CHEYENNE

The Cheyenne were one of a number of Great Lakes people that moved into the Plains in the 1700s into the Plains and gave up farming for a pastoral lifestyle by the 1800s. Linguistically the Cheyenne are related to the  Arapaho, Cree, Ojibwa,  Blackfeet, Gros Venture. Politically they became aligned with the Lakota ( W.Sioux ). The word Cheyenne is derived from the Dakota (E. Sioux) word Sahiyena or 'people of a different talk'. The Cheyenne nation included three tribes, the Masikota, the Sutai, and the Tsitsistas.  These spread into about 10 bands by the mid 1800s in the Dakotas, Montana, Wyoming and Colorado. The Northern bands became the Northern Cheyenne or Notameohmésêhese and the Southern Cheyenne or Heévâhetane.

I. Origins

Like many Plains people the Cheyenne were CBS Woodland farmers. In the late 1600s they began to be pushed from the Minnesota River (in the state of Minnesota) westward by other Eastern groups into South Dakota's Black Hills. European immigration mostly started along the Eastern seaboard and slowly moved west. In turn early colonial French and English pushed many tribes West and those tribes pushed others, especially in the Great Lakes. As the Cheyenne groups moved west a legendary culture hero, Sweet Medicine, sought a vision to figure out how to help the people  and was responsible for acquiring the Sacred Arrow Bundle at Sweet Butte (Novavose) near Sturgis, SD. The Cheyenne had given up CBS farming, acquired horses and expanded further by the early 19th century (1800s) into the Powder and Tongue River region in Montana and Wyoming and on the Platte River in Wyoming and Nebraska. Essentially this formed two divisions the Northern Cheyenne and Southern Cheyenne. The Southern Cheyenne went further south to trade on the Arkansas River at Bent's Fort in the 1830s. The Cheyenne adopted the Bison-Horse complex, the tipi, the Sun Dance and military societies. By the mid 1800s the Cheyenne became one of the more powerful tribes in the Plains. However, the Cheyenne were located in the center of the Plains where immigrants were setting out on the Oregon Trail which started to threaten their primary food resource, the bison. Conflicts began in 1851 and eventually war with United States for more than twenty years. The traditional Cheyenne culture used in this case study this Bison-Horse Culture that reached its peak in the mid 19th century, right at the brink of war..

II. Traditional Culture ~1830>

Traditional Cheyenne culture is of a farming people that have adopted a pastoral lifestyle on the Plains. The American Bison somehow survived the Pleistocene and downsized, but expanded to reach a population of over 60 million. The Cheyenne acquired horses and bred them for transportation, war, hunting, etc. The tipi(teepee) and other innovations provided greater mobility with seasonal communal hunts in the late summer. It also meant a shift in calendars from the winter solstice (Dec 21) to the summer solstice (Jun 21) when the Sun Dance Ceremony was held after the Bison had calfed and fattened up for the winter. By the mid 19th century the Cheyenne's total population may have reached 4-5,000 people.

Language	Macro-Algonkian	Cheyenne
Settlement	Northern Cheyenne: Powder R.; Tongue R. Southern Cheyenne: N. Platte R.; Upper Arkansas R.	10 Bands
Economics	Pastoralism-Bison-Horse Complex; H&G	Bison (pemmican-jerky +suet + berries), elk, deer, sheep, pronghorn prairie turnips, Jerusalem artichokes (carrot), berries, nuts Horses, tipi, travois, parfleche, hide clothing
Social Organization	Extended Family(2-7 tipi) 'Camp' Band (10) Northern/Southern-Nation or Tribe	Chiefs Appointment Role Peace Chiefs  elected 4 per band = 44 Council War Chiefs  selected leaders by deed from each society Military and Camp police Sweet Medicine Chief appointed keeper of sacred arrow bundle Council     Societies: MENS             WOMENS Dog Men Quillers Kit Foxes Beading Elkhorn Scrapers Herbalists Bowstrings Toys Crazy Dogs Lodge Red Shields
Word View	Mythic Theme: Earth Diver; Creator energy produces cosmological and earthly beings; Great Race; Culture Hero : Sweet Medicine (Motseeove) Beliefs: 7 vertical levels and 4 horizontal levels and directions; Creator expressed as male impulse /spirit/zenith and female/material/nadir; also prey vs hunting animals in the Great Race	Rituals:  a) Sacred Arrow Renewal              b) Sun Dance or Medicine Lodge (after                   Summer Solstice)                  c) Massaum or Animal Dance               d) Sacred Hat Ceremony
Expressed Form	Adornment, tipis, paint on horses, body, and tipi Bead and Quill work Pipes, medicine bundles	Sacred Arrow bundle Quilling

III. Contemporary

The Plains Cheyenne started in the Black Hills with the legends of Sweet Medicine's vision at Bear Butte, SD unified the groups coming west. Their expansion brought them into conflict with the Shoshone, Blackfeet, Crow and Pawnee. In the early 1830s they entered into trade with Whites, but the opening of the Oregon Trail saw the first invasion of their traditional  hunting grounds and introduction of diseases. The Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 set territories and designated the Northern and Southern Cheyenne division. War against the United States began in 1854 and lasted until 1879. The immigrant trail (including the Oregon and California routes) beginning in 1841 ran right through Cheyenne territory and was followed by the transcontinental railroad in 1868-69. Not only did these bring human conflict, but also the game, especially the bison were disrupted. The railroad workers needed food and so professional hunters, like W.F. Cody (Buffalo Bill), were hired to shoot bison and the U.S. Army, which needed food, was brought in to provide security. Along with the Arapaho, various Sioux (Lakota/Nakota/Dakota) bands, Kiowa, Comanche as allies, the Cheyenne were involved in both Northern Plains and Southern Plains conflicts since the were located in the middle of European American invasion.

 Lone Wolf and Dull KnifeParticipants in the Cheyenne Breakout from Oklahoma to Montana

In 1868 the Southern Cheyenne were put on a reservation in Oklahoma. Between 1879 and 1891 the Northern Cheyenne were moved about but finally were united at Tongue River Reservation, Lame Deer, MT.  By 1892, the Southern Cheyenne lost most of their land with the Allotment  Act (Dawes Severalty Act) of 1887. In 1926 the Northern Cheyenne began to experience allotment pressure. This opened up later mining interests on the reservation. After 1934 with the Indian Reorganization Act (1934) and both Northern and Southern Cheyenne were able to buy back land. During the New Deal many Cheyenne served in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and later in the military with WWII. This resulted in many families moving into cities and not returning to reservation life.

In 1996 the population/enrollment for the Northern Cheyenne was 6,692 and the Southern Cheyenne  were 4,880, but mixed with Arapaho.

 Back To Plains:

©Copyright S. Crouthamel