Tse-tsehese-staestse is what the Cheyenne call themselves. The word
Cheyenne was believed to come from the French word chien for dog. The
French traders called these people this because of the famous dog soldiers of
the Cheyenne nation. This is erroneous. The now accepted etymology of the
word Cheyenne is that it is the anglicized word Shyhela, which is Sioux.
The Cheyenne people are the most western branch of the Algonquian people.
They originally came from the great lakes area. There are many theories
about why the Cheyenne moved from the great lakes area. Most of them
involve competition in the area with the Ojibwe, Ree, and Mandan. They
originally lived as sedentary farmers in northeastern Minnesota, from which
they began migrating westward in the late 1600s; they later settled along the
Cheyenne River of North Dakota. Dislodged ca.1770, they gradually moved
southwestward; when encountered (1804) by the Lewis and Clark expedition,
they were living as nomadic buffalo-hunters in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
Religiously, the Cheyenne were guided to the plains area by Maheóo. They
also were sent a prophet named Sweet Medicine who helped organize
themselves, and developed a code to live by. He gave them their first sacred
item -- the four sacred arrows. It was at this point the Cheyenne became a
powerful force to be reckoned with. Their hunting territory extended from the
Platte River to what is now eastern Montana. A southern group also had
hunting grounds around the Arkansas River. Another group of people known
as the Sohtaio also joined the Cheyenne. It is said that these two groups of
people were one day fighting, when the Cheyenne overheard the Sohtaio speak
amongst themselves. Peace was quickly pursued and these people have lived
with the Cheyenne ever since.
The Cheyenne Native American tribe of North America were historically
nomadic buffalo hunters of the Great Plains in the nineteenth century who
prospered with the introduction of the horse and for also having one of the
most highly organized governments of the Native American tribes. Renowned
for their warriors, their spiritual ways, and for their values and ethics (including
the chastity of the women), the Cheyenne became an icon of Native America
Prior to this nineteenth century lifestyle, the Cheyenne lived a sedentary life in
the Great Lakes region of Minnesota. Then, as many tribes did, they began to
migrate West onto the Great Plains where they later became nomadic and
successful hunters with the introduction of horses. During this migration, two
separate bands of Cheyenne each unaware of the other's existence, met (in a
territorial hunting confrontation) and united after discovering that they were a
common people. Each band brought something instrumental and unique to the
complete nation. The Dis-tis-tahts band brought the Sacred Arrow Covenant,
along with the government and laws.
The Suhtai band brought the Sacred Buffalo Hat Covenant, along with the
majority of the religious ceremonies, including the sun dance. Together the
Cheyenne grew into a powerful (and yet moderately sized) tribe, expanding
their territorial range from the Dakota's and Montana to New Mexico and
Arkansas.
Then in the mid 1800's, the United States began to expand their towns and
settlements into the Plains Indian's hunting lands. Contact between the
Cheyenne and the White Man became more and more frequent but remained
relatively peaceful until the Sand Creek Massacre in 1864. The act of
genocide, not to mention the mutilations, left the Cheyenne no alternative but
to enter into a twenty year war that would only end with their conquest. They
were then confined to a reservation with the southern branch of the tribe in
Oklahoma where the Northerners were unable to adapt to the climate and
began to slowly die off. They refused to accept such harsh living conditions and
despite threats of armed conflict they announced they would leave. Led by
their Sweet Medicine Chief, the surviving Northern Cheyennes fled to their
homeland to the North in a long running fight, many of them being killed but
they eventually won themselves not only the support of many empathetic
Americans, but also a reservation in Montana where they continue to live to
this date.
The Cheyenne of today are still fighting for their existence. Those who still
believe and practice the old ways, fight to preserve their language, their
religion, and their identity but assimilation seems inevitable. Meanwhile the
entire tribe is stricken with extreme poverty as their IRA (Indian
Reorganization Act) form of tribal government struggles for self determination;
sometimes selling the natural resources in attempt to raise some capital -
sovereignty does not come cheap.
| But the Cheyenne's (limited) sovereignty and existance will continue
because they are survivors. They survived extermination, starvation,
germ warfare,conventional warfare, and even unconventional warfare.
And will survive The Information Age, or at least hope to.
| 
|
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