WE, THE

NORTHERN CHEYENNE PEOPLE

Our Landy Our History, Our

Culture

Chief Dull Knife College, Lame Deer, Montana

.'^*'

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Ca\

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978.600497353
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L7WNCP
2008
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Montana State

Library

3 0864 1004 7150

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We, the Northern Cheyenne People

WE,

THE NORTHERN
CHEYENNE PEOPLE
Our Land, Our

History,

Our

Culture

Chief Dull Knife College, Lame Deer, Montana

20o8 by Chief Dull Knife College

All rights reserved.

No

part of this publication

may

be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by

any means, electronic or mechanical, including

photocopy, recording, or any information storage
or retrieval system, without permission in writing

from the publisher.

Chief Dull Knife College

P.

O. Box 98

Lame

Deer,

MT 59043

406.477.6215

Library of Congress
Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Project

management:

Suzanne G. Fox,

Red Bird

Publishing, Inc.,

Bozeman,

MT

Graphic design:
Carol Beehler, Bethesda,

MD

Printed by Artcraft Printers, Billings,

The paper used

minimum

in this publication

MT

meets the

requirements of American National

Standard for Information Sciences

Permanence

of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ansi Z39.481984.

Front cover: Vooheheva, the Morning

near

dawn

gathering.

outside a Native American

The morning

star

Northern Cheyenne people.

ancient old

man

is

Star, rises

Church

the symbol for the

It is

greeted as an

each morning by the Keepers of

the Sacred Covenants. Photograph by John

Warner.

Back cover: The Chief Dull Knife College campus

is

located in

Lame

Kathleen Beartusk.

Deer,

MT. Photograph by

This book

is

dedicated

to the

members of the

Chief Dull Kiife College Board of Trustees:

John

J.

Wooden

Legs,

George Fox, Ashland

chairman
District

Florence Running Wolf, Birney District

Winfield Russell, Busby District*

LaForce Lone Bear,

Lame Deer

Otto Braided Hair,

Jackie

Tang was the

representative

Muddy

from Busby

District

District

at the

beginning of

this project.

Nesaa'evatonesenehele vo'estanehevehemetsemehaehesevo'estanehevetse.

Tsemona'e vo'estanehevestotse netosehene'enanone.

Netaveestanonestse moxeestonemdheondtse, nonohpa

Neka 'esko nehamaneo 'o

Naa

tseohketsehe'ohtseo 'o.

tsetdhene'enanove he'tohe tsemona'e vo'estanehevestotse.

We
There

is

can no longer
a

new way

of

live the

life

that

way we used

we

Let us ask for schools, that

way

our children can attend them

and

learn this

new way

to.

are going to

of

life.

Chief Dull Knife (Vooheheva)

know.

Contents

viii

Preface

Cheyenne Creation

Stories

Coming Home

13

23

Language "35

Northern Cheyenne

District

Names

47

Agriculture "53

Native Plants of the Northern Cheyenne Reservation

The

Girl

Who

Saved Her Brother

Cheyenne Peace Pipe

Joseph Whitewolf
Balloon

Bomb

Uriah

in

67

71

73

Lame Deer

75

Two Two 79

American Indian Reburials:

Northern Cheyenne Sacred

Spiritual Perspective

and Objects

Sites

Early Education

81

85

89

Contemporary Cheyenne Education

Chief Dull Knife College

loi

115

Energy 131

We Will

Home

Keep Our Cheyenne

Contributors

Forever

157

Appendix A: Veterans
Appendix

63

161

B: Tribal Presidents

173

145

Preface

and Acknowledgments

Dr. Richard Little Bear

^
CHIEF

Dull Knife College

was able

produce We, The Northern

to

Cheyenne People: Our Land, Our History, Our Culture with a grant from the

Montana

State Legislature

and Governor Brian Schweitzer. The funding

and Equipment project

Tribal Histories

is

gratefully

This project has been an interesting one for

it.

of the people

who worked on

was a good learning, reading, writing, and researching experience. There

It

were, however,

some

research materials.
still

all

for the

acknowledged.

so

many

One challenge was accessibility of

much new material, there are
many museums that need to be vis-

challenges along the way.

While the

sources, so

many

researchers did find

collections, so

ited to get information, especially the information that

who

was provided by people

were close to the pre-reservation culture. Time constraints and always

increasing costs limited the accessibility of these sources.

Another challenge was the plethora of books that have already been written
about both the Northern and Southern Cheyenne people starting with George
Bird Grinnell's accounts.
People written by

Education from

Tom

More

recently

the

is

book

Billings,

MT, under

ation

removed from the time of the buffalo-centered

College uses this as a text book for

earliest
It

its

Hap

Gilliland. This

some of whom were only one

extensively used the elders of the day,

it

History of the Cheyenne

the leadership of Dr.

book

a challenge because

Weist and published by the Montana Council for Indian

Cheyenne

culture.

gener-

Chief Dull Knife

history class. Weist's

book posed

had amply covered the history of the Cheyenne people from

times up to the mid-1970s.

became

and those

clear that

some

subject areas of that

book needed strengthening

are the areas that this present effort attempts to address. People

We, the Northern Cheyenne People:

use the Weist

book

in

tandem.

Our Land, Our

Our book

tries to

History,

Our

who

use

Culture need to

strengthen those subject areas

that were not adequately covered in the Weist book, including

women,

spiritual-

energy

ity,

educational issues, and veterans oi the armed forces.

issues,

Not

including the topic of women was a major oversight in

There were cursory accounts

many of the history books.

of North Woman, The Girl Who Saved Her

Brother, Bessie Harris (the

female Northern Cheyenne council woman), and

Geri Small (the

potential subjects

almost endless. Even

is

women

place that

first

The

female Northern Cheyenne tribal president).

first

this

book has not done

who were

all

involved, but inevitably there are mistakes. For

member of their

is

ofiended by being excluded or by having a

it

was purely unintentional. The writers were meticulous

work of subsequent

also

families excluded,

and

several.

had the added

Some

of being able to talk

skill

this

of the writers

where, but they managed to

2007, was

31,

still

make

mix of

difficult to find,

assignment on a timely

their

fulfill

were

skills

researchers,

and understand the

but

and photographers had full-time jobs

challenge was the deadline, which, even though

Dec.

to

researchers easier.

Cheyenne language. People with

found

to

providing footnotes

in

Another challenge was finding Northern Cheyenne writers and

some of whom

and

anybody who

for citations so the right person received recognition for their efforts

the

of

have earned in Northern Cheyenne culture and history.

In each subject, the writers tried to be as comprehensive as possible

include

list

justice to the

Some

not enough time.

it

basis.

we

else-

Another

was extended from June 30 to

parts of the history were slighted,

but everybody did the best they could.

much

But so

museums,
forever.

that

available

is still

fill

There

so

is

much

information in various

and the internet that could be mined

This book has been a modest effort when compared with the information

By using
to

for the challenges.

collections, universities, colleges,

the

in the gaps

Cheyenne

history,

interesting,

and

Tom

is

ripe for another or a continuing history project.

Weist book

as a "reverse template," this project

of that book. This

no easy

is

both Northern and Southern,

and eventually

uplifting.

This

is

is

task since the

immense,

attempted

panorama of

tragic,

unendingly

many

a story filled with

losses:

of

land, of loved ones, of spirituality, of language, of culture, of education, but even

with these losses there have always been replacements for those aspects of the

Northern Cheyenne culture that slipped away. Some of them may not have been
the

replacements like alcohol,

best

Cheyenne

are learning to

realize that alcohol

cope with

and drugs

drugs,

and

their deleterious effects.

are the

but the Northern

poverty,

Once

the Cheyennes

new enemy, even more deadly than

hun-

dred Custers and Chivingtons, their ability to cope with the present situations
will

become

easier to address.

For instance, the Cheyenne people

sacrifices

lost a

lot of land,

of all Cheyennes, a treasured piece was retained

Some Crow

Indians say that

if it

but through huge

in southeastern

weren't for them, the Northern

Preface tind Ackiioivledgnrents

Montana.

Cheyenne would

not have a reservation. This assertion

disservice to the

a convenient fiction

is

many Cheyennes who

which does

died on the northward jotirney

complete

home

in the

late 1800S.

01

we have gained more

loved ones,

Northern Cheyenne people

for

because the population ol the

relatives

probably the most

is

it

has ever been.

Of spirituality,

good or bad, the people have acquired additional ways of expressing our

ituality

through organized, European-based, non-Cheyenne

religions,

spir-

the

all

while retaining the Native American Church, the Sun Dance, the fasting ceremony, the

sweat lodge, and the reverence for

sacred to

sites

Cheyenne

since time

immemorial.

