native Americans, of the Freedom School, and of the wild horses that are being gathered up and sold for pet food.

Billy Jack is a martial arts expert whose way of dealing with a problem usually involves a kick upside someone’s head. It’s an elegant, satisfying, and usually illegal, solution