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124-612: The war included an attack in November 1864 against the winter camp of the Southern Cheyenne Chief Black Kettle known as the Sand Creek massacre . The engagement, initially hailed as a great victory, was later publicly condemned as an act of genocidal brutality. The massacre resulted in military and congressional hearings which established the culpability of John M. Chivington , the commander of

248-699: A Cheyenne. On February 2, the Indians left their large camp on the South Platte River and continued north toward the Powder River country of Wyoming to join their relatives there. The Sioux led the way as they were most familiar with the territory. En route the Indians had two more skirmishes in Nebraska with the U.S. army at Mud Springs and Rush Creek. In subsequent months, the Indians frequently raided wagon trains and military establishments along

372-460: A canvas or bison calf skin door. Modern lodges are more often made of canvas. Ropes (historically rawhide thongs or babiche ) and wooden pegs are required to bind the poles, close the cover, attach the lining and door, and anchor the resulting structure to the ground. Tipis are distinguished from other tents by two crucial elements: the opening at the top and the smoke flaps, which allow the dwellers to heat themselves and cook with an open fire; and

496-573: A few Cheyenne, as their horses were fresh. This was the first battle that the Cheyenne fought against the US Army. Casualties were few on each side; J.E.B. Stuart , then a young lieutenant, was shot in the breast while attacking a Cheyenne warrior with a sabre. The troops continued on and two days later burned a hastily abandoned Cheyenne camp; they destroyed lodges and the winter supply of buffalo meat. Sumner continued to Bent's Fort . To punish

620-484: A group of nine former soldiers. They killed all nine of them and discovered two Cheyenne scalps in their luggage from the Sand Creek massacre. Although soldiers and ranchers claimed to have inflicted heavy casualties on the raiders, Bent said he knew of only four Indians who were killed during the raids. Three were Sioux who were killed while attacking a wagon train and one was an Arapaho who was killed accidentally by

744-642: A homeland rather than punish a perpetrator" as the Indian reaction to the Sand Creek massacre was intended to be. By December 1865, the Colorado War had fizzled out. Most of the Southern Cheyenne and Arapaho who had journeyed north to Wyoming had returned to the southern Great Plains. The Brulé Sioux under Spotted Tail who had been allies of the Cheyenne and Arapaho had peacefully settled near Fort Laramie . Black Kettle, always seeking peace, signed

868-404: A new area. Historically, this portability was important to Plains Indians with their at-times nomadic lifestyle. Tribes would have well-organized camp circles of family units living in multiple tipis arranged in order depending on rank or roles in the family unit, community, or ceremony. Generally, the door and camp openings face east in the direction of the sunrise. A typical family tipi

992-775: A retaliatory attack with about 1000 warriors on Camp Rankin, a stage station and fort at Julesburg . The Indians made numerous raids along the South Platte, both east and west of Julesburg, and raided the fort again in early February. They captured much loot and killed many European Americans. Most of the Indians moved north into Nebraska on their way to the Black Hills and the Powder River. (See Battle of Julesburg , Battle of Mud Springs , Battle of Rush Creek , Powder River Expedition , Battle of Platte Bridge ) Black Kettle continued to desire peace and did not join in

1116-401: A semicircular shape from the resulting surface. Trimming this shape yields a door and the smoke flaps that allow the dwellers to control the chimney effect to expel smoke from their fires. Old-style traditional linings were hides, blankets, and rectangular pieces of cloth hanging about 1.2 to 1.5 metres (4–5 ft) above the ground tied to the poles or a rope. Historically, most tipis in

1240-401: A small minority of the chiefs without the consent or approval of the rest of the tribe, that the signatories had not understood what they signed, and that they had been bribed to sign by a large distribution of gifts. The whites, however, claimed the treaty was a "solemn obligation" and considered that those Indians who refused to abide by it were hostile and planning a war. In March 1864, there

1364-566: A unified tribe. The Cheyenne tribes today descend from two related tribes, the Tsétsėhéstȧhese / Tsitsistas (Cheyenne proper) and Só'taeo'o / Só'taétaneo'o (better known as Suhtai or Sutaio). The latter merged with the Tsétshéstȧhese in the mid-19th century. Their oral history relays that both tribal peoples are characterized, and represented by two cultural heroes or prophets who received divine articles from their god Ma'heo'o, whom

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1488-415: A village were not painted. Painted tipis often depicted noteworthy historical battles and often featured geometric portrayals of celestial bodies and animal designs. Sometimes tipis have been painted to depict personal experiences such as war, hunting, a dream, or vision. When depicting visions, "ceremonies and prayers were first offered, and then the dreamer recounted his dream to the priests and wise men of

1612-630: Is Sáhea'eo'o , a word that sounds similar to the Lakota word Šahíya . Another of the common etymologies for Cheyenne is "a bit like the [people of an] alien speech" (literally, "red-talker"). According to George Bird Grinnell , the Lakota had referred to themselves and fellow Siouan -language bands as "white talkers", and those of other language families, such as the Algonquian Cheyenne, as "red talkers" ( Šahíyena ). The etymology of

1736-567: Is 12,130, as of 2008 . In 2003, approximately 8,000 of these identified themselves as Cheyenne, although with continuing intermarriage it has become increasingly difficult to separate the tribes. The Cheyenne called themselves Tsétsêhéstâhese (more commonly as the Tsitsistas ; singular: Tsétsêhéstaestse ), which translates to "those who are like this". The Suhtai, also called the Só'taeo'o, Só'taétaneo'o, Sutaio (singular: Só'taétane) traveled with

1860-403: Is a conical, portable structure with two adjustable smoke flaps, multiple poles (historically from 12 to 25 ft or 3.7 to 7.6 m long) called lodge poles. Lewis H. Morgan noted that tipi frames were 13 to 15 poles that were 4.6 to 5.5 metres (15–18 ft) tall. These poles, "after being tied together at the small ends, are raised upright with a twist so as to cross the poles above