Of the Cheyenne
older people

who

infltiential presence.

become an

much

has been

and anthropologists

artifact for linguists

and

language

but there

lost,

is still

group of

have dedicated themselves to preserving the language, not

integral,

to dissect, but as a

as

an

contemporary, viable,

Again, for good or bad, another language, English, has

everyday part of Cheyenne

lives.

Actually, mastering both

languages has opened doors of opportunity for bilingual and monolingual

Cheyennes
buffalo-

alike.

Of

culture,

it

has necessarily changed from the previous,

and horse-centered culture of the

late

1800s to a computer-, iPod-, text-

message-, television-ciriven cidture.

Yet the

Chevennes

still

retain

our honoring ceremonies, our give-way cere-

monies, dances, songs, and ways of worship and interaction with each other.
still

al

enjoy

meal.

jtist

Of

getting together, preferably with the prospect of a

education, slowly

white man's education and

its

Chevenne people
systems.

are

good

We

tradition-

beginning to embrace the

The Cheyenne people

are slowly recover-

ing from the highly punitive version of this education that was introduced to

Cheyenne people when

the reservation-era began.

Now

there are

Cheyennes with

bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees in law, pharmacv, education, dentistrv;

more educated people

well for the

are in the future. This latter

whole Cheyenne

and

development can only bode

tribe.

This book strove for realism so

as

not to perpetuate the romanticized notion

of Northern Cheyenne people. For example, while the Chevenne value system
emphasizes being the original environmentalists and being good caretakers of the
land, there

is

a lot

of trash on the reservation. Ihe book also strove to include

material that had not been included in other history books. Ihe writers were not

always successful trying to do

this.

There was

just

too

much

material. Included

were those aspects of Cheyenne culture which are imchangeable,

like the trek

north from Oklahoma.

What were omitted were

accounts about the

little

people {vo'estanehesono),

the two-faced people {Iwstovatohkeo'o), water monsters {mehtieo'o), ghosts {seohto),

Cheyenne humor

{nexoetdhta'hanestdtse),

and the contemporary (winter 2007)

turmoil being experienced by

go on and on. Readers

do

their

own

research,

who

all

of the Northern Cheyenne people.

The

list

could

look for accounts of the above items will just have to

which

is

not a bad idea. Reading Cheyenne history

exhilarating journey.

Preface

and Acknowledgments

is

an

Cheyenne Creation

Stories

Introduction

LEGENDS COMPRISE WHAT

erature

known

probably the oldest surviving form of oral

is

man. Each group

to

ing for

its

history.

Handed down from

its

generation to generation,

important legends of the Cheyenne are

The

its own explanation

own way of account-

had

of people has

and man; each has had

for the creation of the earth

still

lit-

some of the more

told today.

legends in this collection appear to be

among

the oldest told by the

Northern Cheyenne. In importance, they rank second only

to the legends

about

Sweet Medicine, the Cheyenne culture hero and prophet.

How THE Earth

{Ho 'e) was Made

Long, long ago, before there were people, water was everywhere. Maheo'o, the
Creator, was floating

on the

the ducks, geese, swans,

One after another,

At

The

last a

mud

in

and other

him some

asked them to bring

earth.

water. All of the water birds were

birds that swim. Ma'heo'o called to

duck

(a

them and

earth.

the birds dove

large birds tried again

small blue

swimming nearby

and

down through

the deep water, searching for

again, but they couldn't reach the bottom.

coot or mud-hen) came to the surface with a dab of

its bill.

The duck swam

fingers until

it

pieces atop the water.

far as the

to Ma'heo'o,

who

took the

dried and turned to dust.

Each

pile

He

mud

and worked

between
it

of dust became land that grew and grew

eye could see, there was land everywhere. That

on was made.

it

took the dust and placed

is

how

the earth

his

in litde
until, as

we walk

The Thunder and the Winter Man

After Ma'heo'o

made

He

made

put the

woman

many

north and the

man

he

said,

and here he pointed

it

woman.

"you

to the south,

will

to the north,

where the

woman

"The

birds

woman

lives,

stood.

summer. Where the

be cold, and the grass and trees will not grow well. There will be few of

them. But, where the

In the north lives

woman

Ho

everything will grow:

is,

takes pity

on no one

for

he

power

is

He

obeys the

that brings

snow and

Winter Man.

(or Thunderbird) {Nonoma'e) lives in the south.

in the south

and

is

the power that brings

Twice each year the Thunder and the Winter

At the end of summer, when the streams

the sun, the

bushes, and grass."

trees,

im' a ho, (Hoema'haahe) the

and death.

The Thunder

man

man

and

in the north

cold, sickness,

by the

made

it,

far to the south.

and here he pointed

that live in the south will go to the north in the

will

from

side and,

kinds of birds and animals that are different from those found in this

direction,"

it

and from

his right side a rib and,

left

stood between them with his back to the rising sun and spoke

to them. "In that direction,"

find

took from

from the man's

a rib

far to the

Then Ma'heo'o

He

the earth,

man. He took

Winter

Man comes down

from which you came!" he

freezing things

tells

are

fire,

Man come

low and the

He is controlled

warmth, and

grass has

been burnt by

from the north. "Move back

the Thunder. "I

want

life.

together in conflict.

to spread

to the place

about the earth,

and covering everything with snow." Then the Thunder moves

back to the south.

Toward
the south.

you came!
grow."

spring,

"Go
I

want

Then

when

back!" he
to

the days are growing longer, the

tells

warm

the Winter

the Winter

Man. "Return

Thunder

the earth, to turn things green

Man

moves back

to the

returns from

to the place

from which

and make the

grass

north and the Thunder comes

forward, bringing rain and making things grow again.

The Great Race

After

making

shape of a

the earth, Ma'heo'o took

human

being.

He blew

some

dirt (or

breath into the

mud) and formed

mouth and

in the

it

the person

came

alive.

After a time, there were

more

using Indian turnips and wild

could

eat.

Then he

people, and Ma'heo'o taught

fruits,

taught them

how

them how

to live,

small animals, and other foods which they

to

make and

use spears so they could hunt

game.
It is

said that, for a time, the people

and the animals

lived as friends yet, later,

the buffalo began to eat people. This was before the So'taaeo'o (Suhtaio) and the

Tsetsehestahese (Tsistsistas) joined in one

tribe.'

young

In that time, there Uved a

dream. In
standing

When
it

came

Now

to

dream, he shot an arrow

his

far

at a buffalo,

but

it

man who had

a strange

turned and hit another,

away, in the side.

man soon

he awoke, the young

him

Then, on the

again.

he began to worry about

and asked them what

mean

So'taetane (Suhtai)

it

forgot about his dream. But that night

third night, the

it.

dream came

men about

he told the old

Finally,

him once more.

to

meant. They told him not to worry, that

it

his

dream

probably didn't

anything.

On

the fourth night, the

decided to find out

and arrows and

just

dream came

down

When

to water.

and

the arrow turned

cow

buffalo

came

rose,

he awoke, he

bow

he got his

by

a creek

he shot an arrow

closer,

another buffalo, a young

hit

cow

that

where they
at

one, but

was standing some

dream had come

true.

wasn't badly hurt. She turned around several times with the

and then she

arrow hanging Irom her

side,

Reaching the top of the

ridge,

ahead, so he cut behind the

When

When

again.

so he hid in the brush

they

Now the young man knew that his

distance away.

The

him

started out.

Soon he came upon some buffalo

were coming

to

what the dream meant. Before the sun

started walking.

The boy

followed her.

he saw that she was walking slowly and was not

hoping

hills,

to cut her off

he saw her again, she was even further away. This puzzled the boy.

decided to follow her and stayed on her

return to camp.

He would

lar

sundown.

trail until

He

Finally he decided to

look for the buffalo the next morning

by then, she

for,

might be lying down, dead or seriously wounded.

The

next morning he picked up her

Ahead, he saw a lone

to

meet him,

"Mother
and you

calling
is

are to

him

in

little

and

The young man took

boy

and the

little

boy

their son.

and

little

boy's hand,

cooking pots. The

The

tipi

meal for you,

and the boy

as

led

him

into the

though she were

tipi.

his wife

woman gave him a meal of turnips and dry fruit.

move

the

camp

Later,

the next morning.

man found himself looking up at the sky. The

woman and the little boy. The young man quickly got

he awoke, the young

was gone. So were the

up and began searching the ground

He

flat.

was furnished with a bed, willow backrests,

they went to bed like a family, planning to

When

across a long

told him. "She has prepared a

young woman. She greeted him

was

tipi

it

boy ran outside and came

eat."

the

Inside, there

clay

tipi, a little

"father."

ready," the

come

and followed

trail

As he neared the

tipi.

for tracks.

soon found their tracks and began following them. These led

direction that he

had followed the day

until, in the distance,

he saw the

As he approached, the

little

before.

