Cheyenne are a Native American nation of the Great Plains. Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States The Great Plains are the broad expanse of Prairie and Steppe which lie east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada The Cheyenne Nation is composed of three united tribes, the Masikota, the Só'taa'e (more commonly as Sutai) and the Tsé-tsêhéstâhese (singular: Tsêhéstáno; more commonly as the Tsitsistas), which translates to "Like Hearted People". Native American tribe means any Indigenous peoples in the United States tribe band nation or other organized group or community extant or historical The name Cheyenne derives from Dakota Sioux Šahíyena, meaning "little Šahíya". Sioux is a Siouan language. Regional variation Sioux has 3 major regional varieties with various sub- Lects Though the identity of the Šahíya is 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. Not to be confused with the Creek. Cree is an Exonym applied to various people indigenous to North America namely the Nehiyaw Nehithaw Nehilaw ^[1][2] However, the common folk etymology for "Cheyenne" is "bit like the [people of an] alien speech" (literally, "little red-talker"). Folk etymology is a term used in two distinct ways A commonly held misunderstanding of the origin of a particular word a False etymology. ^[3]

During the pre-reservation era, they were allied with the Arapaho and Lakota (Sioux). An Indian reservation is an area of land managed by a Native American Tribe under the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau The Arapaho (in French: Gens de Vache) tribe of Native Americans historically living on the eastern plains of Colorado and Wyoming The Lakota (laˈkˣota (also Teton, Tetonwan) are a Native American tribe 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. The State of Colorado ( or chiefly by nonresidents) is a state located in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States of America. The Black Hills ( Pahá Sápa in Lakota, Moˀȯhta-voˀhonáaeva in Cheyenne) are a small isolated Mountain range rising from the South Dakota ( is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America. In the mid-nineteenth century, the bands began to split, with some bands choosing to remain near the Black Hills, while others 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 Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation that is home to the Northern Cheyenne tribe of Native Americans It is located around The Southern Cheyenne, known in Cheyenne as Heévâhetane meaning "Roped People," along with the Southern Arapaho, live in central Oklahoma. Cheyenne are a Native American nation of the Great Plains. The Cheyenne Nation is composed of two united tribes, the Só'taa'e (more commonly Their combined population is approximately 20,000.

Cheyenne lodges with buffalo meat drying, 1870

Language

Main article: Cheyenne 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; the Cheyenne alphabet contains fourteen letters. The American bison ( Bison bison) is a Bovine Mammal, also commonly known as the American buffalo. The Cheyenne language ( Tsėhesenėstsestotse or in easier spelling Tsisinstsistots is a Native American language spoken in present-day Montana The Cheyenne language ( Tsėhesenėstsestotse or in easier spelling Tsisinstsistots is a Native American language spoken in present-day Montana The Cheyenne language is part of the larger Algonquian language group.

History

Cheyenne maiden photographed by Edward S. Curtis in 1930. Edward Sheriff Curtis ( February 16, 1868 &ndash October 19, 1952) was a photographer of the American West and of Native

The earliest known official record of the Cheyenne comes from the mid-seventeenth century, when a group of Cheyenne visited Fort Crevecoeur, near present-day Chicago. Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Cheyenne moved from the Great Lakes region to present day Minnesota and North Dakota and established villages. The Laurentian Great Lakes are a chain of freshwater lakes located in eastern North America, on the Canada–United States border. Minnesota ( Native Americans demonstrated the name to early settlers North Dakota ( is a state located in the Midwestern and Western regions of the United States of America. The most prominent of these ancient villages is Biesterfeldt Village, in eastern North Dakota along the Sheyenne River. The Sheyenne River is one of the major tributaries of the Red River of the North, beginning about 29 miles north of McClusky North Dakota and meanders The Cheyenne also came into contact with the neighboring Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara nations and adopted many of their cultural characteristics. The Mandan are a Native American tribe that historically lived along the banks of the Missouri River and two of its tributaries—the Heart and The Hidatsa (called Minnetaree by their allies the Mandan) are a Siouan people a part of the Three Affiliated Tribes. Arikara (also Sahnish Arikaree Ree refers to a group of Native Americans that speak a Caddoan language. 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. The Lakota (laˈkˣota (also Teton, Tetonwan) are a Native American tribe The Ojibwa or Chippewa (also Ojibwe, Ojibway, Chippeway) is the largest group of Native Americans - First Nations By the mid 19th century, the Cheyenne had largely abandoned their sedentary, agricultural and pottery traditions and fully adopted the classic nomadic Plains culture. Nomadic people, (from the νομάδες nomádes, "those who let pasture herds" also known as nomads, are communities of people that Tipis replaced earth lodges, and the diet switched from fish and agricultural produce to mainly bison and wild fruits and vegetables. A tipi' (also teepee, tepee) is a conical Tent originally made of animal skins or birch bark and popularized by the Native Americans During this time, the Cheyenne also moved into Wyoming, Colorado and South Dakota. The State of Wyoming ( is a sparsely populated state in the western region of the United States. The State of Colorado ( or chiefly by nonresidents) is a state located in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States of America. South Dakota ( is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America.