1984-653: Is inaccurate, as many Native American cultures and civilizations and First Nations from other regions have used other types of dwellings ( pueblos , wigwams , hogans , chickees , and longhouses ). Tipi is a loanword from the Dakota and Lakota language . Stephen Return Riggs ' 1852 Dakota-English dictionary, which was sponsored by the Minnesota Historical Society spells it as tipi . Eugene Buechel spells it as tipi in his Lakota-English dictionary. Dakota ethnographer Ella Deloria used

2108-555: Is kept in the vonȧhéome (old term) or hóhkėha'éome (new term) ("Sacred Hat Lodge, Sacred Hat Tepee"). Erect Horns gave them the accompanying ceremonies and the Sun Dance . His vision convinced the tribe to abandon their earlier sedentary agricultural traditions to adopt nomadic Plains horse culture . They replaced their earth lodges with portable tipis and switched their diet from fish and agricultural produce, to mainly bison and wild fruits and vegetables. Their lands ranged from

2232-646: Is left for a doorway, which is covered with an extra skin used as a drop. The fire-pit and arrangements for beds are the same as in the Ojibwa lodge, grass being used in the place of spruce or hemlock twigs." Lodgepole pine is the preferred wood in the Northern and Central Plains and red cedar in the Southern Plains. Tipis have a detachable cover over the structure. The cover has historically been made of buffalo hide, an optional skin or cloth lining, and

2356-538: Is right and honorable to use any means under God's heaven to kill Indians. ... Kill and scalp all, big and little; nits make lice. Colonel John Chivington On November 29, 1864, 675 men mostly belonging to the Colorado Volunteers led by Colonel John M. Chivington , crossed into Cheyenne and Arapaho territory in lands allocated to the Cheyenne and Arapaho by the Treaty of Fort Wise. The soldiers sacked

2480-419: Is the Cheyenne prophet who predicted the coming of the horse, the cow, the white man, and other new things to the Cheyenne. He was named for motsé'eonȯtse ( sweetgrass ), one of the sacred plant medicines used by many Plains peoples in ceremonies. The Maahótse (Sacred Arrows) are symbols of male power. The Ésevone / Hóhkėha'e (Sacred Buffalo Hat) is the symbol of female power. The Sacred Buffalo Hat and

2604-545: Is the Contrary Warrior Society, most notable for riding backward into battle as a sign of bravery. All six societies and their various branches exist among the Southern and Northern Cheyenne nations in present times. Warriors used a combination of weapons from war clubs , tomahawks , and bows and arrows, and lances to firearms acquired through raiding and trade. The enemies of the Cheyenne included

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2728-568: The Algonquian language family . Over the past 400 years, the Cheyenne have changed their lifestyles from Great Lakes woodlands to Northern Plains and by the mid-19th century, the US government forced them onto reservations. At the time of their first European contact in the 16th century, the Cheyenne lived in what is now Minnesota . They were close allies of the Arapaho and loosely aligned with

2852-520: The Apsáalooke (Óoetaneo'o – "crow (bird) people"), Shoshone (Sósone'eo'o), Blackfeet (Mo'ȯhtávėhahtátaneo'o, same literal meaning), Interior Salish and Kuntenai (Kȧhkoestséataneo'o – "flat-headed-people"), Nez Perce (Otaesétaneo'o – "pierced nose people"), Arikara , Gros Ventre (Hestóetaneo'o – "beggars for meat", "spongers" or Mȯhónooneo'o – lit. "scouting all over ones"), Assiniboine , and Plains Cree (Vóhkoohétaneo'o – "rabbit people") to

2976-626: The Arapaho , the Cheyenne pushed the Kiowa to the Southern Plains. In turn, they were pushed west by the more numerous Lakota . The Northern Cheyenne, known in Cheyenne either as Notameohmésėhese, meaning "Northern Eaters" (or simply as Ohmésėhese meaning "Eaters"), live in southeastern Montana on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation . Tribal enrollment figures, as of late 2014, indicate that there are approximately 10,840 members, of which about 4,939 reside on

3100-536: The Battle of the Little Bighorn , is one such artist known for his many tipi paintings, shields and horse effigies now in museums. Tribes today use the tipi as a means to convey traditional, scientific, and psychological teachings. The Siksika (Blackfoot) nation's worldview is based on the shape of a tipi, which inspired Maslow's hierarchy of needs teachings. In Cree communities, the tipi can represent

3224-617: The Colorado Gold Rush , European-American settlers moved into lands reserved for the Cheyenne and other Plains Indians. Travel greatly increased along the Emigrant Trail along the South Platte River and some emigrants stopped before going on to California. For several years there was peace between settlers and Indians. The only conflicts were related to the endemic warfare between the Cheyenne and Arapaho of

3348-526: The Colorado War . General warfare broke out and Indians made many raids on the trail along the South Platte, which Denver depended on for supplies. The Army closed the road from August 15 until September 24, 1864. On November 29, 1864, the Colorado Militia attacked a Cheyenne and Arapaho encampment under Chief Black Kettle , although it flew a flag of truce and indicated its allegiance to

3472-780: The Dakota and Lakota languages . Historically, the tipi has been used by certain Indigenous peoples of the Plains in the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies of North America , notably the seven tribes of the Sioux , as well as among the Iowa people , the Otoe and Pawnee , and among the Blackfeet , Crow , Assiniboines , Arapaho , and Plains Cree . They are also used west of

3596-480: The Dog Soldiers , a militaristic band of Cheyennes and Lakotas that had evolved beginning in the 1830s, disavowed the treaty and refused to abide by its constraints. They continued to live and hunt in the bison -rich lands of eastern Colorado and western Kansas, becoming increasingly belligerent over the tide of white immigration across their lands. Cheyennes opposed to the treaty said that it had been signed by

3720-588: The Kiowa . Arapahoes offering assistance to recover the stolen horses were fired on by soldiers and thereafter turned hostile. Also, in May, Major Jacob Downing and a force of Colorado volunteers attacked a Cheyenne village in Cedar Canyon north of the South Platte River. The people in the village were mainly old women and children. Downing reported killing 26 Indians. One soldier was killed. On June 11, only 50 kilometres (31 mi) from Denver , four Arapaho killed