He

followed their

in the

trail all

same

morning

tipi.

boy ran out

to greet

Cheyenne Creation

Stories

him once more. Everything

happened

The

just as

had the night

it

next morning,

when

They

before.

This happened a third time and fourth,

the fourth morning, while the

and the

little

boy, he

came

meal and

ate a

young man awoke, the

the

just as

tipi

happened twice

it

young man was following the

He

before.

tracks of the

followed the tracks

down

cow with

As he neared the heard,

calf,

ear,

will

became

a small calf alongside.

a small yellow calf ran

"they are going to try and

and you

On

woman

the ridge toward

the herd and crossed a dry sandy place. Here the tracks disappeared and
the tracks of a buffalo

to bed.

he saw a buffalo herd that

to a high ridge. Below,

stretched as far as the eye could see.

went

later

was gone.

you!

kill

have to guess which one

then pass on by, turn, and point

They will

at

towards him. "Father," said the

line

am. Watch
him. That

many of the

calves in a row,

for a calf that shakes his right

will

be me. If you guess

right,

they won't be able to hurt you."

Everything happened
the

young man heard

"Come,

just as the calf

of them shake his right

ear.

told

him

eye,

and next he

to

watch

raised a

my son." The

Finally the herd

hind

The

And

saw one

until he
is

each time the calf came to

buffalo calf shook his

my son!"
him and

then he winked his

tail,

Each time, the young man saw him and

foot.

buffalo could not

moved on and

before he crossed, the calf came to

to

Then

bulls, saying,

turned, pointed, and said, "That

tested him.

for his signal.

He watched

the line of calves.

Then he

Three more times they

is

calves lined up.

one of the buffalo

find your son!"

The young man went down

"That

had told him. The

a great voice, the voice of

said,

harm him.

across the river.

The young man

him once more and gave him

followed, but

dry root to hold,

keep him from sinking into the water.

In the days that followed, the

young man was put

throtigh

many

tests;

each

one he passed with the help of his son, the buffalo calf

One day
to kill you.

the yellow calf

Now

you must

choose between two

came

race

sticks, a

Watch

That way he won't be

his horns!

When

you and go over the

And
lined

so the

him and

means you

able to crush

he turns to

come

The

and was

killed.

i6

will

You

a black one.

wishes

still

will first

have to

Take the one on

have to race on the outside, by

you against the bank. But be

careful!

you, drop to the ground. He'll miss

young man chose the black

buffalo.

they reached the halfway point, they were

ground!

and

grandfather

ledge.

cliff!"

up beside the grandfather

buffalo turned

at

"My

said,

narrow

red painted stick

the outside, the black one. That

the cliff

to

him along

stick, the

Then
still

one on the

outside.

He

they began to run! By the time

running side by

side.

Suddenly the

on him! The young man was ready and quickly dropped

buffalo missed him, but then he cotildn't stop, he

to the

went over the

cliff

came together

After the grandfather buffalo was killed, the other buffalo

Now in

great gathering.

beings;

human

into
to

when

the

those days

young man came

Some

beings.

animals had the power to appear

all

close,

men were

old

him and greeted him by putting

their

he saw that the buffalo had

his

human

all

turned

and they

called

neck or shoulders

in the

sitting together in a row,

arms around

in a

as

old Indian way.

men met in council. They decided that there should be one

final great race. If the young man won, the people would eat the buffalo. Never
again would the buffalo eat the people. But, if the young man lost, he was to be
Then

killed

and

Now

the buffalo

eaten!
all

the birds and animals

They painted

great race.

head and neck, made

came together and began

The

themselves.

a spot

back on

to get ready for the

bald eagle rubbed white clay over his

and painted the

his side,

rest of his

body

brown. The antelope painted himself yellow with white markings.

The
was

cow named Slim Walking

buffalo chose a

Woman

to

and has never been beaten. She painted herself brown

fast

All of the animals except the

the buffalo.

The

The magpie chose

bear said, "I

magpie and the bear chose

to race

wont be on

on the

side

run for them. She

all

over.

to be

on the

side of

on the young man.'

either side. Til eat anything!"

The

bear could

eat plants as well as meat.

was about to begin, the animals crowded around Slim

Just as the great race

Walking Woman. Coyote

rU

live

do

toda)'.

up on the

The

hill,

bald eagle

song, and

Then
They can

Now

made

my home
a

little

chase

I'll

man

wins,

a whistling noise
air

and

won't

live

the

Then he howled

sing this song."

be in the

will

brown

me

said, "If the

and

said, "If the

man

between the earth and the

bird said, "If the

man

wins,

I'll

way

do now.

just like coyotes

wins,

I'll

sing this

sky.

play with the children.

in the rosebushes.

they were ready to start the race.

coyote and a big wolf howled, and

the race began, towards the east!

The magpie began

to soar, higher

behind the others. The young

Then some of

faster animals.

buffalo
to

grow

man

and higher into the

sky;

soon she was

far

ran as fast as he could, keeping pace with the

the animals began to

tire

and

fall

behind. Yet the

cow kept on running

as fast as she could. After a

time she, too, began

and the buffalo

called to her, urging her on.

And

tired,

magpie was

far

all this

time the

behind the others, soaring higher and higher.

Some of the animals

ran with such fury that they began bleeding at the mouth,

turning the ground red. Then, one by one, they began falling by the wayside.

When

the bear

came

to the first

animal that had

fallen,

he stopped and ate

hini.

Cheyenne Creation

Stories

^7

Now

swoop down

the race was almost over. Suddenly the magpie began to

through the

she soared across the finish line

air so fast that

first,

winning the race

for the people!

The

old buffalo bull called the

now

him. "From

our meat,

skins,

Soon
that

young man

on, you shall be above

and bones. And we

all

to look back. But, as they

he

off,

Ever since then,

man

race, they

still

magpie
it

buffalo, they ran

Cheyennes never

when

away

for having lost the great

for

its flesh.

They remembered

see the place

still

The Cheyenne

West

ate the sweetbreads

(thymus gland)

human

fat that

had

the buffalo ate the people. Also, they never

the great race

and how the magpie

where the great race was run.

Hills, near a place called the Buffalo

hills.

wear.

for the people.

Today you can

Black

looks back over his shoul-

still

of the buffalo. This was considered to be

in the throat

had won

They had decided

has had the right to use animal flesh. After the race,

lodged there during the time

killed a

way.

Sun Dance."

were afraid of everything.

In the old days, the

found

own

supply you with

were leaving, the coyote looked

Each of the animals kept the colors which they

whenever the people hunted the

the

We will
to give a

the animals began to scatter and go their

none of them was

"You have won," they told

you how

will teach

back. Even today, whenever a coyote slinks

der.

over.

the animals.

still call

this place the

of Bear Butte, the Sacred

the buffalo priests held their

belonged to the

who

Today, whenever a Sun Dance

it

in the

It is

a path runs right

around

Race Track.

Mountain, near the town of Sundance,

Sun Dance. Since then,

So'taa'e (Suhtai),

thank Ma'heo'o for the way

Gap. There,

is

call

this sacred

WY,

ceremony has

themselves the Buffalo People.

put up, people remember the great race and

turned out.

Old Woman's Water' MAtamaahe heho'hame'e

Long ago

the people

This spring

is

camped near

known

as

a knoll

where

a spring

Old Woman's. The opening of

came out of

the

camp

the rock.

faced toward

the spring.
In the morning, the people began playing the

came from

the right side of the

a breechcloth

On

his chest

and was painted yellow

was painted

moon. There were red

black beneath his eyes.
his

around

He had

game."*

Soon

young man

over and striped

his wrists

a yellow

down

on

and

down

with the

his back, there

was

ankles. His face

feather

on

fingers.

a red half

was painted

his scalplock

and wore

side of the

camp and

robe with the hair side out.

After a time, another

i8

all

a small red circle while,

stripes

hoop

camp and stood watching them. He wore only

young man came from the

left

stood watching the hoop game. His paint and dress were identical to that worn by
the

first

young man. Both were surprised when they saw

"My

friends," the first

young man

the other.

your game for a

said to the people, "stop

moment." He asked the other young man

come toward him, and they met

to

in

the center of the camp.

"Why do you mock

me?" asked the young man. "That

know," said the other yotmg man.

and dressing

just as

think you are making

"I

is

Km

what

want

to

of me, painting

do."

"Who gave you your paint; where did you get it?" asked the first young man.
"Who gave you yours?" asked the other. The young man pointed to the spring.
"My paint came from there." he said.
"My paint came from there also," said the other. "Let tis help these people,"
the

first

young man

The

said finally.

