“A nation is not conquered until the hearts of its women are on the ground, then it’s finished; no matter how brave its warriors or how strong their weapons are”

The state of Montana is home to several tribes including: the Assiniboine, Blackfeet, Chippewa, Cree, Crow, Gros Ventre, Kootenia, Little Shell Chippewa, Pend O’reille, Salish, Sioux, and Northern Cheyenne. In 2019, the Little Shell Tribe was finally determined a federally recognized tribe but was left without land for a reservation that its people could call home. Most tribes made their move to Montana before colonization. However, some tribes were forcefully relocated here or made their way here voluntarily. In this paper, I will be discussing the Fort Robinson Outbreak of the Northern Cheyenne and how they became a Montana tribe. The Northern Cheyenne’s survival was made possible by their great spiritual leader Sweet Medicine, and Chief Dull Knife and Little Wolf; as well as their allies including the Sioux and Hunkpapa. 

To start with, I would like to discuss the history of the Cheyenne. The book Montana Indians: Yesterday and Today by William L. Bryan gives a very brief assessment of Cheyenne history and states that they are believed to have lived in the Great Lakes region, around the Hudson and James Bay areas. This is a very simple explanation of their history, although in reality, it wasn’t that simple. It’d be wrong to say the survival of the Northern Cheyenne in Montana territory was a miracle, because they fought for the survival of their people and cultural ways, not only physically but spiritually as well. It’s because of the creation of the Sun Dance by the Cheyenne and their prophet Sweet Medicine’s Sacred Arrows and Sacred Hat, that they were able to persevere and become a force to be reckoned with amongst all plains tribes. 

Some time in the fifteenth century, they started to make their way west. Several generations of some Cheyenne bands lived along the Missouri River with the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara’s around the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. They adapted well to the environment, but continued to hunt and trade across vast ranges, sometimes going as far as Santa Fe. The Cheyenne would soon find themselves in present day North Dakota. They began to plant corn and other grains, as well as hunt buffalo and around 1750 they acquired the horse.

While the Continental Congress was being established during this time, the Cheyenne prophet Sweet Medicine was also gathering his people. Sweet Medicine is said to have had a vision from the Creator, in which he acquired the Sacred Arrows and Sacred Hat. With these Sacred items, Sweet Medicine was able to organize his people in a way that others had not yet done. The Cheyenne people were able to become an actual tribe and not just bands of people. From the Sacred Arrow teachings, members refrained from killing each other, because it was said that the blood of the murdered would drive away game and chances at survival. 

It is said that the Cheyenne people were experiencing what is known as ethnogenesis, which is a new collective identity by the members of a recently consolidated group. The Cheyenne began to organize themselves into soldier societies that consisted of the: Fox, Elk, Crazy Dog, Dog Soldier, Red Shield and Bowstring. The societies were organized militarily and their main focus was to protect the tribe. They organized under a Council of 44, consisting of members from different bands. All bands would gather during the summer in one big camp circle. 

In 1830, the Cheyenne began to split into two groups, the Northern Cheyenne and the Southern Cheyenne, consisting of smaller bands. The Southern Cheyenne, and the bigger of the two, began to head south towards Colorado. The Northern Cheyenne stayed around the Black Hills and Big Horn Mountain areas and along the Yellowstone and North Platte Rivers. Unfortunately, they were in the direct path of westward migration, including the Oregon Trail of 1849. In the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851, the Cheyenne and Arapaho were promised land in parts of Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, and Kansas. However, the government still viewed them as one people and wasn’t aware they had split over 20 years ago. The last time the Cheyenne gathered as a group during the summer was in 1853. The Gold Rush of 1859 would plague settlers to the Rocky Mountains, turning what used to be the Platte River into present day Denver. During this time, the Union and the Confederacy would split as well, leading to the start of the Civil War in 1861. 

John Evans, the Governor of Colorado during this time, promoted the massacre of “savage” Indigenous people and the protection of “friendly” ones. His attitude in combination with President Lincoln’s push for westward expansion created an atmosphere of tension that was unsafe for the Southern Cheyenne, who wanted to remain peaceful. A conference was called by Chief Black Kettle to further prove that they were a peaceful tribe, and the result was the Southern Cheyenne being relocated to Sand Creek. Although the Cheyenne had raised a white flag and an American flag, representing that they were a peaceful tribe, a massacre still ensued. The Sand Creek Massacre would take place at the end of the Civil War in 1864. Over 500 Southern Cheyenne and Arapahos, two thirds being women and children, were slaughtered. 

In 1868, the Fort Laramie Treaty would take place, designating lands for the Northern Cheyenne, for the first time ever and a call for the Bozeman Trail to be closed. Though, gold would soon be found in the Black Hills and the treaty disregarded, as settlers encroached on the land that was to be set aside for them. The opening of the Bozeman Trail, claim to the Black Hills, and the Sand Creek massacre could be said to have been some of the prominent factors leading up to the Great Sioux War of 1876, also known as the Black Hills War. 

During this time, Lieutenant Colonel Custer was sent with the seventh cavalry of the United States Army to Montana to force tribes onto reservations. Another important battle would take place because of this, notoriously known as the Battle of the Little Bighorn or Custer’s Last Stand. The Crow, as well as members of other tribes, were scouts for the seventh cavalry of the United States Army led by Colonel Custer in a fight against the Cheyenne, Arapaho and Sioux led by Chief Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse and Two Moons. The way in which these tribes had become allies is not well known. A year prior in 1875, the Cheyenne had a Sun Dance, in which Sitting Bull, chief of the Hunkpapa Lakota, attended. If there had been no spiritual bonding between these two parties, the Lakota may have been reluctant to agree to the Cheyenne’s call for assistance in the battle, and things may have ended differently. Although the tribes were victors of this battle and killed Colonel Custer, the United States Army was becoming too strong and they were still left without lands to call home.

Left without a reservation or land, the Northern Cheyenne had nowhere to go. In 1877, a band of about 300 Cheyenne led by Chief Two Moons surrendered to the United States Army at Fort Keogh because his people were dying and they were starving. A year prior in 1876, the Northern Cheyenne had been rounded up and sent to Oklahoma Indian territory where many of them died from overexposure to humidity and heat. They were held in barracks southwest of Fort Robinson, after they refused to return to Oklahoma, they were cut off from wood, water and food. In January of 1879, Chief Dull Knife decided to escape, thinking he’d rather die with his people than in the barracks from starvation. 

Every year, Northern Cheyenne members host a Fort Robinson outbreak run, where they run all the way to Oklahoma. In 1996, ten descendants ran 76 miles through communities on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation to bring awareness to and to honor their ancestors strength and bravery. It’s a way for youth to learn about their culture and to connect generations of Northern Cheyenne. A 12-year old Northern Cheyenne member participated in the run and said “I learned that it was a spiritual run and learned what happened in the past and about teamwork.”

It’s so great to see tribes creating memorials for themselves, so their culture and history will never be forgotten. Social collective memories are ever changing with new political and economic circumstances. So, this is why it’s so important for people to remember the sacrifices that our ancestors have made for us to be here today. Through the spirit of the people, and most importantly, our women, we are able to be resilient and create new traditions as well. There is a famous Cheyenne proverb that reads “a nation is not conquered until the hearts of its women are on the ground, then it’s finished; no matter how brave its warriors or how strong their weapons are.” The Northern Cheyenne still keep the Sacred Arrows protected to this day, while the Southern Cheyenne possess the Sacred Hat. I think it’s safe to say that they are still very spiritual people and hold the spirit of Sweet Medicine in everything they do.