3844-660: The Lakota . By the early 18th century, they were forced west by other tribes across the Missouri River and into North and South Dakota , where they adopted the horse culture . Having settled the Black Hills of South Dakota and the Powder River Country of present-day Montana and Wyoming, they introduced the horse culture to Lakota people around 1730. The main group of Cheyenne, the Tsêhéstáno,

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3968-643: The Little Arkansas Treaty in October 1865 obligating his band of Southern Cheyenne to move to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma ). Roman Nose and the Dog Soldiers continued to be hostile and to raid and fight the U.S. army in Kansas and Colorado. The two mixed-blood Cheyennes, George Bent and Edmund Guerrier , also returned to the southern plains. Bent became an interpreter between

4092-509: The Little Blue River in Kansas and Nebraska. The roads to Denver across the Great Plains were closed from August 15 to September 24. The Hungate massacre involved the murder of the family of Nathan Hungate along Running Creek (Box Elder Creek near present-day Elizabeth, Colorado) on June 11, 1864.[1][2] It was a precipitating factor leading to the Sand Creek massacre of November 29, 1864. Soldiers from Kansas also got involved in

4216-646: The Mississippi River and Mille Lacs Lake . Their economy was based on the collection of wild rice and hunting, especially of bison , which lived in the prairies 70 to 80 miles west of the Cheyenne villages. According to tribal history, during the 17th century, the Cheyenne were driven by the Assiniboine (Hóheeheo'o) from the Great Lakes region to present-day Minnesota and North Dakota , where they established villages. The most prominent of

4340-526: The Oregon Trail in Wyoming. In the summer of 1865, the Indians launched a large-scale offensive in the Battle of Platte Bridge (present-day Casper, Wyoming ) achieving a minor victory. Later that summer, the U.S. army invaded Indian territory in Wyoming with more than 2,000 soldiers in the ineffective Powder River Expedition . Historian John D. McDermott said that the Colorado War was the last time

4464-651: The Republican River . The Indian agent at Fort Laramie negotiated with the Cheyenne to reduce hostilities, but the Secretary of War ordered the 1st Cavalry Regiment (1855) to carry out a punitive expedition under the command of Colonel Edwin V. Sumner . He went against the Cheyenne in the spring of 1857. Major John Sedgwick led part of the expedition up the Arkansas River , and via Fountain Creek to

4588-806: The Rocky Mountains by Indigenous peoples of the Plateau such as the Yakama and the Cayuse . They are still in use in many of these communities, though now primarily for ceremonial purposes rather than daily living. Modern tipis usually have a canvas covering. Non-Native people have often stereotypically and incorrectly assumed that all Native Americans in the United States and Indigenous peoples in Canada have at one point lived in tipis, which

4712-550: The South Platte River . Sumner's command went west along the North Platte to Fort Laramie, then down along the Front Range to the South Platte. The combined force of 400 troops went east through the plains searching for Cheyenne. Under the influence of the medicine man White Bull (also called Ice) and Grey Beard (also called Dark), the Cheyenne went into battle believing that strong spiritual medicine would prevent

4836-936: The Tsétsėhéstȧhese (also spelled Tsitsistas , [t͡sɪt͡shɪstʰɑs] ); the tribes merged in the early 19th century. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations : the Southern Cheyenne , who are enrolled in the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes in Oklahoma , and the Northern Cheyenne , who are enrolled in the Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation in Montana . The Cheyenne language belongs to

4960-453: The Brulé and Oglala sub-tribes of the Lakota met about January 1, 1865 on Cherry Creek in present-day Cheyenne County, Kansas . They agreed on war with the whites and decided to attack Camp Rankin and the nearby settlement of Julesburg, Colorado . The Sioux, the first to agree to war, had the honor of leading a column of possibly 1,000 warriors and an additional 3,000 women and children. After

5084-803: The Cheyenne and Arapaho territory on the Great Plains between the North Platte River and the Arkansas. This territory included what is now Colorado, east of the Front Range of the Rockies and north of the Arkansas River; Wyoming and Nebraska , south of the North Platte River; and extreme western Kansas . In April 1856, an incident at the Platte River Bridge (near present-day Casper, Wyoming ), resulted in

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5208-407: The Cheyenne and the whites and, through a series of letters to scholar George Hyde , a historian of the Colorado War and the Cheyenne. Guerrier worked for a time as a scout for George Armstrong Custer in campaigns against his Cheyenne relatives and as an interpreter for many interactions between the tribe and the United States. Guerrier married Julia Bent, sister of George Bent and also a survivor of

5332-416: The Cheyenne further west, and they, in turn, pushed the Kiowa to the south. By 1776, the Lakota had overwhelmed the Cheyenne and taken over much of their territory near the Black Hills . In 1804, Lewis and Clark visited a surviving Cheyenne village in what is now North Dakota. Such European explorers learned many different names for the Cheyenne and did not realize how the different sections were forming

5456-486: The Cheyenne homeland is Tsistano . The Cheyenne of Montana and Oklahoma speak the Cheyenne language , known as Tsėhésenėstsestȯtse (common spelling: Tsisinstsistots). Approximately 800 people speak Cheyenne in Oklahoma. There are only a handful of vocabulary differences between the two locations. The Cheyenne alphabet contains 14 letters. The Cheyenne language is one of the larger Algonquian-language group. Formerly,

5580-744: The Cheyenne, he distributed their annuities to the Arapaho. He intended further punitive actions, but the Army ordered him to Utah because of an outbreak of trouble with the Mormons (this would be known as the Utah War ). The Cheyenne moved below the Arkansas into Kiowa and Comanche country. In the fall, the Northern Cheyenne returned to their country north of the Platte. Starting in 1859 with

5704-403: The Colorado Volunteers to avoid being ordered to go to Kansas to fight the Confederates by establishing a need for them to remain in Colorado because of an Indian war. Incidents continue to happen regularly, sparked by both the Indians and U.S. soldiers and militia. In May Lt. Eayre was in the field again with 100 men and 2 howitzers. Near the Smoky Hill River in Kansas Eayre had a battle with