"Warriors," said the

the people heard this.

other agreed with

young man, "each of you

Then

the other

young man

The two young men turned and walked

watched.

The

first

young man covered

his

They came up
lodge.

"Come

it

didn't

Nearby were two

plates;

one was

"Come,
and they

filled

my

clay

come,

jars.

robe and plunged beneath

his

came. Then the other followed.

sit

you come sooner?" she asked.

Now that you have

so long?

She

woman

on

they ate the corn.

must do something

set

of her.

have you gone hungry for

for

your people."

them before her and then brought out two

with buffalo meat and the other was

When

sitting there inside the

either side

"Why

children, eat the meat," she told them.

ate quickly yet the plate

of

she said to each of them. She took them in her

arms and held them, and then she had them

"Why

this day." All

over to the spring while the people

and saw an old

inside the knoll

my grandchild,"

in,

happy

said this, too.

head with

the water, throtigh the opening from which

this.

will feel

remained

full.

filled

with corn.

The meat was

The same

very good,

thing happened

when

they finally finished eating, both of the dishes were

still

full.

Then
fire.

the old

woman

untied the feathers they wore and threw them into the

She painted each of them with red paint, striped them, and then repainted

their wrists

and

out over the

fire

ankles, the sun

and the half moon,

and brought out two down

yellow. Finally she reached

feathers painted red

and

tied

them

to

their scalplocks.

"Look

that way."

She told them, pointing

to her

left.

They looked and saw

the earth covered with buffalo.

"Look

this

way she said," pointing partly behind

they saw wide corn

"Look
saw the

her.

Now, when they

looked,

fields.

that way," she said

prairie covered

once more and pointed

to her right.

This time they

with horses.

Cheyenne Creation

Stories

I9

"Look

Now

way

again," she told them.

They looked and saw Indian

among

they looked closer and saw themselves

woman had

the old

"You

fighting.

the warriors, painted just as

painted them.

win

will always

many

take

that

them. "You

in battle," she told

will

have good luck and

captives."

And

then she told them,

lage.

Ask

for

"We

have something wonderful to give you." Tell your people that when the sun

goes down,

two

will

large

"When you

men some

among

them away. They

woman

had

her lodge and

left

came up out

to the center of the

Then

said.

When

The people began

ate

first,

vil-

some

to take

of the

of the spring.

camp and

they asked that two

to eat,

first

men

put meat

a little

and,

By the time they were

girl.

finally,

meat and corn

what

left.

in

to

one bowl and

filled.

the meat and then the corn.

men and women,

were finished, there was only

told the people

wooden bowls be brought

they were finished, the bowls were

then the younger

orphans, a boy and a

them

were seated around the spring when they came

them, but these had to be clean. Then the young

corn in the other.

your

say to your people,

corn tied up in sacks and told them

their people. Finally, she told

The two young men went

the old

Then

one hand and some corn with the other hand. Then she

plate with

All of the people in the village

out.

to the center of

send out buffalo."

to divide this seed

sent

go

bowls and have them wiped clean.

She gave each of the young

meat from the

leave here,

The

the children.

The

old people

When

last to eat

finished eating, there

they

were two

was nothing

left.

As the sun went down, the people looked toward the

they saw a buffalo bull leap from the spring.

He

spring. After a time,

ran a short distance and

the ground; then he turned back and plunged back into the spring.

from the spring.

denly, a great herd of buffalo ran

All night long the buffalo raced

out of the spring, making such a noise that no one in the village could

The
could

next morning,

see.

when

they sent two young

there

men

then

made

went

off to plant corn,

sleep.

the sun rose, there were buffalo as far as the eye

The hunters went out and brought

The people camped

pawed

Now, sud-

all

in

all

the meat they could use.

winter and had plenty of food. Toward spring,

out to find a

damp

place

where they could plant corn,

caches in the earth where they stored their dried meat. Finally they

digging holes with sticks and planting the seed in the

grotmd.
Every

now and

then they returned to get some more dried meat. Once,

they returned, they found that

Pawnees or the Arikarees. That

It

was Erect Horns

who was

(also

some
is

how

known

of the seed

when

had been taken, either by the

those tribes got their corn.

as

Red

Tassel or Standing

responsible for bringing corn to the people.

When

on the Ground)

he learned that they

had been
raise

careless

and had not kept watch over the corn, he took

their

power

to

corn from them.

Some

say that the other

Corn Leaf or Sweet Root

as

Rustling

Standing).
lived

on the

plains

and

buffalo.

By Henry
tions (siy

known

(also

Cheyenne no longer planted corn but

After that, the

himted the

boy was Sweet Medicine

Tall Bull

and Tom

Rimrock Road,

Weist.

Billings,

Copyright 1^72 by

MT $9102).

Montana Indian

Publica-

Reprinted with permission from the

publisher.

So'taaeo'o (Suhtaio)

(Tsistsistas) are the

and Tsetsehestahese

rwo

historical divisions

of the

Cheyenne.
2

Hoop

a stick

A few versions

hawk, crow, and

of this story say that the swiheagle, as well as the

magpie, sided

hoop.
so

it

3
is

an important legend for

it

in

a circle; this

The

lacing, thus

Tsetsehestahese (Tsistsistas) into one tribe, hence

the reason the boys are identically dressed. In
versions, both Erect

Horns (Tomosevesehe),
and Sweet

Medicine (Motse'eoeve), the culture hero of

Tsetsehestahese (Tsistsistas), are

named

as the

young men. "Old Woman's Water" (Matamaahe

Hemapame)

also tells of the

change from growing

corn and other vegetables to the Cheyennes'

eventual

movement onto

dependence upon the

the plains

and

their

buffalo.

Cheyenne Creation

the

at a rolling

stick tied together

was interlaced with

object of the

counting

contains an allegory

the So'taaeo'o (Suhtaio) culture hero,

game played by

game was

to strike the

such a way that the stick stuck through the

of the joining of the So'taaeo'o (Suhtaio) and

some

old

with several prongs on the end

formed

hoop
"Old Woman's Water" (Matamaahe Hemapame)

An

was most often played by throwing

it

The hoop was made of a

rawhide.

with the young man.

or wheel game:

Cheyenne,

Stories

as a "kill."

Coming Home

rx

WAS A

cold,

damp day

Oct.

i6, 1993,

IT

service

was

different.

procession leading across the high plains carried 18 cedar boxes. Unlike

caskets, the boxes

were short and nearly square. Each contained

been collected from

bloody trench

Museum

Smithsonian

in the

the Northern Cheyennes gath-

MT. This memorial

ered to bury their dead near Busby,

The

when

a skull that

Nebraska and then spent the

in

of Natural History cupboards

in

last

had

century

Washington,

DC.

James Black Wolf, Keeper ol the Sacred Hat bundle that has been handed

down

for nearly

two

The

centuries, prayed.

eagle-bone whistle. Steve Little Bird,

camp

sky

filled

with the soulful song of the

crier, called

men from

each warrior

society to bring the boxes into the sunlight: the Crazy Dogs, the Elkhorn Scrapers,

the Kit Foxes, the Bowstrings. Elkhorn Scraper Chief Gilbert

a song, his voice soaring as

hearts strong.

Then

burial hill at the

the

two young

crowd

women

carried the boxes across U.S.

White Dirt

led

make

the men's

Highway

212 to the

started trilling to

Chief Two Moons monument.'

Burying the remains of these ancestors brought a mixture of anguish and

relief to the

Northern Cheyennes who gathered there

in 1993.

once again to confront the attitudes of the 19th century, when

to collect

American Indian

skulls.

United States

Mills paid soldiers to ship skulls, saying,

quite large, should be

made

as

complete

"Our

it

Army Surgeon

They were
was

forced

federal policy

General Madison

collection of Indian crania, already

as possible."

Government

scientists

want-

ed to measure the skulls to prove the superiority ol the Caucasian race and thus
justify the policies

more

of exterminating American Indians

"civilized" people."

and Repatriation Act

tection
skeletal

at

relief

long

came when

last.

The

who

stood in the way of

Congress passed the Native American Graves Pro-

in 1990, there

remains of American Indians

The
home,

When

in

were believed to be more than 600,000

museums and

private collections.'

the spirits expressed their gratitude for being brought

three-year-old

girl

who was

being freed from her imprison-

23

-5

<^

24

F^

ment

Smithsonian appeared

at the

white with yellow ribbons in her

to a

teddy bear was given to the

a small

young man

He saw

there.

her dressed in

and she was happy. After the wake

hair,

at

Busby,

and placed on the cedar box with

little girl

her remains.^ In route from Washington to Busby, the delegation stopped at Fort

Robinson, NE, and held a pipe ceremony. At dawn an old lady started crying.