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. The Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 was signed on September 17 between United States treaty commissioners and representatives of the Sioux, Cheyenne Today this former territory includes the cities of Fort Collins, Denver and Colorado Springs. The City of Fort Collins, a Home Rule Municipality situated on the Cache la Poudre River along the Colorado Front Range, is the County seat The City and County of Denver (pronounced /ˈdɛnvɚ/ is the Capital and the most populous city of Colorado, in the United States The City of Colorado Springs is a Home Rule Municipality that is the County seat and most populous city of El Paso County, Colorado,

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 Pike's Peak Gold Rush (later known as the Colorado Gold Rush) was the boom in Gold prospecting and mining in the Pike's Peak Country of western . 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. The Colorado War (1863&ndash1865 was an armed conflict between the United States and a loose alliance among the Kiowa, Comanche, Arapaho, and The Kiowa (ˈkaɪoʊwə are a nation of American Indians who migrated from what is now Canada to their present location in Southwestern Oklahoma.

Dull Knife (Cheyenne: Vóóhéhéve or Lakota: Tamílapéšni), Chief of Northern Cheyennes at Battle of Little Bighorn

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. Morning Star ( Cheyenne: Vóóhéhéve, also known by his Lakota Sioux name Tamílapéšni, Dull Knife) was a The Cheyenne language ( Tsėhesenėstsestotse or in easier spelling Tsisinstsistots is a Native American language spoken in present-day Montana Lakota (also Lakhota, Teton, Teton Sioux) is the largest of the three languages of the Sioux, of the Siouan family The Battle of the Little Bighorn &mdashalso known as Custer's Last Stand, and in the parlance of the relevant Native Americans, the Battle of the Greasy Grass Chief Black Kettle ( Cheyenne, Moke-tav-a-to) (born Ca 1813 died November 27 White flags have had different meanings throughout history and depending on the locale The battle known as the Sand Creek massacre resulted in the death of between 150 and 200 Cheyenne, mostly unarmed non-combatants. The Sand Creek Massacre (also known as the Chivington massacre or the Battle of Sand Creek or the Massacre of Cheyenne Indians) was an incident in

Four years later, on November 27, 1868, the same Cheyenne band was attacked at the Battle of Washita River. Events 1095 - Pope Urban II declares the First Crusade at the Council of Clermont Year 1868 ( MDCCCLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap The Battle of Washita River (or Battle of the Washita) occurred on November 27, 1868 when Lt 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. Kansas ( is a Midwestern state in the central region of the United States of America, an area often referred to as the American " The Indian Territory, also known as The Indian Country, The Indian territory or the Indian territories, was land set aside within the United States 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 participated in the Battle of the Little Bighorn, which took place on June 25, 1876. The Battle of the Little Bighorn &mdashalso known as Custer's Last Stand, and in the parlance of the relevant Native Americans, the Battle of the Greasy Grass Events 524 - Battle of Vézeronce, the Franks defeat the Burgundians Year 1876 ( MDCCCLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year The Cheyenne, along with the Lakota and a small band of Arapaho, annihilated Lt. The Arapaho (in French: Gens de Vache) tribe of Native Americans historically living on the eastern plains of Colorado and Wyoming George Armstrong Custer and much of his 7th Cavalry contingent of Army soldiers. It is estimated that the 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. The Arapaho (in French: Gens de Vache) tribe of Native Americans historically living on the eastern plains of Colorado and Wyoming The Little Bighorn River is a tributary of the Bighorn River in the United States in the states of Wyoming and Montana. News of the event had traveled across the United States and reached Washington, D.C., just as the United States was celebrating its Centennial. Washington DC ( formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D This caused much anger towards the Cheyenne and Lakota.