5828-415: The Colorado Volunteers, and his troops. The Indians' response to the Sand Creek Massacre was a move northward to the more isolated lands of Wyoming to join their relatives, the Northern Cheyenne, the Northern Arapaho, and the main body of the Sioux. En route they carried out extensive raids along the South Platte River and attacked U.S. military forts and forces, successfully eluding defeat and capture by

5952-455: The Comanche, Kiowa, and Plains Apache ended in 1840 when the tribes allied with each other. The new alliance allowed the Cheyenne to enter the Llano Estacado in the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles and northeastern New Mexico to hunt bison and trade. Their expansion in the south and alliance with the Kiowa led to their first raid into Mexico in 1853. The raid ended in disaster with heavy resistance from Mexican lancers, resulting in all but three of

6076-510: The Comanche, Kiowa, and Plains Apache to fight invading settlers and US soldiers. The Arapaho were present with the Cheyenne at the Sand Creek Massacre when a peaceful encampment of mostly women, children, and the elderly were attacked and massacred by US soldiers. Both major divisions of the Cheyenne, the Northern Cheyenne and Southern Cheyenne were allies to the Arapaho who like the Cheyenne are split into northern and southern divisions. The Southern Cheyenne and Southern Arapaho were assigned to

6200-431: The Council Bluff in Nebraska, the commission had successful negotiations with the Otoe , the Pawnee and the Omaha . Increased traffic of emigrants along the related Oregon , Mormon and California trails, beginning in the early 1840s, heightened competition with Native Americans for scarce resources of water and game in arid areas. With resource depletion along the trails, the Cheyenne became increasingly divided into

6324-453: The Dog Soldiers throw down their weapons. The soldiers suspected the Dog Soldiers had stolen four mules from a white owner. A fight ensued and two soldiers were killed and three Dog Soldiers wounded. The mixed blood Cheyenne warrior, George Bent , said that the Indians were puzzled by what they regarded as unprovoked attacks by soldiers. Bent speculated that the altercations between soldiers and Indians were an effort by Colonel Chivington and

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6448-428: The Dog Soldiers. He claimed the Indians started the battle; the Indians claimed the soldiers attacked them. Eayre claimed that he killed 28 Indians at a loss of four men of his own. Bent claimed that only three Indians were killed, but among the Indian dead was Lean Bear, a prominent Dog Soldier leader. Eayre finished his raid at Fort Larned , near present Larned, Kansas , where 240 of his horses and mules were stolen by

6572-410: The Indians plundered the settlement. Not all the Indians were committed to war. After the raid, Black Kettle and 80 lodges of his followers (perhaps 100 men and their families) left the main body and joined the Kiowa and Comanche south of the Arkansas River. Many of the Southern Arapaho likewise had moved south of the Arkansas. From January 28 to February 2, the Indians embarked on a great raid along

6696-503: The Kiowa, Comanche, Ute , Plains Apache , Osage , Wichita , various Apache tribes, and Navajo . Many of the enemies the Cheyenne fought were only encountered occasionally, such as on a long-distance raid or hunt. Some of their enemies, particularly the Eastern Plains tribe such as the Pawnee and Osage would act as Indian Scouts for the US Army, providing valuable tracking skills and information regarding Cheyenne habits and fighting strategies to US soldiers. Some of their enemies such as

6820-510: The Lakota would later in their history become their strong allies, helping the Cheyenne fight against the United States Army during Red Cloud's War and the Great Sioux War of 1876 . The Comanche, Kiowa and Plains Apache became allies of the Cheyenne towards the end of the Indian wars on the Southern Plains, fighting together during conflicts such as the Red River War . The Cheyenne and Arapaho formed an alliance around 1811 that helped them expand their territories and strengthen their presence on

6944-460: The Missouri River, the Cheyenne came into contact with the neighboring Mandan , Hidatsa (Tsé-heše'émâheónese, "people who have soil houses "), and Arikara people (Ónoneo'o), adopting many of their cultural characteristics. They were first of the later Plains tribes to move into the Black Hills and Powder River Country . About 1730, they introduced the horse to Lakota bands (Ho'óhomo'eo'o). Conflict with migrating Lakota and Ojibwe people forced

7068-439: The Missouri, they negotiated treaties of friendship and trade with tribes of the upper Missouri, including the Arikara , the Cheyenne, the Crow, the Mandan , the Ponca , and several bands of the Lakota and Dakota. At that time, the US had competition on the upper Missouri from British traders, who came south from Canada. The treaties acknowledged that the tribes lived within the United States, vowed perpetual friendship between

7192-403: The North Platte and Yellowstone rivers. The groups became the Southern Cheyenne, or Sówoníă (Southerners), and the Northern Cheyenne, or O'mǐ'sǐs (Eaters). The two divisions maintained regular and close contact. In the southern portion of their territory, the Cheyenne and Arapaho warred with the allied Comanche, Kiowa, and Plains Apache. Numerous battles were fought including a notable fight along

7316-403: The Northern Cheyenne and Southern Cheyenne, where they could have adequate territory for sustenance. During the California Gold Rush , emigrants brought in cholera . It spread in mining camps and waterways due to poor sanitation. The disease was generally a major cause of death for emigrants, about one-tenth of whom died during their journeys. Perhaps from traders, the cholera epidemic reached

7440-486: The Northern and Southern Cheyennes and Arapahos and the Brulé Sioux were united to effectively resist the tide of white settlers and soldiers traveling through and settling on what had formerly been their lands. "Never again would the Sioux and their allies take the offensive as they did at Julesburg, Mud Springs, Rush Springs," and other battles of the Colorado War. Thereafter, the battles between Indians and whites "would become more reactive, rather than active, meant to defend

7564-415: The Plains Indians in 1849, resulting in severe loss of life during the summer of that year. Historians estimate about 2,000 Cheyenne died, one-half to two-thirds of their population. There were significant losses among other tribes as well, which weakened their social structures. Perhaps because of severe loss of trade during the 1849 season, Bent's Fort was abandoned and burned. In 1846, Thomas Fitzpatrick

