The Cheyenne are a Native American nation of the Great Plains. The Cheyenne nation is composed of two united tribes, the Sotaeo'o [no definite translation] and the Tsitsistas, which translates to "Like Hearted People". The name Cheyenne itself derives from a Sioux word meaning 'Little Cree'.

During the pre-reservation era, they were allied with the Arapaho and Lakota (Sioux). They are one of the best known of the Plains tribes. The Cheyenne nation comprised ten bands, spread all over the Great Plains, from southern Colorado to the Black Hills in South Dakota. In the mid-1800s, the bands began to split, with bands choosing to remain near the Black Hills, while the other bands chose to remain near the Platte Rivers of central Colorado.

Currently the Northern Cheyenne live in southeast Montana on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation . The Southern Cheyenne, along with the Southern Arapaho, live in central Oklahoma. Their combined population is approximately 20,000.

Language

The Cheyenne of Montana and Oklahoma speak the Cheyenne language, with only a handful of vocabulary items different between the two locations; their alphabet only contains fourteen letters which can be combined to form words and phrases. The Cheyenne language is part of the larger Algonquian language group.

Early history and culture

Nothing is absolutely known about the Cheyenne people prior to the 16th century.

The N. Cheyenne Speak Partial Japaneese.  The earliest known official record of the Cheyenne comes from the mid-1600s, when a group of Cheyenne visited Fort Crevecoeur, near present-day Chicago.  During the 1600 and 1700s, the Cheyenne moved from the Great Lakes region to present day Minnesota and North Dakota and established villages.  The most prominent of these ancient villages is Biesterfeldt Village, in eastern North Dakota along the Sheyenne River.  The Cheyenne also came into contact with the neighboring Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara nations and adopted many of their cultural characteristics.  In 1804, the Lewis and Clark visited a Cheyenne village in North Dakota. Pressure from migrating Lakota and Ojibwa nations was forcing the Cheyenne west.  By the mid 1800s, the Cheyenne had largely abandoned their sedentary, agricultural and pottery traditions and fully adopted the classic nomadic Plains culture.  Tipis replaced earth lodges, and the diet switched from fish and agricultural produce to mainly bison and wild fruits and vegetables.  During this time, the Cheyenne also moved into Wyoming, Colorado and South Dakota.  

The traditional Cheyenne government system is a politically unified North American indigenous nation. Most other nations were divided into politically autonomous bands, whereas the the Cheyenne bands were politically unified. The central traditional government system of the Cheyenne was the "Council of Forty-four." The name denotes the number of seated chiefs on the council. Each band had 4 seated chief delegates; the remaining 4 chiefs were the principal advisors of the other delegates. This system also regulated the many societies that developed for planning warfare, enforcing rules, and conducting ceremonies. This governing system was developed by the time the Cheyenne reached the Great Plains.

There is a controversy among anthropologists about Cheyenne society organization. When the Cheyenne were fully adapted to the classic Plains culture, they had a bi-lateral band kinship system. However, some anthropologists note that the Cheyenne had a matrilineal band system. Studies into whether the Cheyenne ever developed a matrilineal clan system are inconclusive.

19th century and Indian Wars

In 1851, the first Cheyenne 'territory' was established in northern Colorado. The Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 granted this territory. Today this former territory includes the cities of Fort Collins, Denver and Colorado Springs.

Starting in the late 1850s and accelerating in 1859 with the Colorado Gold Rush, European settlers moved into the lands reserved for the Cheyenne and other Plains Indians.. The influx eventually led to open warfare in the 1864 Colorado War, primarily between the Kiowa with the Cheyenne largely uninvolved, but caught in the middle of the conflict.

In November, 1864, a Cheyenne encampment under Chief Black Kettle, flying a flag of truce and indicating its allegiance to the authority of the national government, was attacked by the Colorado Militia. The battle, known as the Sand Creek Massacre resulted in the death of between 150 and 200 Cheyenne, mostly unarmed noncombatants.

Four years later, on November 27, 1868, the same Cheyenne band was attacked at the Battle of Washita River. The encampment under Chief Black Kettle was located within the defined reservation and thus complying with the government's orders, but some of its members were linked both pre and post battle to the ongoing raiding into Kansas by bands operating out of the Indian Territory. Over 100 Cheyenne were killed, mostly women and children.

There are conflicting claims as to whether the band was "hostile" or "friendly." Chief Black Kettle, head of the band, is generally accepted as not being part of the war party within the Plains tribes, but he did not command absolute authority over the members of his band. Consequently, when younger members of the band participated in the raiding, the band was implicated.