Northern Cheyenne exodus

Little Coyote(Little Wolf) and Morning Star (Dull Knife), Chiefs of the Northern Cheyennes

Following the Battle of the Little Bighorn attempts by the U. Little Wolf is a fairly common name among American Indians More than one Cheyenne chief bore the name an early example being a Southern Cheyenne chief who participated in a Morning Star ( Cheyenne: Vóóhéhéve, also known by his Lakota Sioux name Tamílapéšni, Dull Knife) was a S. Army to capture the Cheyenne intensified. A group of 972 Cheyenne were escorted to Indian Territory in 1877. The Indian Territory, also known as The Indian Country, The Indian territory or the Indian territories, was land set aside within the United States 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. Malaria is a vector -borne Infectious disease caused by Protozoan Parasites It is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions including 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. Little Wolf is a fairly common name among American Indians More than one Cheyenne chief bore the name an early example being a Southern Cheyenne chief who participated in a Morning Star ( Cheyenne: Vóóhéhéve, also known by his Lakota Sioux name Tamílapéšni, Dull Knife) was a

That same year a group of 353 Cheyenne left Indian Territory to travel back north, led by 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. Several skirmishes 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. Fort Robinson is a former US Army fort and a present-day state park 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. Events 475 - Byzantine Emperor Zeno is forced to flee his capital at Constantinople. Year 1879 ( MDCCCLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common 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. These were 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. 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. Fort Keogh is located on the western edge of Miles City, Montana. Miles City is a city in and the County seat of Custer County, Montana, United States. 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. Chief Joseph (March 3 1840 &ndash September 21 1904 was the chief of the Wal-lam-wat-kain (Wallowa band of Nez Perce Indians during General The Nez Perce (ˌnɛzˈpɝs are a Tribe of Native Americans who live in the Pacific Northwest region ( Columbia River Plateau) of the United 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 reservation was expanded in 1890; the current western border is the Crow Indian Reservation, and the eastern border is the Tongue River. The Crow, also called the Absaroka or Apsáalooke, are a tribe of Native Americans who historically lived in the Yellowstone 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. The Seminole are a Native American people originally of Florida and now residing in Florida and Oklahoma. ).

Through determination and sacrifice, the Northern Cheyenne had earned their right to remain in the north near the Black Hills. The Black Hills ( Pahá Sápa in Lakota, Moˀȯhta-voˀhonáaeva in Cheyenne) are a small isolated Mountain range rising from the The Cheyenne also had managed to retain their culture, religion and language. 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%.

Culture

Cheyenne Indian encampment, 1909

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. The Eastern Woodlands was a cultural area of the Indigenous peoples of North America. Maize (ˈmeɪz ( Zea mays L. ssp mays) known as corn in some countries is a cereal grain domesticated in Mesoamerica Bean is a common name for large plant Seeds of several genera of the family Fabaceae (formerly Leguminosae used for human food or animal 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 term " Horse culture " is used to define a tribal group or Community whose day to day life revolves around the herding and breeding of Horses The fourth stage is the reservation phase.

The traditional Cheyenne government system is a politically unified North American indigenous nation. Most other nations were divided into politically autonomous bands, whereas the Cheyenne bands were politically unified. The central traditional government system of the Cheyenne was the "Council of Forty-Four. The Council of Forty-four was one of the two central institutions of traditional Cheyenne Indian tribal governance the other being the military societies " The name denotes the number of seated chiefs on the council. Each of the ten bands 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. Scottish clans (from Scottish Gaelic clann, "children" give a sense of identity and shared descent to people in Scotland and to their relations

Notable Cheyenne

• Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Northern Cheyenne, Former Senator, State of Colorado, United States Congress
• Chris Eyre, Southern Cheyenne and Southern Arapaho, directed the film: "Smoke Signals. Benjamin Nighthorse Campbell (born April 13, 1933) is an American politician. Chris Eyre (b 1968 in Portland Oregon) an enrolled Cheyenne / Arapaho, is an award-winning film director and producer Smoke Signals ( 1998) is an Independent film directed by Chris Eyre. "
• 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). Suzan Shown Harjo (b 1945 is a Hodulgee Muscogee Creek / Cheyenne Native American and well-known Native American activist
• Harvey Pratt, Southern Cheyenne and Southern Arapaho, painter, sculptor and a leading forensic artist in the United States
• W. Richard West Jr., Southern Cheyenne, Founding Director, Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian
• Joseph Fire Crow, Northern Cheyenne, Cheyenne Flutist, Grammy Nominee and winner of numerous prestigious musical awards

See also

• Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation
• Minnesota State University eMuseum Article on the Cheyenne

Notes

References

• Brown, Dee, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. Dorris Alexander "Dee" Brown ( February 28, 1908 – December 12, 2002) was an American Novelist and Historian This article is about the 1970 book by Dee Brown For the 2007 film of the same name see Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (film.
• 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. The OCLC Online Computer Library Center is according to its website a "nonprofit membership computer library service and research organization dedicated to the public purpose  
• Sandoz, Marie, Cheyenne Autumn. ISBN 0-8032-9212-0
• Stands in Timber, John, Cheyenne Memories. ISBN 0-300-07300-3

External links

• NATHPO-NEWS