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7688-509: The Plains, the government officials "assigned" territories to each tribe and had them pledge mutual peace. In addition, the government secured permission to build and maintain roads for European-American travelers and traders through Indian country on the Plains, such as the Emigrant Trail and the Santa Fe Trail , and to maintain forts to guard them. The tribes were compensated with annuities of cash and supplies for such encroachment on their territories. The Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 affirmed

7812-442: The Sacred Arrows together form the two great covenants of the Cheyenne Nation. Through these two bundles, Ma'heo'o assures continual life and blessings for the people. The Só'taeo'o prophet Tomȯsévėséhe ("Erect Horns") received the Ésevone (aka Is'siwun – " Sacred (Buffalo) Hat Bundle ") at Tȯhóonévose (″Stone Hammer Mountain″) near the Great Lakes in the present state of Minnesota. The Ésevone / Hóhkėha'e (Sacred Buffalo Hat)

7936-425: The Sand Creek massacre. In 1865, the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War investigated the Sand Creek massacre and concluded the following: "the truth is that he [Col. Chivington] surprised and murdered, in cold blood, the unsuspecting men, women, and children on Sand creek, who had every reason to believe they were under the protection of the United States authorities, and then returned to Denver and boasted of

8060-433: The Smoky Hill and Republican basins, between the Arkansas and the South Platte, where there were plentiful buffalo. Efforts to make a wider peace continued, but in the spring of 1864, John Evans , governor of Colorado Territory, and John Chivington , commander of the Colorado Volunteers, a citizens militia , began a series of attacks on Indians camping or hunting on the plains. They killed any Indian on sight and initiated

8184-469: The Só'taeo'o (Só'taétaneo'o) or Suhtai (Sutaio) bands of Southern and Northern Cheyenne spoke Só'taéka'ėškóne or Só'taenėstsestȯtse , a language so close to Tsėhésenėstsestȯtse (Cheyenne language), that it is sometimes termed a Cheyenne dialect. The earliest written record of the Cheyenne was in the mid-17th century, when a group of Cheyenne visited the French Fort Crevecoeur , near present-day Peoria, Illinois . The Cheyenne at this time lived between

8308-445: The Só'taeo'o called He'emo. The Tsétsėhéstȧhese / Tsitsistas prophet Motsé'eóeve (Sweet Medicine Standing, Sweet Root Standing, commonly called Sweet Medicine) received the Maahótse ( (Sacred) Arrows Bundle ) at Nóávóse (″medicine(sacred)-hill″, name for Bear Butte , northwest of Rapid City, South Dakota, which they carried when they waged tribal-level war and were kept in the maahéome (Arrow Lodge or Arrow Tepee). He organized

8432-450: The Tsétsêhéstâhese and merged with them after 1832. The Suhtai had slightly different speech and customs from the Tsétsêhéstâhese. The name "Cheyenne" derives from the Lakota Sioux exonym Šahíyena meaning "little Šahíya ". The identity of the Šahíya is not known, but many Great Plains tribes assume that it means Cree or another people who spoke an Algonquian language related to Cree and Cheyenne. The Cheyenne name for Ojibwe

8556-444: The U.S. army. By the terms of the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie between the United States and a few representatives of various tribes including the Cheyenne and Arapaho, the United States unilaterally defined and recognized Cheyenne and Arapaho territory as ranging from the North Platte River in present-day Wyoming and Nebraska southward to the Arkansas River in present-day Colorado and Kansas . The treaty also acknowledged that

8680-408: The US and the tribes, and, recognizing the right of the United States to regulate trade, the tribes promised to deal only with licensed traders. The tribes agreed to forswear private retaliation for injuries, and to return stolen horses or other goods or compensate the owner. The commission's efforts to contact the Blackfoot and the Assiniboine were unsuccessful. During their return to Fort Atkinson at

8804-423: The US government. The Sand Creek massacre , as it came to be known, resulted in the death of between 150 and 200 Cheyenne, mostly unarmed women and children. The survivors fled northeast and joined the camps of the Cheyenne on the Smoky Hill and Republican rivers. There warriors smoked the war pipe, passing it from camp to camp among the Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapaho. In January 1865, they planned and carried out

8928-673: The Washita River in 1836 with the Kiowa which resulted in the death of 48 Cheyenne warriors of the Bowstring society. In summer 1838, many Cheyenne and Arapaho attacked a camp of Kiowa and Comanche along Wolf Creek in Oklahoma resulting in heavy losses from both sides. Among the losses were White Thunder (keeper of the Medicine Arrows and Owl Woman's father), Flat-War-Club (Cheyenne), and Sleeping Wolf (Kiowa). Conflict with

9052-434: The actions of "lawless white men." A group of legislators from the committee visited Fort Lyon in 1865 and told tribe members there that the government disapproved of Chivington's actions. Chivington had already resigned his military commission and thus was not prosecuted for the massacre. After Sand Creek, Chivington changed residences frequently and was involved in several scandals. He defended his actions at Sand Creek until

9176-553: The already established Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming with their former enemies the Shoshone . In the summer of 1825, the tribe was visited on the Upper Missouri River by a US treaty commission consisting of General Henry Atkinson and Indian agent Benjamin O'Fallon , accompanied by a military escort of 476 men. General Atkinson and his fellow commissioner left Fort Atkinson on May 16, 1825. Ascending

9300-692: The ancient Cheyenne villages is Biesterfeldt Village , in eastern North Dakota along the Sheyenne River . They first reached the Missouri River in 1676. A more recent analysis of early records posits that at least some of the Cheyenne remained in the Mille Lac region of Minnesota until about 1765, when the Ojibwe defeated the Dakota with firearms — pushing the Cheyenne, in turn, to the Minnesota River, where they were reported in 1766. On

9424-663: The attack on Julesburg, the Indians planned to march northward and join their relatives in Wyoming. Julesburg consisted of a stagecoach station, stables, an express and telegraph office, a warehouse, and a large store that catered to travelers going to Denver along the South Platte. Its population was about 50 armed men. One mile west was Camp Rankin, with one company, about 60 men, of cavalry. High sod walls surrounded both settlements. On January 7, 1,000 warriors attacked Julesburg and Camp Rankin killing 14 soldiers and four armed civilians at little or no loss to themselves. The surviving soldiers and civilians took refuge inside Camp Rankin while

