The Cheyenne spoke Algonquian (a link to the Lenni-Lenape), and originally lived in the region of the Great Lakes in what is now Minnesota. The name they called themselves was "Tsistsistas", which means "beautiful people". It was the Sioux who named them "Cheyenne", meaning "red talkers", or "people of a different speech", because the Algonquian language was foreign to the ears of the people who spoke the Siouan dialects.

In their original homeland, the Cheyenne lived in permanent settlements of earthlodges, and were sedentary farmers, hunters and gatherers. Shortly after their appearance at la Salle's fort in Illinois, they began a migration toward the plains and settled in North and South Dakota. From other tribal activity taking place around the late 1600's, it would appear that they were pushed from their homeland by the Sioux (who were in the midst of their own migration toward the plains from their original homeland in North Carolina), and by hostile bands of Ojibwa who also lived in the Great Lakes regions.

The Cheyenne settled along the Missouri River, and maintained their sedentary lifestyle in permanent earthlodge villages. Their lives did not change for almost 100 years, but the discovery of the horse changed everything for most of the Cheyenne. Some bands held to the old ways and remained in the villages along the Missouri River where they were visited by Lewis and Clark on their expedition west. However, the main body of the Cheyenne took to the freedom of movement the horse gave them, and became buffalo hunters and nomads in the grasslands of the Great Plains.

The love affair with the horse changed the lives of the Cheyenne dramatically. They gave up their earthlodge homes for the easily moved tipi. They no longer planted and farmed, and they gave up their ancient craft of making pottery because it broke too easily on the trail. They became a part of the Great Plains Culture, and adopted many of the traditions of the area, including the Sun Dance. With their new mobility, the Cheyenne also became players in the new game of pushing and shoving for territorial rights.

Their old enemies, the Sioux, pushed the Cheyenne along a branch of the Missouri River, now called the Cheyenne River, into the Black Hills. During this push, the Cheyenne met a group of Algonquian speak- ing people called the Sutaio. The Sutaio merged with the Cheyenne, and became one of the 10 bands of the Cheyenne Nation. (Notice the Cheyenne referred to their divisions as "bands" rather than tribes or clans.) Still nudging, the Sioux pushed the Cheyenne still further south to the North Platte River in present-day eastern Wyoming and western Nebraska. Since the Kiowas were already there, the Cheyenne pushed them to the south.

Around 1832, the Cheyenne split into 2 groups; one stayed along the headwaters of the Platte River and became the Northern Cheyenne. The other group went still further south into eastern Colorado and western Kansas along the Arkansas River, and became known as the Southern Cheyenne. Gradually, the Northern Cheyenne became friends with their old enemies, the Sioux, and with the Northern Arapahos who were already established in Wyoming.

When they first arrived in their new territory, the Southern Cheyenne made war against the Kiowa and the Comanche, but shortly allied with them against their common enemies: the Crow, Pawnee, Shoshone, Ute and Apache. They also became friends with the Southern Arapaho. These alliances were a major factor in the Great Plains wars which loomed in the future.

Even though the Cheyenne Nation covered a considerable amount of geography, and even though there had been a division into Northern and Southern, the totality of what it meant to be Cheyenne never weakened. The individual lives of various bands altered because of physical terrain, friendly neighboring tribes and warring enemies, but they were all merely members of one large and complex extended family. The oneness of purpose and belief systems brought all the bands together with a single mind and a single heart when there was a need to stand together as one Cheyenne Nation. This happened during special ceremonies, council meetings and war.

Cheyenne life was very structured and complex with the most important element being the family, then the band, and finally the Nation as a whole. Cheyenne women were famous for their chastity, and they were sought after as wives only if their behavior had been proper and virtuous. Relationships before marriage was a major taboo, and this made courtship a long, slow and careful process which often took years before marriage was actually discussed. If the woman looked favorably on the man's shy overtures, and if they actually reached the point of talking to each other, both families were immediately consulted. The man's family was obligated to offer many gifts to the woman's family, and over a long period of time, as evidence of his love and good intentions. If all continued to proceed well, the marriage took place.

The ultimate goal for the Cheyenne man was to become a member of the Council of Forty-Four, which was comprised of 44 peace chiefs who represented various bands and units of the extended family. Character traits desired by all Cheyenne men, and requirements for those who aspired to the Council of Forty-Four, were wisdom, calmness, kindliness, fairness, selflessness, generosity, energy and bravery. The primary concerns of these chiefs were the well-being of the individual, the family, the band and the Nation, decisions on alliances with other Nations, and tribal war policy. Chiefs of the Council of Forty-Four did not take part in actual battles, but most had moved up through the ranks from the various war societies. Once they had been accepted into the Council, they resigned from their various "military positions" in the war societies.