The
'^

delegation could not see her, but at the end of the prayer, they heard her

Neaesemeno" Cthank you"

It

had been

who

others

a long journey

home

History of the Cheyenne People.''

by

several times, threatened not only

ment

neglect

when promised

The

referred to as the fighting

Tom

The

ervation,

guns but

just as often

They fought

rations never arrived.

their

by govern-

way

back,

determination, and the strong

rifles,

Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 assigned a vast territory of the Northern

Rocky Mountains

to the

Cheyenne and Arapahoe

Cheyennes and Lakota signed

the

a treaty creating the

which encompassed much of the present

Dakotas. The

Nebraska, and portions of the

be permitted to

settle

the Indians

"^

first.

treaty.

Black Hills in 1872, the government changed the

reservations,

states of

treaty said,

tribes. In 1868,

Great Sioux Res-

Montana, Wyoming,

"No white person should

or to pass through the same [area] without the consent of

However, neither side abided by the

and troops were sent out

to

of Busby). Custer and 264 of

his

men

After gold was discovered in the

rtiles.

All Indians

were ordered to

round them up. Then on June

the Cheyennes, Arapahos, Lakota, and other

States

Weist in his

women.

Plains east of the

some of

the

Chey-

stood on the brink of extinction

tribe

soldiers'

sometimes armed only by knives, empty

hearts of their

woman, and

for the little girl, the old

While often

arrived back at Busby.

enne, they were fighters by necessity, not choice, according to

book,

say,

Cheyenne).^

in

were

and the American public forgot about

allies

26, 1876,

defeated Custer (25 miles west

killed.^ After the victory, the

treaties

and

United

thirsted for vengeance.

South to Indian Territory

In the

summer of 1877

Chiefs Dull Knife'' and Little

ennes were taken south to Indian Territory to

at the

to

Darlington Agency. Promised food and a

move.

An

attack

Accustomed

Wolf and 970 other Chey-

with the Southern Cheyennes

new

life,

they reluctantly agreed

on the Dull Knife camp the previous November had destroyed

their lodges, their winter

tiful

live

to

food supply,

an active

life

all

their belongings,

on the high, dry

plains

and

game, they did not adjust well to the hot, muggy climate

where there were inadequate

rations,

their morale.

and mountains and plenin

Indian Territory

and the game had been exterminated. The

He

testified before a

com-

mittee of the Senate that he never received supplies to feed the Indians for

more

agent there

knew

that they were not being treated

Co m big Ho me

fairly.

^5

than nine months a

them

The

"These people were meat-eaters, but the beef furnished

year.

no more than skin and bone," he

by the government inspectors was

agent described their suffering: "They have hved, and that

The malnourished people

truth, a lot did not live.

the agency physician could not treat

died. After they
Little

Wolf went

the sick.

all

had endured the conditions

to see the Indian agent,

is

about

said.

In

all."'

got malaria and measles, and

Many

children and old people

and

for a year, Chiefs Dull Knife

John D. Miles.

Little

Wolf said.

We have come to ask the agent that we be sent home to our own country in the
mountains. My people were raised there, in a land of pines and clear, cold rivers.
we were

There,
a

good place

there will be

always healthy for there was meat enough for

Before another year has passed,

for us

none of us

left

all.

we may

all

.this

is

to travel north."

had

Miles, a Quaker, could see the suffering of the Cheyennes, but he

orders from Washington.

Little

Wolf told

his

The Northern Cheyennes were

people what Miles had

to stay rather than be

not

be dead, and

hunted down and

remain

to

Some wanted

said.

killed. Little

in the south.

to go; others

Wolf went back

his

wanted

to Miles

and

said,

Listen,

my

time.

do not want

own
let

friends,

am

a friend of the

to see

blood

spilt

white people and have been so for a long

about

this agency.

am

country. If you are going to send your soldiers after me,

us get a

little

we can make

Knowing
children,

the

distance away.

Then

ground bloody

if

you want

will fight you,

that they faced a hazardous trek of over 1,500 miles with

morning hours of Sept.

foot, leaving the bodies

my

wish you would

and

at that place.'-

and old people weakened by hunger and

in the early

to fight,

going north to
I

9, 1878,

and

disease,

women,

297 Cheyennes

started north,

many

rose

of them on

of their loved ones and most of their belongings behind.'^

Tsehneevahoohtoosemevbse Tsetsehestahese, they were going home. Their route was

not through wilderness but through hazardous areas occupied by homesteaders

and ranchers and crossed by

Exile

several railroads,

big price. In his book. Tell

Cheyennes, John

important

some of

Monnett

the

in escaping Indian Territory,

Them We Are Going Home: The

says that the

as the heroic flight

brilliant military

26

troops.

and Escape

The Northern Cheyennes succeeded

on

which could carry

maneuvers

Odyssey of the Northern

exodus of the Cheyennes was equally

of the Nez Perce under Chief Joseph.

for their escape

from Indian

ways

to sustain

them.

An

He

Territory.

Cheyenne people have another explanation. Some

their sacred cultural

but they paid a

old medicine

as

credited

However,

say they relied

woman

by the

.r---

//'i

MONTANA

^:

NORTHS DAKOTA

SOUTH DAKOTA

Mead

Ft.

x.
'

Ft.

'

A Pi"?

Camp_Sheridan'

Robinson .Q

RidgeAgency^

^Spotted

\A

_
""^

Agency

Tail

^,/

.!?.

P;afte>

.,/^Attacl<

Ft.

on

civilians

Wallace

COLORADO
<-^^

Punished Woman's Fork

Q(^

'kr.

"P"""^

R.

^^

y^ '^%.

'

K A N S A S-- :-:,.y_^-^^(\sas

----""
o
Srnokey
Hill B

/
(^

Bluff

V<

_ ^^.%^."

_._^

Creek

Sand Creek

..-

Turkey Springs

pr-r'J::i,_/|^ (Canadian ft

NEW MEXICO
i

\ >>^J^ Darlington Agency

JIj..^
Little

Wolf and Dull Knife

Dull KnifeLittle

Wolf

The exact

Battles

878
Ft.

1878
1878 and 1879

point Little Wolf

Dull Knife parted

When

is

Rendija--

-l^'A.

\.

and

.-/

INDIAN TERRITORY

disputed

TEXAS

they escaped from Indian Territory to return to Montana, the Northern Cheyennes traveled

over 1,500 miles under pursuit by government soldiers. Their party included
old people

weakened by hunger and

disease.

credited their brilliant military maneuvers.

Woman), who turned

No

one thought they could do

it.

women,

children,

and

Author John Monnett

Some of the Cheyennes credited Notame'hehe (Northern

when the soldiers came near. (Map

the people into small herds of buffalo

courtesy of University of

Oklahoma

Press)

Co))ii>ig

Home

27

name o^ Notame'hehe (North Woman)

divined the route for them.

By using

sacred

ceremonies, she told the people what to do and, using the powers of Heseeota'e, she

The

hid them.

thought they were small herds of buffalo when they came

soldiers

close to finding them.'""

One

of the women, Susan Iron Teeth,

most of the

way...

said,

"We dodged

But they were always near us and trying

men

fought them off in seven different batdes. At each

were

killed,

women

or children the same as men.

grown-up people were

gone when we got
As

But

Dakota

to the

know

Our young

some of our people

do not know how many of our

more than 60 of our children were

country."''^

their feet in rags to get

Some of the young Cheyenne

dysentery.

that

fight,

turned into winter, their moccasins wore out from

fall

Some wrapped

ing.

killed.

the soldiers during

to catch us.

through the snow.

warriors, angry

six

weeks of walk-

Many suffered from

and desperately needing

horses and supplies, attacked white settlers in western Kansas and Nebraska,

ing over 40 and raping several

When
camped

women, according

they reached the Platte River, the group

split up. Little

Tongue River country. The other band

led

by Dull Knife moved

the northwest, hoping to find refuge with the Lakota at

Nebraska.

The

Wolf's band

on the Lost Chokecherry Creek before proceed-

to wait out the winter

ing to the

Red Cloud Agency

149 followers that decided to join Dull Knife were mostly

children, elderly,

and

kill-

Monnett's documentation."'

to

to
in

women,

few warriors.''

Fort Robinson Breakout ( Tsexhova 'xevOse TsetsehestAhese)

On

Oct.

Dull Knife's band encountered soldiers in a snowstorm in the

23, 1878,

Nebraska Sandhills

who

been moved north

to

told

Dakota

them

that their goal

Red Cloud Agency had

The Cheyenne were

Territory."^

food and shelter that they went to Fort Robinson with the
prisoners taken to Fort Robinson were Iron Teeth
Little Finger Nail. Little

his back, concealed

their trek

his clothing.

from Indian Territory

Thomas D. Marquis,

horses.