9548-471: The band was hostile or friendly. Historians believe that Chief Black Kettle, head of the band, was not part of the war party but the peace party within the Cheyenne nation. But, he did not command absolute authority over members of his band and the European Americans did not understand this. When younger members of the band took part in raiding parties, European Americans blamed the entire band for

9672-505: The brave deed he and the men under his command had performed." Another congressional committee, the Joint Special Committee on Conditions of Indian Tribes , also investigated the Sand Creek massacre in 1865 as part of a larger review of U.S.-Native American affairs across the country and territories. Of the five conclusions outlined in their report, the first linked the ongoing conflicts with Indigenous Peoples directly to

9796-438: The community. Those known to be skilled painters were consulted, and the new design was made to fit anonymously within the traditional framework of the tribe's painted tipis." During the later reservation era, retired warriors would paint on canvas tipis depicting different events in tribal history, including battles with Americans. He Nupa Wanica (Joseph No Two Horns), a Hunkpapa Lakota warrior who fought in 40 battles, including

9920-417: The difference in accounts between soldiers and Indians, Lt. J. J. Kennedy said that his force had a battle with the raiders and killed 10 to 20 Indians and recovered 400 stolen cattle. George Bent said it was a minor skirmish in which no Indians were killed or wounded and the only cattle the soldiers recovered were the ones the Indians had abandoned as too poor to steal. During the raid, the Cheyenne encountered

10044-438: The eastern plains, where their people would be given provisions and protection by the United States troops. A substantial number of the Indians desired peace, while the Dog Soldiers pursued war. On August 29, 1864, the two mixed-blood Cheyennes, George Bent and Edmund Guerrier , wrote letters on behalf of "Black Kettle and Other Chiefs" offering to make peace and return seven white prisoners in exchange for Indian prisoners held by

10168-641: The end of his life in 1894. The Methodist Church , of which he was a lay preacher, apologized for his actions in 1996 and a street named after him in Longmont, Colorado was renamed in 2005. Cheyenne people The Cheyenne ( / ʃ aɪ ˈ æ n / shy- AN ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains . The Cheyenne comprise two Native American tribes, the Só'taeo'o or Só'taétaneo'o (more commonly spelled as Suhtai or Sutaio ) and

10292-623: The enforcement of laws within the nation. Each of the six distinct warrior societies of the Cheyenne took turns leadering the nation. The four original military societies of the Cheyenne were the Swift Fox Society, Elk Horn Scrapper or Crooked Lance Society, Shield Society, and the Bowstring Men Society. The fifth society is split between the Crazy Dog Society and the famous Dog Soldiers . The sixth society

10416-556: The extent of Indian treaty lands. On February 18, 1861, six chiefs of the Southern Cheyenne and four of the Arapaho signed the Treaty of Fort Wise with the United States at Bent's New Fort at Big Timbers near what is now Lamar, Colorado . They ceded more than 90 percent of the lands designated for them by the Fort Laramie Treaty. Their new, much reduced reserve was located in eastern Colorado. Some Cheyenne including

10540-414: The fastening." The builders pull the lower ends out to form a circle about 3.0 metres (10 ft) in diameter on the ground. They stretch a covering of tanned and untanned buffalo hides, sewn together, over the frame, which they then secure with stakes at the base. "At the top there is an extra skin adjusted as a collar, so as to be open on the windward side to facilitate the exit of the smoke. A low opening

10664-457: The four members of the Hungate family, creating fear in the city that the war was on their doorstep. On July 12, a band of Miniconjou Sioux attacked a wagon train on the Oregon Trail , killing 4 men. Soldiers pursued the raiders but were ambushed and had one man killed. On August 20, the Indians killed 5 members of a family in Nebraska. A total of 51 people were reported killed by Indians along

10788-521: The government's orders, some of its members had been linked to raiding into Kansas by bands operating out of the Indian Territory . Custer claimed 103 Cheyenne "warriors" and an unspecified number of women and children killed whereas different Cheyenne informants named between 11 and 18 men (mostly 10 Cheyenne, 2 Arapaho, 1 Mexican trader) and between 17 and 25 women and children killed in the village. There are conflicting claims as to whether

10912-415: The incidents and casualties. Tipis A tipi or tepee ( / ˈ t iː p i / TEE -pee ) is a conical lodge tent that is distinguished from other conical tents by the smoke flaps at the top of the structure, and historically made of animal hides or pelts or, in more recent generations, of canvas stretched on a framework of wooden poles. The loanword came into English usage from

11036-512: The keeper of the bundle demanded the keeper Broken Dish give up the bundle; he agreed but his wife did not and desecrated the Sacred Hat and its contents; a ceremonial pipe and a buffalo horn were lost. In 1908 a Cheyenne named Three Fingers gave the horn back to the Hat. The pipe came into possession of a Cheyenne named Burnt All Over who gave it to Hattie Goit of Poteau, Oklahoma who in 1911 gave

11160-565: The land, often called "the Great American Desert," was of little interest to the United States and white settlers. However, the discovery in November 1858 of gold in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado (then part of the western Kansas Territory ) brought on a gold rush and a consequent flood of white emigration across Cheyenne and Arapaho lands. Colorado territorial officials pressured federal authorities to redefine and reduce

11284-433: The lining that is primarily used in the winter, which insulates. Tipis were designed to be easily set up or taken down to allow camps to be moved to follow game migrations, especially the bison. When dismantled the tipi poles were used to construct a dog- or later horse-pulled travois on which additional poles and tipi cover were placed. Tipi covers are made by sewing together strips of canvas or tanned hide and cutting out

11408-404: The murder of the family of Nathan Hungate along Running Creek (Box Elder Creek near present-day Elizabeth, Colorado) on June 11, 1864.[1][2] It was a precipitating factor leading to the Sand Creek massacre of November 29, 1864. On about the same date, a band of fourteen Dog Soldiers encountered a group of fifteen to twenty soldiers just north of the South Platte River . The soldiers demanded that