The Cheyenne military societies remain famous to this day. These societies were made up of warriors from many bands who functioned like a fraternity. Each society had its own rituals, sacred objects, symbols and clothing. Unlike similar societies of other Nations, age was not a factor in being accepted into a warrior society of the Cheyenne. Originally, there were 5 societies: the Fox, Elk (or Hoof Rattle), Shield, Bowstring (the Contraries), and the most famous of all, the Dog Soldiers. Later in history, the Wolf and Northern Crazy Dog societies were added. Even though these war societies were feared and respected all across the Great Plains, the Nation as a whole actively sought peace with the whites and entered into one peace treaty after another.

The most important Cheyenne religious ceremonies were the Arrow Renewal, the Sun Dance (which they called the New Life Lodge), and the Animal Dance. According to legend, the Cheyenne's ancestral hero, Sweet Medicine, journeyed to the sacred mountains near the Black Hills where he was given four arrows by the Great Spirit; two for hunting and two for war. These arrows were kept in a sacred medicine bundle with other sacred objects which symbolized the collective existence of the Nation. Once each year, after much careful planning, all the bands of the Nation would gather to renew the power of the arrows, and thus renew the Nation. The gathering lasted for 4 days, and involved sacred rituals carried out by the men of the Nation.

The New Life Lodge (Sun Dance) was an 8-day ceremony held once each year to renew the spiritual life of the Nation, and all the creatures of the earth. Once again, all the bands came together for this sacred observance of self-sacrifice, dance and prayer. The Animal Dance was the one yearly gathering of all the bands dedicated to nothing but 5 days of silliness, clowning around and fun, and was the only ceremony where women took part in the preparations. Men dressed up as animals and members of the Bowstring Society hunted them. Since the Bowstrings were the contrary warrior group, everything was done backward!

The writing of the final chapter of the Great Plains Culture began, sadly enough, with the Southern Cheyenne and their friends, the Southern Arapaho. In the years following the Pike's Peak Gold Rush, also called the Colorado Gold Rush, great floods of miners and settlers moved into Colorado to make their homes there. Colorado officials, especially Governor John Evans, set out to open the hunting grounds of the Southern Cheyenne and Southern Arapaho to white development and settlement. When attempts to buy the land and move the Natives onto a common reservation failed, the Governor decided to force the issue by declaring war. He called upon the territorial military commander, Indian-hating Colonel John Chivington, to carry out his plan. John Chivington was a Methodist minister.

Chivington began his campaign in the spring of 1864. No village was safe, and no life was spared. In retaliation, Natives raided outlying settlements in fierce revenge. After many such attacks and counter-attacks, peace negotiations were held outside Denver at Camp Weld. The Natives were led to believe that, if they camped nearby and reported to the army posts there, they would be declaring peace and would be safe from attack. Chief Black Kettle, who had devoted his life to peaceful co-existence with the whites, led his band of 600 Southern Cheyennes, plus a contingent of Southern Arapaho, to Sand Creek, near Fort Lyon. As instructed, he reported to Fort Lyon that they were camped nearby, and that they had come there for peace.

Shortly after their arrival, Chivington rode into Fort Lyon with the Third Cavalry. The post commander told him that Black Kettle and his people had surrendered, and were camped at Sand Creek. Chivington ignored the information he had been given and determined to carry out his own policy of total extermination of all Natives. It was Chivington who uttered the infamous phrase, "Kill them all. Nits breed lice."

The following massacre at Sand Creek is among the cruelist in Native American history. While not as famous as Wounded Knee, this slaughter killed more people (with over half being women and children), and was the catalyst which began the Great Plains Wars. When word of the Sand Creek atrocity was spread by survivors who had escaped, the Nations of the Great Plains Culture joined together for survival, with former enemies fighting shoulder to shoulder against the greater enemy. No territory escaped these mighty wars which raged across the plains for 13 years, and which ended at Wounded Knee.

The Cheyenne conflicts finally ended with the surrender of Dull Knife, a Northern Cheyenne who, with his band of 300, had been chased by 13,000 cavalry for 6 weeks. After extensive negotiations, the Cheyenne who had taken refuge on other reservations, and who had hidden out across the territory, were granted reservation rights.

To this day, most of the Northern Cheyenne live on their tribal land in Montana, with their headquarters located in Lame Deer, Montana. The Southern Cheyenne share federal trust lands with the Southern Arapaho in Oklahoma, with their tribal headquarters located in Concho, Oklahoma. Both the Northern and Southern Cheyenne maintain themselves through farming and the leasing of mineral rights to outside interests.
 

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