Women

The

ledger

book contained drawings from

May

1928,

a local physician

who

and she described the

and

in happier days

28

as

was

had broken her

normally did not hunt and were expected to tend to lodge

ticipated in buffalo hunts

fully

tragic

historian. Iron Teeth

keeping, tanning, food preparation, and childrearing. However, a few

were referred to

the

artist

to Fort Robinson.'''

an experienced hunter and a good rider

own

Among

and her children and the

Finger Nail had his ledger book of drawings strapped on

under

Iron Teeth lived another 50 years until

events to

so desperate for

soldiers.

and fought alongside the men

in battle.

women parwomen

These

Manly-Hearted Women. The Northern Cheyenne community

accepted these

women.

Initially,

Dull Knife and his followers had limited freedom to hunt near Fort

Robinson, and they tried to nourish hope of reuniting with the other Cheyennes

and Lakota

room

that

Jan.

3,

1879, they heard the

months: The Indian Bureau

to Indian Territory.

manding

square there were 43 men, 29

feet

women, and 20

'"

to 30 children.

On

however, they were locked in the barracks. In a

in the north. Later,

measured about 30

officer,

When

cut off

news

had been dreading

that they

they refused. Captain

Henry W.

Wessells,

Then

had dropped well below

fully

expecting them to give in and agree to go to Indian Territory.

zero.

Wessells had not counted

After watching so

felt

on the determination of the Cheyennes. They

for

many of their

women

enne men and

women

windows

com-

the

tempera-

Wessells cut off all water for three days,

tures

scraped frost off the

Jr.,

food and firewood despite the bitter cold

all

two

for

Washington had ordered that they be taken back

in

water and planned their next desperate move.

family and friends die horrible deaths, the Chey-

they had nothing

left

to lose. Iron Teeth

and the other

were preparing for the escape or lor death. They had hidden

the floorboards of the barracks,

rifles

under

and men armed themselves with the women's

household knives. Iron Teeth had concealed a revolver under the bodice of her
dress for her son, Gathering His Medicine, 22, to use.-'

made

Late on the night of Jan. 9, they

cine

and the others smashed windows and

Medicine put

his

youngest

sister

on

his

their break.

back and ran

one direction while Iron

in

Teeth and another daughter ran the other way. Cheyenne

children, fought soldiers.
In

falling. It

women, some

carrying

'-

an interview with Marquis dated 1926 Iron Teeth

We stayed in

Gathering His Medi-

door down. Gathering His

tore the

stated:

the cave seven nights and almost seven days.

was very cold, but we were

afraid to build a

fire.

More snow kept

We

small store of dry meat and melted snow for water. Each day

nibbled

we could

at

my

hear the

horses and the voices of soldiers searching for Indians. Finally a soldier found

our

tracks,

and the

soldiers then

More than 30 were trapped

took us back to Fort Robinson.^'

in a

washout

at

Antelope Creek,

35 miles

Fort Robinson. Troopers fired into the pit for three-quarters of an hour.

Then

from
they

charged, firing their weapons, withdrawing and reloading and charging until the

death songs were

silent.

Suddenly three bleeding young

with knives and empty guns, and they were

woman who had

still

alive

In

when

all

slit

killed, too.

men leaped Irom the pit

One mortally wounded

her daughters throat to keep her Irom being captured was

a lieutenant reached

down

about 60 people were killed

ing Little Finger Nail.

The

to

comfort

after the Fort

her.

She spat

in his face.-''

Robinson break out, includ-

bullets that ripped

through his body also ripped his

Coming Home

29

ledger.-''

to ask

After being imprisoned again at Fort Robinson, Iron Teeth was afraid

anybody about her son and

would inform the

soldiers

her about her brother.

she burst out crying.

It

the Httle daughter, fearing that by asking, she

of them. "After a while the

appeared she did not hear me, so

Then

knew he had been

trial

While the

becatise of public sympathy.

to Indian Territory,

Lakota. For

some

white

lor killing the

most were taken

time,

it

When

ry, Little

several

again, the

Ridge Agency to

Hump were

live

and

Muddy

creeks.

However,

main body of

later.

emissaries to surrender at Fort

his

enough

grass for horses,

Cheyennes

later let certain

Other Cheyennes

settled near

Keogh

band joined them

government had placed too many Indians

in too

farming land, or game.

leave Fort

Tongue River where they eventually settled with

the

with the Oglala

killed.'

separated from the

and the other survivors from

small of an area, and there was not

Gen. Nelson A. Miles

lead-

out the winter of 1878-1879 on the Lost Chokecher-

26, 1879. Dull Knife

November. Once

Cheyenne

survivors expected to be shot or sent back

to Pine

Wolf was persuaded by Cheyenne

on March
in

after waiting

asked

they were acquitted, partially

settlers,

Cheyennes, and they reached Pine Ridge Agency several weeks

Meanwhile,

me.

asked again. This time

was thought that Dull Knife had been

he and his wife, and their son Bull

to

covered by the press at the time

led to severe public criticism of the military.

were put on

ers

came

killed," she told Marquis.-'^'

The Northern Cheyenne odyssey was widely

and

little girl

Keogh and hunt up

their families near

Rosebud

Lame Deer

Creek.-**

Tongue River Indian Reservation

By

this time,

most of the

ended the treaty-making

tribes in the

West had

reservations,

and Congress had

era in 1871. Reservations could only be established

direct order of the president of the

United

States.

The Tongue

vation was created by Executive Order under President Chester A. Arthur

16, 1884.

so

much

The

reservation consisted of 371,200

back

to lead his people

reservation

was established.

acres.-''

by

River Indian Reser-

Dull Knife,

who

on Nov.

sacrificed

to the north, died in 1883, the year before the

He was

originally buried

on

a high butte overlooking

Rosebud Creek, approximately eight miles west of Lame Deer, but he was moved
to

Lame

Deer.

many Cheyennes who lived east of

Those who lived outside
government services, so the new St. Labres Catholic

This 1884 reservation boundary excluded

the river where they had been encouraged to homestead.

the reservation could not get

Mission dispensed medicine and other

aid. Partly at the insistence

of the bishop,

the governor wired the Secretary of Interior for assistance for them. In

March

19,

1900, the reservation was increased to 444,157 acres by Executive Order under
President William McKinley,

boundary.^"

30

and these homesteads were included within the new

Chiefs Dull Knife and Little

Wolf led

the Northern

Cheyenne people on

their

long

trip

home from

Indian Territory, a heroic journey immortalized in the novel Cheyenne Autumn by Mari Sandoz. Little

Wolf (standing) wears what

appears to be a cross, but

it

actually represents the dragonfly, an important

religious symbol.

Coming Home

31

While many white

white

allies,

ernment

of the county

citizens

Cheyennes removed and

including the Catholic mission,

some

have the Northern

tried to

still

Cheyennes

their reservation dissolved, the

area families,

also

had many

and some gov-

who said they should remain on the Tongue River Reservation

One of the letters was from Gen. Miles, dated June 1889: "... in

officials

undisturbed.

is

no

of the compact

[to

regard to the proposed removal of the Indians [Northern Cheyenne], there

good reason or
remain

at peace],

where they

doing

justice in

fulfilled their part

they have an undoubted right, legally and morally, to remain

...

now

are

They have

so.

located.^'

Conclusion
Recent research has revealed that American Indian people are

still

experiencing

and

the trauma of their ancestors. Problems of alcoholism, drug abuse, suicide,

mental

may be symptoms of historic

illness

and

dicates that revitalizing cultural

For the last several years, the

trauma. However, the research also in-

spiritual

ceremonies can help people heal."

Northern Cheyennes remember the great od-

Out

yssey of their ancestors with the Fort Robinson Break

The

January.

Cheyenne Reservation.

the Northern

who

run involved nine descendants

first

In 1999 they

Spiritual

Run

each

ran a 76-mile loop around

began making the

full

400-mile

run from Fort Robinson through the Black Hills to the reservation in Montana.

The annual

event

primarily a ceremonial run to honor the ancestors.

is

brings youth and adults together; teaches history and culture;

amongst
1

family, youth,

Giarelli, A. L., (1993,

Cheyenne
close.

Nov.

skulls brings a

High Country News

15).

and
The

elders.

and

It

creates a

also

bond

^^

return of the

bloody Western story to

9 Dull Knife
a

(Morning

25(21).

is

Sioux name, but

Northern Cheyenne, he

is

known

among
as

the

Vooheheva

Star).

2 Gulliford, A. (Fall 1996).

Bones of contention:

10 Eastman, C. A. (n.d.). Little Wolf. In e-book,

The

American human

Indian Heroes and Great Chieftains (Dover Publica-

repatriation of Native

remains. The Public Historian, i8{^):

3

Thornton,

R., (1998).

