The Cheyenne are a Native American nation of the
Great Plains. The Cheyenne nation is composed of three united tribes, the Masikota
[no definite translation], the Só'taa'e (more commonly as Sutai) [no definite translation] and the
Tsé-tsêhéstâhese (singular: Tsêhéstáno; more commonly as the Tsitsistas), which translates to "Like Hearted
People". The name Cheyenne itself derives from Dakota Sioux Šahíyena, meaning
"little Šahíya". Though the identity of the Šahíya are not known, many Great Plains tribes assume it means
Cree or some other people that spoke an Algonquian
language related to the Cree and the Cheyenne.[1][2] However, the common
folk etymology for "Cheyenne" is "bit like the [people of an] alien speech" (literally,
"little red-talker").[3]
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, known in Cheyenne either as Notameohmésêhese meaning "Northern Eaters" or simply as
Ohmésêhese meaning "Eaters", live in southeast Montana on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation. The Southern
Cheyenne, known in Cheyenne as Heévâhetane meaning "Roped People," along with the Southern
Arapaho, live in central Oklahoma. Their combined population is approximately 20,000.
Cheyenne lodges with
buffalo meat drying, 1870
Language
The Cheyenne of Montana and Oklahoma speak the Cheyenne language, known as
tsêhésenêstsestôtse in 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.
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 Lt. 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
Following 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 (often referred to by his Lakota Sioux name 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.
Stump Horn and family (Northern Cheyenne); showing home and horsedrawn travois.
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
Northern Cheyenne Indian Nation flag
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.
Cheyenne Indian encampment, 1909
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, directed the film: "Smoke Signals."
See also
References
- ^ What is the origin of the word "Cheyenne"?. Cheyenne Language Web Site (March 03, 2002).
Retrieved on September 21, 2007.
- ^ Note: the Cheyenne word for Ojibwa is "Sáhea'eo'o," a word that sounds similar to the Dakota word "Šahíya."
- ^ Bright, William (2004). Native American Place Names of the United
States. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, pg. 95
Further reading
- Brown, Dee, Bury My Heart at
Wounded Knee.
- Grinnell, George Bird. "The Fighting Cheyenne". ISBN 0-87928-075-1
- Hoebel, E.A. "The Cheyennes".
- Moore, John H. (1996). The Cheyenne, The peoples of
America. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 1557864845 9781557864840. OCLC 34412067.
- Sandoz, Marie, Cheyenne Autumn. ISBN 0-8032-9212-0
- Stands in Timber, John, Cheyenne Memories. ISBN 0-300-07300-3
External links
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