11532-538: The name Tsitsistas (Tsétsėhéstȧhese), which the Cheyenne call themselves, is uncertain. According to the Cheyenne dictionary offered online by Chief Dull Knife College , there is no consensus and various origins and translation of the word have been proposed. Grinnell's record is typical and states, "They call themselves Tsistsistas [sic, Tsitsistas is the correct pronunciation], which the books commonly give as meaning "people". It most likely means related to one another, similarly bred, like us, our people, or us. The term for

11656-489: The north and west of Cheyenne territory. By the help of the Medicine Arrows (the Mahuts), the Cheyenne tribe massacred a Crow camp in 1820 . To the east of Cheyenne Territory they fought with the Lakota , Dakota , Pawnee , Ponca , Kaw , Iowa , Ho-Chunk , and Omaha (Onéhao'o). The Pawnee captured the Cheyenne's Sacred Arrows during an attack on a hunting camp around 1830. South of Cheyenne territory they fought with

11780-424: The other chiefs apparently believing that they had made peace with the whites. On their return to Fort Lyon, Wynkoop promised the peaceful Indians protection if they established a village on Sand Creek, 60 kilometres (37 miles) northeast of Fort Lyon, and within the area allocated to the Cheyenne and Arapaho by the Treaty of Fort Wise. Black Kettle and his followers moved to Sand Creek. On October 17, however, Wynkoop

11904-723: The pipe to the Oklahoma Historical Society. In 1997 the Oklahoma Historal Society negotiated with the Northern Cheyenne to return the pipe to the tribal keeper of the Sacred Medicine Hat Bundle James Black Wolf. After being pushed south and westward by the Lakota, the Cheyenne began to establish new territory. Around 1811, the Cheyenne formally allied with the Arapaho people (Hetanevo'eo'o), which would remain strong throughout their history and into

12028-415: The places were soon all destroyed and darkness fell on the valley." George Bent The plains, from Julesburg west, for more than one hundred miles, are red with the blood of murdered men, women, and children – ranches are in ashes – stock all driven off – the country utterly desolate. Nebraska Republican After the Sand Creek massacre, according to George Bent, the Cheyenne, Northern Arapaho, and

12152-464: The plains and the Utes of the mountains. US negotiations with Black Kettle and other Cheyenne favoring peace resulted in the Treaty of Fort Wise : it established a small reservation for the Cheyenne in southeastern Colorado in exchange for the territory agreed to in the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851. Many Cheyenne did not sign the treaty, and they continued to live and hunt on their traditional grounds in

12276-427: The plains and took them to their camps. Lt. George Eayre with soldiers and a howitzer was despatched to recover the cattle. On April 12, Eayre encountered a band of Cheyenne. A fight ensued in which a soldier was killed. Eayre burned the seventy tipis of a nearby encampment and returned to Denver with 20 head of cattle. This fight took place near the headwaters of the Republican River . The Hungate massacre involved

12400-538: The plains. Like the Cheyenne, the Arapaho language is an Algonquian language , although the two languages are not mutually intelligible. The Arapaho remained strong allies with the Cheyenne and helped them fight alongside the Lakota and Dakota during Red Cloud's War and the Great Sioux War of 1876, also known commonly as the Black Hills War. On the Southern Plains, the Arapaho and Cheyenne allied with

12524-484: The present. The alliance helped the Cheyenne expand their territory that stretched from southern Montana, through most of Wyoming, the eastern half of Colorado, far western Nebraska, and far western Kansas. By 1820, American traders and explorers reported contact with Cheyenne at present-day Denver, Colorado , and on the Arkansas River. The Cheyenne likely hunted and traded in Denver much earlier. They may have migrated to

12648-525: The reservation. Approximately 91% of the population are Native Americans (full or part race), with 72.8% identifying themselves as Cheyenne. Slightly more than one-quarter of the population five years or older spoke a language other than English. The Southern Cheyenne , known in Cheyenne as Heévâhetaneo'o meaning "Roped People", together with the Southern Arapaho, form the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes , in western Oklahoma. Their combined population

12772-481: The same reservation in Oklahoma Indian Territory and remained together as the federally recognized Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes after the reservation was opened to American settlement and into modern times. The Northern Arapaho were to be assigned a reservation of their own or share one with the Cheyenne; however, the US federal government failed to provide them with either and placed them on

12896-424: The second raid or in the plan to go north to the Powder River country. He left the large camp and returned with 80 lodges of his tribesmen to the Arkansas River, where he intended to seek peace with the US. Four years later, on November 27, 1868, George Armstrong Custer and his troops attacked Black Kettle's band at the Battle of Washita River . Although his band was camped on a defined reservation, complying with

13020-490: The soldiers' guns from firing. They were told that if they dipped their hands in a nearby spring, they had only to raise their hands to repel army bullets. Hands raised, the Cheyenne surrounded the advancing troops as they advanced near the Solomon River . Sumner ordered a cavalry charge and the troops charged with drawn sabers; the Cheyenne fled. With tired horses after long marches, the cavalry could not engage more than

13144-481: The south for winter. The Hairy Rope band is reputed to have been the first band to move south, capturing wild horses as far south as the Cimarron River Valley. In response to the construction of Bent's Fort by Charles Bent , a non-Native trader and ally, a large portion of the tribe moved further south and stayed around the area. The other part of the tribe continued to live along the headwaters of

13268-526: The specific coups required to become a war chief. Specific warrior societies evolved. Each society had selected leaders who would invite those that they saw worthy enough to their society lodge for initiation into the society. Often, societies would have minor rivalries; however, they might work together as a unit when warring with an enemy. Military societies played an important role in Cheyenne government. Society leaders were often in charge of organizing hunts and raids as well as ensuring proper discipline and

13392-728: The spelling tepee is the most common one according to American English dictionaries and the Encyclopedia Britannica and the Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia. The wigwam or "wickiup", a dome-shaped shelter typically made of bark layered on a pole structure, was also used by various tribes, especially for hunting camps. The term wigwam has often been incorrectly used to refer to a conical skin tipi. The conventional translation in French and English for all Indigenous dwellings at one time