Who owns

Repatriation of Native American

our past? The

Human

and Cultural Objects. In R. Thornton

Studying Native America: problems
387).

Giarelli,

Who owns our past?

The

return of the

6 Weist, T. (1977).

people

and prospects

(p. 6). Billings:

of the

of

Eastman

cites

11

Oklahoma

Press.

Weist, T. (1977).

skulls.

Cheyenne
for

12

Eastman,

13

Weist,

14

Little

history

history

history

of the Cheyenne people

Wolf
of the Cheyenne people

of the Cheyenne people

(p. 80).

Bureau of Land Management, Department of

Interior. (Jan. 2003).

anthropologist Grinnell, G.

The Fighting Cheyennes. Norman; University

(p. 80).

Indian Education.
7 Weist, T. (1977).

14.html.

(p.

Press.

Montana Council

from http://www.

authorama.com/indian-heroes-and-great-chieftains-

(1956).

p. 386.

Cheyenne

hisloiy

Remains

(Ed.),

Madison: University of Wisconsin

4 Thornton,

tions, 1997). Retrieved 12/15/07

1-2.

Final stateivide oil and gas

environmental impact statement: Northern Cheyenne

narrative report (pp. 2-16). Retrieved Dec.

(p. 68).

2007

from:http://www.nit. blm.gov/mcfo/cbm/eis/
8 Weist, T. (1977).
(p. 76).

32

history

of the Cheyenne people

NCheyenneNarrativeReport/Chap2.pdf

15

Marquis, T. (1978). The Cheyeunes of Montana.

Algonac, Ml: Reference Publications, Inc.

16

Monnett,

J.

(2001) Tell them

Norman, Oklahoma:

we

are going home.

in

Monnett,

Tell

Soldiers gave the

art.

Francis Hardie, as a

now on

book

to an

of the Cheyenne people

18

Weist,

19

Low, D. (Summer 2006). Composite Indigenous

(p. 81).

Army

of-

war souvenir. The ledger

display at the Natural History

Museum

New York City.

26 Marquis, The Cheyennes ofMontana

them we are going home.

history

Low, Composite Indigenous genre Cheyenne

ficer,
is

University of Oklahoma

Press.

17

25

ledger

(p. 77).

27 Charles Eastman's story, for example, mistakenly says that Dull Knife was killed there at Fort

Robinson.

genre Cheyenne ledger art as literature. Studies in

American Indian Literature

(18)1: 83-104. Lincoln:

University of Nebraska Press. Retrieved Dec.

12,

2007, from http://ezproxy.twu. edu:2i22/iournals/

studies_in_american_indian_lit.html.

20 Monnett,

Tell

28 Weist,

histoiy

29 Weist,

history of the

30 Weist,

history

of the Cheyenne people

(p. 103)

Cheyenne people

(p.

of the Cheyenne people

(p.

104)

106-107)

them we are going home.

Bureau of Land Management, Tinal statewide

and gas environmental impact statement.
31

21

Marquis, The Cheyeunes ofMontana.

11 Monnett,
23

Tell

them

ive

32 Yellow Horse Brave Heart,

are going home.

Marquis, The Cheyennes ofMontana

The

return of the

skulls repatriated in 1993

Creek mass grave.

Cheyenne

came from

&

Deschenie, T.

(Winter 2006). Historical trauma and post-colonial

(p. 77).

stress in

24 Giarelli,

M.

oil

skulls.

The

American Indian populations. Tribal

College Journal 77(3).

the Antelope
33

Melmer, D. (2006, Jan.

13).

Dull Knife run

honors ancestors and youth. Indian Country Today.

Coming Home

33

The Northern Cheyenne Language

IS

fact

IT

of indigenous

extensively

unspoken consensus

save

languages are dying. These deaths have been

them

it

seems to be giving

in to the

that indigenous languages are indeed going to die. Yet,

the prospect of their deaths

we can

lives that

documented. To write more about

only we

must be discussed by indigenous people because only

value

them

as living, sacred beings.

Perhaps languages have built-in obsolescence based on the very fact that they,
too, are alive. They, too, die after they have served their purposes. For those

speak a dying language, language death can be an event

as horrific as that

that, theoretically, killed the dinosaurs 65 million years ago, or

non-event, as described in the

Crystal:
is

"A language dies

there; the next

it is

comet

can be almost a

it

"The Death of Language," by linguist David

article,

only when

who

the

last

person

who

speaks

it

dies.

One day it

gone."'

For the Cheyenne language in Montana, the time of

its

potential death can

almost be pinpointed. In 1996, an informal survey was conducted to find the

youngest fluent speaker.

The

survey was not scientifically done; there were no

comparison groups, no systematic approach, and no longitudinal observations.

Only those volunteers

willing to be tape recorded were included. Speakers were

recorded for half an hour.

for half

an hour, and

who

The only

Glenmore. This 45-year-old lady

So,

it

who

could sustain Cheyenne speech

is

now

much

longer,

was Rhoda

(2007) about 56 years of age.

could be predicted that the Cheyenne languages viabilin' could coin-

cide with the possible

year 2036,

speaker

probably could have gone on

life

span of this speaker. If she lived to be

and she could be the only

would have no one

would be no

to talk to in

receptive ears or

would be speaking only

85,

Cheyenne. She would

talk

would be the

The

area

She

Cheyenne, but there

comprehending brains anywhere

to herself

it

living Native speaker alive at that time.

in the world.

around her would be

filling

She

rapidly

with the noises of non-indigenous tongties.

35

many

rea-

However, we

also

This language has a long history, and the Cheyenne people have
sons to keep

many

have

We have

alive.

it

taken several steps to invigorate

it.

obstacles.

History of the Cheyenne Language

Cheyenne language,

the

Tsesenestsestbtse,

is

an Algonquian language, a group

Mohegan,

that also includes Arapaho, Blackfeet, Cree, Delaware, Fox,

Oji'owa,

Ottawa, Potawatomi, Kickapoo, Menominee, Fox, Sac, Shawnee, Micmac, and

Naskapi.

one of the westernmost Algonquian languages.

It is

present spoken and written form

when two

Cheyenne language proper and the

these

two once-distinctly

were

effectively

dolphe

one language, according

He

language dictionary.

Cheyenne language
has 14
smaller

to

also designed the alphabet

Oklahoma

in

meaning

at the

its

the

such an extent that they

when

fits

the Reverend Ro-

the

Cheyenne

first

when he began

to study the

end of the 19th century. This alphabet

to create long

This alphabet

parts.

to

George Bird Grinnell.-

to

has been written since 1896

which combine

letters,

merged

Mennonite missionary, wrote and published

Petter, a

changed

So'taahe language. Perhaps as early as the 1900s

identifiable languages

The Cheyenne language

It

very similar languages combined

words that

are

many

comprised of

the sounds and patterns of the

Cheyenne

language very well.

The

letter "z"

was used

in the Petter alphabet to represent the "ts"

because Petter spoke German, which uses the

early 1970s, a

letter

Cheyenne committee working with

bilingual education

program

the two English letters

"ts. "

in the

Lame

Deer,

for that sound. In the

linguist

MT,

sound,

Danny

schools,

Alford and the

changed the

to

This alphabet can be called the Petter Alphabet, or

Modified Petter Alphabet.'

Since these early efforts, the writing system has undergone progressively

understandable changes.
cil

took a significant

language of the
In 1997

On April

step. It

21,

1997, the Northern

passed an ordinance declaring Cheyenne as the

created a

tion guide, online access to the

man

is

an SIL linguist

35 years.

He and

SIL International
in

official

tribe.

Wayne Leman

Cheyenne language website (www.geocities.

com/cheyenne_language/alphabet.htm) that provides the alphabet,

about

more

Cheyenne Tribal Coun-

is

who

Cheyenne Dictionary, and

lived with the

his wife

now

live in

pronuncia-

reference materials. Le-

Northern Cheyenne

in

Montana

a faith-based organization that studies,

documents, and

assists

developing the world's lesser-known languages.)

Some other tribes have put their languages into writing only reluctantly
cause members believed that they should only be spoken. However, there

36

for

Spokane. (Founded over 70 years ago,

be-

has

been

little

controversy amongst the Cheyenne concerning the writing system. Oc-

casionally there are

moves

to

change

this writing system, instigated

by people who

have minimal understanding of linguistics systems and conventions.

Languages change and adjust to changing times and differing

nomena. In some
world

is

cases, the

in

indicator tor inanimacy,

it

this

way.