The Northern Cheyenne also participated in the Battle of the Little Bighorn, which took place on June 25, 1876. The Cheyenne, along with the Lakota and a small band of Arapaho, annihilated George Armstrong Custer and much of his 7th Cavalry contingent of Army soldiers. It is estimated that population of the encampment of the Cheyenne, Lakota and Arapaho along the Little Bighorn River was approximately 10,000, which would make it one of the largest gathering of Native Americans in North America in pre-reservation times. News of the event had traveled across the United States, and reached Washington DC just as the United States was celebrating its Centennial. This caused much anger towards the Cheyenne and Lakota.

Northern Cheyenne exodus

Afer the Battle of the Little Bighorn attempts by the U.S. Army to capture the Cheyenne intensified. A group of 972 Cheyenne were escorted to Indian Territory in Oklahoma in 1877. The government intended to re-unite both the Northern and Southern Cheyenne into one nation. There the conditions were dire; the Northern Cheyenne were not used to the climate and soon many became ill with malaria. In addition, the food rations were insufficient and of poor quality. In 1878, the two principal Chiefs, Little Wolf and Morning Star (Dull Knife) pressed for the release of the Cheyenne so they could travel back north.

That same year a group of 353 Cheyenne left Indian Territory to travel back north. This group was led by Chiefs Little Wolf and Morning Star. The Army and other civilian volunteers were in hot pursuit of the Cheyenne as they traveled north. It is estimated that a total of 13,000 Army soldiers and volunteers were sent to pursue the Cheyenne over the whole course of their journey north. There were several skirmishes that occurred, and the two head chiefs were unable to keep some of their young warriors from attacking small white settlements along the way.

After crossing into Nebraska, the group split into two. One half was led by Little Wolf, and the other by Morning Star. Little Wolf and his band made it back to Montana. Morning Star and his band were captured and escorted to Fort Robinson, Nebraska. There Morning Star and his band were sequestered. They were ordered to return to Oklahoma but they refused. Conditions at the fort grew tense through the end of 1878 and soon the Cheyenne were confined to barracks with no food, water or heat. Finally there was an attempt to escape late at night on January 9, 1879. Much of the group was gunned down as they ran away from the fort, and others were discovered near the fort during the following days and ordered to surrender but most of the escapees chose to fight because they would rather be killed than taken back into custody. It is estimated that only 50 survived the breakout, including Morning Star (Dull Knife). Several of the escapees later had to stand trial for the murders which had been committed in Kansas. The remains of those killed were repatriated in 1994.

Northern Cheyenne return

The Cheyenne traveled to Fort Keogh (present day Miles City, Montana) and settled near the fort. Many of the Cheyenne worked with the army as scouts. The Cheyenne scouts were pivotal in helping the Army find Chief Joseph and his band of Nez Percé in northern Montana. Fort Keogh became the staging and gathering point for the Northern Cheyenne. Many families began to migrate south to the Tongue River watershed area and established homesteads. Seeing a need for a reservation, the United States government established, by executive order, a reservation in 1884. The Cheyenne would finally have a permanent home in the north. The reservation was expanded in 1890, the current western border is the Crow Indian Reservation, and the eastern border is the Togue River. The Cheyenne, along with the Lakota and Apache nations, were the last nations to be subdued and placed on reservations (the Seminole tribe of Florida was never subdued.).

Through determination and sacrifice, the Northern Cheyenne had earned their right to remain in the north near the Black Hills. The Cheyenne also had managed to retain their culture, religion and language intact. Today, the Northern Cheyenne Nation is one of the few American Indian nations to have control over the majority of its land base, currently at 98%.

Over the past four hundred years, the Cheyenne have gone through four stages of culture. First they lived in the Eastern Woodlands and were a sedentary and agricultural people, planting corn, and beans. Next they lived in present day Minnesota and South Dakota and continued their farming tradition and also started hunting the bison of the Great Plains. During the third stage the Cheyenne abandoned their sedentary, farming lifestyle and became a full-fledged Plains horse culture tribe. The fourth stage is the reservation phase.

Notable Cheyenne

• Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Northern Cheyenne, Former Senator, State of Colorado, United States Congress
• W. Richard West Jr., Southern Cheyenne, Founding Director, Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian
• Suzan Shown Harjo, Southern Cheyenne and Muscogee (Creek), Founding Trustee, Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian; President, Morning Star Institute (A Native rights advocacy organization based in Washington DC).
• Chris Eyre, Southern Cheyenne and Southern Arapaho, Movie Director, notable film: "Smoke Signals."

Further reading

• Brown, Dee, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.
• Sandoz, Marie, Cheyenne Autumn. ISBN 0-8032-9212-0
• Stands in Timber, John, Cheyenne Memories. ISBN 0-300-07300-3
• Grinnell, George Bird. "The Fighting Cheyenne". ISBN 0-87928-075-1
• Hoebel, E.A. "The Cheyennes".

External links

• NATHPO-NEWS