13516-496: The spelling tipi throughout her writings, including in her essential book The Dakota Way of Life . Lakota linguist Albert White Hat developed his own Lakota orthography and used tipi as the spelling. The tipi image is used on almost all Dakota/Lakota tribal flags or seals, and tipi is the spelling used by Dakota and Lakota tribes today. The spelling tipi is the one most common in Canadian English whereas

13640-465: The structure of Cheyenne society, their military or war societies led by prominent warriors, their system of legal justice, and the Council of Forty-four peace chiefs. The latter was formed from four véhoo'o (chiefs or leaders) of the ten principal manaho ( bands ) and an additional four ″Old Man″ meetings to deliberate at regular tribal gatherings, centered around the Sun Dance . Sweet Medicine

13764-412: The tribal territories defined therein were minimum territories and that it didn't preclude the existence of additional tribal territories not mentioned in the treaty. The treaty did not – as is often falsely assumed – "allocate territory" to various tribes but endeavoured to make declaratory delineations of already existing sovereign tribal lands through which the US merely secured a right of way. Initially,

13888-461: The upper Missouri River into what is now Wyoming , Montana, Colorado, and South Dakota. The Ésevone / Hóhkėha'e ("Sacred Buffalo Hat") is kept among the Northern Cheyenne and Northern Só'taeo'o. The Tséá'enōvȧhtse (″Sacred (Buffalo) Hat Keeper″ or ″Keeper of the Sacred (Buffalo) Hat″) must belong to the Só'taeo'o (Northern or Southern alike). In the 1870s tribal leaders became disenchanted with

14012-486: The valley of the South Platte River. The Cheyenne raided west of Julesburg, the Northern Arapaho near Julesburg, and the Sioux east of Julesburg, destroying a dozen or more ranches and stagecoach stations along 150 kilometres (93 miles) of the river valley and accumulating a large herd of captured cattle. Near Valley Station (present day Sterling, Colorado ), the Cheyenne had a brush with soldiers. Illustrating

14136-400: The village of Black Kettle, over which flew both an American flag and a white flag of truce, and killed about 150 Indians, mostly unarmed women, children, and the elderly. There were no Dog Soldiers nor other hostile Indians in the village at the time of Chivington's attack. At night the whole [South Platte River] valley was lighted up with the flames of burning ranches and stage stations, but

14260-474: The war party being killed. To the north, the Cheyenne allied with the Lakota, which allowed them to expand their territory into part of their former lands around the Black Hills. By heading into the Rocky Mountains, they managed to escape the 1837–39 smallpox epidemics that swept across the plains from white settlements but were greatly affected by the 1849 cholera epidemic. Contact with Euro-Americans

14384-562: The war. On September 25, Major General James G. Blunt with 400 soldiers and Delaware Indian scouts encountered Cheyennes on the Pawnee Fork of the Arkansas River. Blunt claimed to have killed 9 Indians at the cost of two dead soldiers. In July 1864, Colorado governor John Evans sent a circular to the Plains Indians, inviting those who were friendly to go to a place of safety at Fort Lyon (near present Lamar, Colorado ) on

14508-525: The whites. In response, Major Edward W. Wynkoop , the commander of Fort Lyon (near present-day Lamar, Colorado ) led a force of 130 men to try to recover the prisoners. They were met by a band of 600 or more Cheyenne warriors on the Smoky Hill River. In talks with Black Kettle and others, Wynkoop invited the chiefs to visit Denver to meet with the governor, John Evans , and Colonel Chivington. The meetings at Camp Weld ended with Black Kettle and

14632-470: The wounding of a Cheyenne warrior. He returned to the Cheyenne on the plains. During the summer of 1856, Indians attacked travelers along the Emigrant Trail near Fort Kearny. In retaliation, the US Cavalry attacked a Cheyenne camp on Grand Island in Nebraska . They killed ten Cheyenne warriors and wounded eight or more. Cheyenne parties attacked at least three emigrant settler parties before returning to

14756-478: Was "lodge," resulting in many compounds and place names such as sweatlodge , lodgepole pine , Red Lodge , and so on. A tipi is distinguished from other conical tents by the smoke flaps at the top of the structure. The tipi is durable, provides warmth and comfort in winter, is cool in the heat of summer, and is dry during heavy rains. Tipis can be disassembled and packed away quickly when people need to relocate and can be reconstructed quickly upon settling in

14880-471: Was appointed US Indian agent for the upper Arkansas and Platte River . His efforts to negotiate with the Northern Cheyenne, the Arapaho and other tribes led to a great council at Fort Laramie in 1851. Treaties were negotiated by a commission consisting of Fitzpatrick and David Dawson Mitchell, US Superintendent of Indian Affairs , with the Indians of the northern plains . To reduce intertribal warfare on

15004-530: Was little indication that an Indian War in Colorado was about to begin. The U.S. army was planning to withdraw many of its units from the Great Plains to fight the Confederacy in the Civil War . On April 9, however, Colonel John Chivington, commander of the Colorado volunteers, reported that Indians had stolen 175 head of cattle from whites. The Cheyenne later stated that they found cattle wandering freely on

15128-553: Was mostly light, with most contact involving mountain men, traders, explorers, treaty makers, and painters. Like many other Plains Indian nations, the Cheyenne were a horse and warrior people who developed as skilled and powerful mounted warriors. A warrior in Cheyenne society is not a fighter but also a protector, provider, and leader. Warriors gained rank in Cheyenne society by performing and accumulating various acts of bravery in battle known as counting coups . The title of war chief could be earned by any warrior who performs enough of

15252-649: Was once composed of ten bands that spread across the Great Plains from southern Colorado to the Black Hills in South Dakota. They fought their historic enemies, the Crow and later (1856–79) the United States Army . In the mid-19th 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. With

15376-494: Was relieved of his command by Chivington, apparently because of his advocacy for a peaceful settlement of the war. The desire for peace by Black Kettle and others to the contrary, the Dog Soldiers and other hostile Indians continued to raid ranches and wagon trains and to clash with soldiers during the fall, especially in Kansas and Nebraska. Several offensives by the U.S. army were ineffective. Damn any man who sympathizes with Indians! ... I have come to kill Indians, and believe it

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