I.

Introduction

Cheyenne (people), Native Americans of the Algonquian language family and of the Great Plains culture area. The name Cheyenne, meaning “people of an alien speech,” was applied to them by the Sioux. The Cheyenne call themselves Tsetschestahase or Tsistsistas, which translates as “beautiful people” or “our people.”

II.

Migrations and History

The Cheyenne were originally farmers, hunters, and gatherers in what is now central Minnesota, but they were driven from the area by the Sioux and Ojibwa (Chippewa) in the late 17th century. They gradually migrated westward along the river that now bears their name and settled in present-day North Dakota, living in earth lodges and farming. The Ojibwa destroyed this settlement about 1770, and the Cheyenne moved south.

When they reached the Black Hills of South Dakota, the Cheyenne switched from farming, small-game hunting, and living in permanent villages to dependence on the buffalo (American bison) and a nomadic life following the herds. The horse, which reached this part of America about 1750, helped the Cheyenne become one of the major tribes of the Western Plains. They had a typical nomadic Plains culture and were noted buffalo hunters and warriors. By about 1830 the Cheyenne had separated into two main groups: the Northern Cheyenne and the Southern Cheyenne. The Northern Cheyenne lived along the North Platte, Powder, and Yellowstone rivers in present-day South Dakota and Wyoming, and ranged into Montana and Nebraska. The Southern Cheyenne lived along the upper Arkansas River in what is now Colorado and Kansas, ranging into neighboring states.

Until a massive influx of gold prospectors entered their territory in the late 1850s, the Cheyenne were peaceful toward non-Indian settlers. Conflicts between the Cheyenne and settlers escalated, with United States military forces burning Cheyenne villages and Cheyenne warriors raiding non-Indian settlements. In November 1864 U.S. cavalry led by Colonel John Chivington attacked a peaceful encampment of Cheyenne and Arapaho under South Cheyenne chief Black Kettle at Sand Creek, Colorado. Some 200 men, women, and children were killed in one of the worst massacres in Native American history. Cheyenne warriors participated in subsequent wars against U.S. forces on both the Northern and Southern Plains, as allies of the Sioux, Arapaho, Comanche, and Kiowa.

In 1876 Sioux and Cheyenne warriors under the Sioux leader Sitting Bull and various war chiefs were responsible for the defeat of Lieutenant Colonel George Custer and his 300 troops in the Battle of the Little Bighorn. After their surrender in 1877, the Cheyenne were relocated by the U.S. government to the Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma). There the tribe suffered from disease and malnutrition. A number of Northern Cheyenne under the leadership of Dull Knife escaped the reservation and headed back to their homeland on the Northern Plains in September 1877. Although caught by U.S. troops after six weeks, they were allowed to stay in the north and eventually were granted reservation lands in Montana.

III.

Customs

The Cheyenne lived like other Plains Indians, depending on the bison as their food staple, using horses for transportation, and living in portable tipis. The tribe was organized into the Council of Forty-Four, with each of 44 peace chiefs acting as the head of an extended family. The peace chiefs made decisions on matters such as alliances with other tribes, when to move camp, and how to resolve disputes between individuals. Although they advised on war policy, the peace chiefs left questions of strategy to Cheyenne military societies, such as the Dog Soldiers, consisting of warriors of different bands who fought side by side. Each warrior society had its own rituals, totems, and style of dress.

For the Cheyenne, the circle was an important symbol in spiritual, social, and political life. They perceived the universe as a circle with four directions, with time and life moving in circular cycles. The insides of their tipis, where family units lived, were circular, and the tipis themselves were arranged in a circle in the village.

Important Cheyenne ceremonies included the Arrow Renewal, the New Life Lodge, and the Animal Dance. In the Arrow Renewal, various bands of extended families came together for a four-day ceremony. Three ceremonial lodges were placed in the center of a circle of tipis: the Sacred Arrow Lodge, the Sacred Arrow Keeper’s Lodge, and the Offering Lodge. The Sacred Arrows, or Mahuts, were four arrows, two for hunting and two for war, kept by the tribe through the generations. Men performed various rituals in and among the lodges to renew the Sacred Arrows and the spirit of the tribe.

The New Life Lodge, called the Sun Dance by the Sioux, was a ceremony lasting 8 to 12 days. Among other rituals, young men danced for hours while tied to a pole with rope, which in turn was fastened to skewers inserted beneath the chest muscles. Such rituals were intended to induce visions, which were an important part of Cheyenne religion. During a vision, an animal was thought to adopt a person, bestowing special powers. The five-day Animal Dance, in which participants dressed up as animals, was held to ensure success in hunting.

IV.

Contemporary Life

In the 2000 U.S. census about 11,000 people identified themselves as Cheyenne only; an additional 7,000 people reported being part Cheyenne. Many still live on reservations. The Northern Cheyenne Reservation is in southeastern Montana, with tribal headquarters in Lame Deer, Montana. The Southern Cheyenne, allied with the Southern Arapaho, hold federal trust lands in western Oklahoma, with headquarters in Concho, Oklahoma. For both Northern and Southern Cheyenne, farming, ranching, and the leasing of mineral rights provide revenues. Many tribal members still practice traditional arts and crafts, such as stone carving, woodworking, and leatherworking. Others have applied traditional themes to modern fine arts.