The Cheyenne: A Study of the Past

Traditionally, as a Plains tribe, buffalo became a huge part of their daily life and it became their main staple besides berries and other plants that were gathered. Men and women both wore deer skin and had buffalo robes. Men wore shirts and leggings while women wore two piece dresses. Kinship of the Cheyenne, it is believed, was originally matrilineal, but by the 19^th and 20^th Centuries, kinship had become more bilateral. Children traced tribe affiliation through their mothers. Cheyenne tribes were uncommonly united and would gather in bands of about ten every summer in a circle or semi-circle. Because bands were so close, generally marriage within your own band was frowned upon.

The Cheyenne are also known for the Sun Dance and the peace pipe. The Sun Dance occurred during the summer lasting four or more days, usually beginning with the consumption of buffalo tongues and erecting a huge pole. Men danced around the pole and would stare at it as if hypnotized. Often the Sun Dance is also associated with self-mutilation, where braves would cut their chests in strips that lace a piece of leather under the skin.

Subsistence:

The buffalo held a huge importance for the livelihood of the Cheyenne; a creation story explains that Sweet Medicine, a Cheyenne deity, gave two arrows with power over men and two with the power over buffalo. It is said that the Cheyenne people once lived at the base of a stream next to a large cave. After several brave, young men volunteered, they entered the cave and came upon a door. When they knocked an old grandmother answered. The braves insisted they were hungry and the grandmother opened the door revealing a huge plain filled with hundreds and hundreds of buffalo. The braves took several huge plates of buffalo meat with them back to their village with the grandmother promising to feed them all. The next morning the buffalo had appeared, grazing around the village.

Contact with American Settlers:

The mid-1800s mark a difficult time for every Plains tribe in the United States because of the great influx of Anglo settlers and lowering opinions of Indian rights to land and even to whether Indians were to be considered human. The Cheyenne endured their fair share of broken treaties. First was the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 which granted the Cheyenne lands in Northern Colorado encompassing places such as Colorado Springs and Denver. However, within a few years of this treaty gold was found in Colorado, bringing hundreds of thousands of settlers to the area. The US Government disregarded the treaty and all the land given to the Cheyenne was lost. Following the broken treaty, the Cheyenne became important players in the Indian Wars in the 1860s and '70s.

November 29, 1864 marked a dark day in the history of the Cheyenne people. Since 1861, the Cheyenne had refused to move to another reservation. Two tribal leaders, Black Kettle and White Antelope, along with other Cheyenne and Arapaho leaders petitioned for peace, going so far as to Washington, D.C. to speak with President Lincoln. However, a telegram from General Samuel Curtis to the leaders of the Colorado Militia dismissed all thoughts of peace. In his telegram Curtis stated: "I want no peace till the Indians suffer more...No peace must be made without my directions" (Alonso). Early morning, November 29, 1864, 800 troops of the Colorado Militia attacked an encampment of 500 Cheyenne and Arapaho at Sand Creek. At seeing the Militia, Black Kettle raised a white flag to reassure the people. The militia responded by opening fire on the encampment. Interestingly, at first the Colorado Militia was hailed as the victors against a brave opponent, but soon facts were brought to light that these victors succeeded in killing anywhere from 200-500 Cheyenne and Arapaho, mostly elderly, women and children. The Militia lost 10. While it became known as the Sand Creek Massacre, a murder against innocent people who believed themselves under the protection of the United States, no actions were taken against the perpetrators.

In 1867, with mounting tensions and the desire for peace, Black Kettle, along with several other tribes including the Arapaho, Comanche, Kiowa and Plains Apache signed the Medicine Lodge Treaty with gave the Cheyenne lands in Oklahoma. This agreement is what began the geographic separation of the Northern and Southern Cheyenne.

One year later on November 27, 1868, General Custer led the 7^th Calvary in an attack against a peaceful settlement of Cheyenne living, legally, on their reservation land in Oklahoma given to them by the Medicine Lodge Treaty. 103 people were killed, once again mostly women and children. It was only after this battle, named the Battle of Washita River, that the Cheyenne became hostile towards the United States. These attacks, the Sand Creek Massacre and Battle of Washita River helped many other native tribes strengthen their resolve against the settlers and armies invading their land. On June 25 1874, the Northern Cheyenne took part in the famous Battle of Little Bighorn against the 7^th Calvary of General George Custer, who also was the one to attack the Cheyenne village six years earlier. The Cheyenne joined with the Lakota and Arapaho, with a strength of around 10,000 warriors compared to the 750 of the 7^th Calvary. Custer, knowing that a huge Indian war party had formed, split his meager 750 into four groups of less than 200 men each to attack the Indians. Obviously Custer lost the Battle of Little Bighorn. Yet unfortunately for the Indians, it became somewhat of a rallying cry against all Indians and it wasn't until later still that Custer's Last Stand became the glorified Victorian-type epic it has been view as even today.

After the Battle at Little Bighorn, the US Army "had it out for" the Cheyenne and Lakota people, attempting to capture them and place them in a position where they would be unable to fight again. In 1877, the Northern Cheyenne were moved to Oklahoma on the then current reservation land with the Southern Cheyenne. However, they weren't used to the climate and became ill easily and had poor allotments of food and water availability. One year later nearly 400 Cheyenne left Oklahoma intending to travel back north. Some 13,000 soldiers and civilians gave chase. These 400 were eventually chased down and put either in jail without food or water or forced to return to Oklahoma.

By the 1880's, many Cheyenne were traveling north to Montana. Often, many Cheyenne aided US troops find the Nez Perce Indians of Montana. Soon, by 1884, the United States granted the Northern Cheyenne a reservation. Unfortunately for the Southern Cheyenne, their troubles were just beginning. From 1889-1895, land races where held in Oklahoma taking lands from the Cheyenne, Arapaho, Iowa, Sac, Fox, Pottawatomie, Shawnee, Kickapoo and Cherokee. The Jerome Agreement of 1890 relinquished all Cheyenne and Arapaho lands of the reservation except for schools, religious purposes and other public uses. They were allowed 160 acres only and the rest opened for settlement to the whites. On April 19^th the famous 1892 Oklahoma Land Race was held were settlers had to race to allotted land and receive it for free as long as they got there first.

Twentieth Century:

By the 1900s, much of Cheyenne culture was disappearing. The buffalo hunt, traditional lands and even horse raids were exchanged for Christianity, rations and schools. Finally, in the 1930s, the United States allowed for some recognition of Cheyenne culture. Now, the Cheyenne Tribes are federally recognized as a sovereign tribal entity with authority over its reservations and supports its own Constitution.

Sources:
-2006 Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribe. Electronic Document, http://www.cheyenne-arapaho.org /index.htm, accessed October 31, 2006.
-Alonso, Richard 1999 Sand Creek Massacre. Electronic Document, http://homepages.tesco.net/~richard.alonzo/ Events/sandcreek.htm, accessed October 31, 2006
-De Mallie, Raymond J. and Alfonso Ortiz. 1994 Native American Anthology: Essays on Society and Culture. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.
-Newcomb, William W Jr. 1974 Native Indians: an Anthropological Perspective. Pacific Palisades: Goodyear Publishing Co.
-Olson, James S. and Raymund Wilson. 1984 Native America in the 20^th Century. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. Wikipedia