Cheyenne

talking, reading,

it

does

rattle

meaning changes. For example,

tosa'e nevee'e

Cheyenne

tosa'e nevee'e?

the

clarity or

When

are

you camped?"

they're really asking

live?"

ot the Algonquian-.speaking peoples

traditionally inhabited this area of

is

older)

purists. In other cases,

means "where

which means "where do you

The Cheyennes were one

and

This change does not impede

the nerves of

However, the younger generation uses

tosae nevo'dstaneheve

(50 years

generation (50 and younger) adds another glottal

last voiceless e (he'to'e).

communication, but

and writing. He'tohe

and the present older generation

The younger

stop just before the

the

phe-

divided into animacy and inanimacy so indicators for these classifications

become very important

says

social

pronunciation changes. For example, the Cheyenne

who were believed to have

ago. (Map reprinted from A

North America hundreds of years

History of the Cheyenne People with permission from the publisher)

The Northern Cheyenne Language

37

The Cheyenne seem

and emerging

to have quit devising

phenomena

social

and movies. Then

airplane, influenza, cancer,

ended

in the 1960s;

After

we have no words

Cheyenne language

or football. As a

some thought,

called

new words

in the late 1950s.

There

this

for the

changing times

words

for automobile,

are

coining of new words abruptly

teacher,

was asked

to translate "ketchup."

"tomato gravy" since we had the word

it

henenoe and the word for gravy enahano,

just

combined

think

is

translated

it

to me'esekevotseenahano

the

linguists like

gravy,"

which

Rodolphe

Petter,

Dan

major contribu-

Cheyenne language. The contributions of

Alford,

and Wayne Leman have made the

and teaching of the Cheyenne language much

Cheyenne language have helped

easier.

Dictionaries of the

language even

to preserve the

cultural artifacts (like "corn ceremonies")

some of

as

the

on which the words were based have

obsolete.

However, dictionaries by themselves cannot save

They must be used

guage.

make

was asked to

"baby

Cheyenne dictionary has been

tion to the continued viability of the

become

tomato

self-explanatory.

The development of

talking

for

the two words to

an acceptable-sounding Cheyenne word: heneneenahano. Then

translate "mustard."

HIV,

for hippies, radar, sonar, flying saucers,

language

spoken lan-

as a

primarily as resources for teaching, for writing, for

standardizing the language so that reading materials can be constructed with uni-

form standards
people.

and render

that are universally applicable for

it

static.

Since the Cheyenne language

some uniformity

subject,

Cheyenne and non-Cheyenne

unfortunate to have to apply these strictures to a dynamic language

It is

is

needed

is

rapidly

for testing, reading,

becoming

classroom

and writing purposes.

Saving the Spoken Language

Today, there are efforts to save the language
school

at local

Lame Deer

districts,

area.

at

and one immersion school

Chief Dull Knife College and

is

being contemplated in the

Chief Dull Knife College has a three-year Administration for

Native American grant designed to teach Cheyenne speakers

how

and produce curriculum or other written

people are learning

how

to

do those three

material.

things, but the grant

is

in

At

least 13

its last

to read, write,

year.

Chief Dull Knife College administers a Class 7 licensure program on behalf

of the

tribe. It

is

now

part of the

Montana

state teacher certification process for

language and culture teachers. Each Montana

guage and culture teachers, and the

tribal

group

qualifies

state certifies those teachers. It

and innovative concept now being copied by other surrounding

7 teacher,

Colstrip
this

38

Mabel

Kills

Night,

is

its

own

lan-

a progressive

states.^

One

Class

teaching the Cheyenne language via the internet to

High School students and

program

is

is

very successful.

to three other schools in 2008.

The

college plans to

expand

Cheyenne Immersion

Camp

Instructor Patt}'

Oldman

asked students to identify animals in Cheyenne.

(Photo bv Conrad Fisher)

Students learned to

dr\-

meat

at

the C^heyenne

immersion Camp. (I'hoto

The Northern Cheyenne Language

b\'

Conrad

Hisher)

39

many

For
sion

sponsored Cheyenne language immer-

years, the tribal college has

camps during the summer, which have been very

anticipated by

Why Keep

It

Alive

Cheyenne people do not want our language

cles to

saving

Why would

and always much

successful

Cheyenne youth.

it.

One

is

to die, but there are

the lack of funding. Another

a small tribe of people

want

is

many obsta-

the lack of understanding.

to perpetuate a

language that the larger

population around us does not care about?

difficult to

It is

the

defend to the non-Cheyenne world the continued existence of

Cheyenne language because

what the language means

enne people know

intrinsically that the

We

other language on this planet.

against the

it

may

sound,

it

it

are

stereotypical terms
tant.

The debate

little

or no relevance to

but by the communal,

and

it

in

against the

is

.but the

erations...".

The
lie

These

are

reasons that

below the

surface,

all

what the majority

Cheyenne language
speakers:

Cheyenne
is

logical

make
deep

the

defend because the argu-

economic, academic, sociologic,

Cheyenne

Cheyenne language

so important to us.

difficult to

".

is

is

measured

is

linguistic,

and

deems impor-

in terms that have

is

not spoken at the

not spoken in the United

not spoken in the state legislature...",

not spoken even in our

arguments

on

own

tribal council delib-

the surface.

Cheyenne language

down

society

Cheyenne

.but

forums of the United Nations...", "...but Cheyenne

".

any

trite

that contain

States Congress...", "...but

Chey-

as relevant as

spiritual,

couched

terms

is

culturally.

has to us. This relevance to Cheyenne people, as

what makes the Cheyenne language

is

and

do not measure the relevance of our language

Furthermore, the Cheyenne language

ments against

individually

Cheyenne language

number of people who speak

communicative relevance
as

has to be defended in the abstract parameters of

it

Cheyenne people

to

in the collective

relevant to

Cheyenne people

Cheyenne psyche and

spirit.

Perhaps this language can help unite or re-unite the Cheyenne people and bring
us back into balance

of the

many

and harmony with each other and

issues that divide

can use the language to

and hamper

us.

settle divisive issues

lead to the elimination

Perhaps, the Northern Cheyennes

and

issues that are subconsciously

presenting barriers.

Grief and Mourning

We

observe the grieving processes

ervation. Perhaps

language.

40

all

too frequently on the Cheyenne

some of these deaths can be blamed upon our

loss

res-

of land and

It

should be

who
is,

easy,

now

to

understand the destitution of indigenous, oral persons

have been forcibly displaced trom their traditional lands.

for

them, the very matrix of discursive meaning;

native ecolog}' (for whatever political or

speech-less
vej-y

economic purpose)

or to render their speech meaningless

g)-ound ofcoherence.

It is,

to force

quite simply, to force

The

local earth

them from
is

their

to render

to dislodge

them

them from the

them out of their mind. The

massive "relocation" or "transmigration" projects underway in numerous parts

of the world today

light, as instances

in the

name of "progress"

...

must be understood,

in this

of cultural genocide.''

David Abram argues that relocating and confining Cheyennes on

from "the very ground of coherence."

tion in effect dislodged us

of our minds.

It is

going to take time to recover

regain the right frame of mind.

this

It

a reserva-

forced us out

"ground of coherence" and to

The Cheyenne language must

play an influential

role in this recovery.

The Northern Cheyennes

are experiencing difficult times with the present

world possibly because we have experienced huge

land,

losses of language, spirituality,

and loved ones. The Cheyenne people who inhabit the skid rows and

of this country are there,

because of the grieving they

indirectly,

feel

but

jails

may

not

be adequately able to articulate in either the English language or in the Cheyenne

They do not have

language:

the vocabulary in either language to express their

emotional and spiritual pain. This inability to articulate pain leads to rage that
either needs to be vented or suppressed. Either alternative

is

dysfunctional because

vented rage can lead to considerable harm to one's loved ones or to one's

self.

Sup-

pressed rage can lead to self-sedation with drugs or alcohol.

Making

this

connection might be a reach. Using the Cheyenne language to

revive healthy relationships

It is

is

reason

enough

to maintain the

difficult to regain healthy relations in today's society

the family

make-up and because of negative

Cheyenne language.

because of the change of

external forces like the following:

Traditionally, extended families live in close proximit)'. Grandparents, aunts,

and uncles play important

roles in each child's upbringing.

And

as parents

and

grandparents age, they expect the support of younger generations. Yet a lack of
jobs

on the reservation often means young people must

leave for work. Further-

more, the very concept of institutional education harbors painful connotations

for

many of the

grandparents so integral in the

today's elders were children, the

lives

government was

of Cheyenne kids.

still

boarding schools, where they were punished for speaking their

Family involvement

Identity: Individual

in

education

is

key,

When

forcing kids to go to

and we cannot get

own

language.

families involved.

and Cultural

Native speakers believe that language and identity are closely

The Northern Cheyenne Language

tied.

Embedded

4^

in this language are the lessons that guide

our daily

lives.

We cannot

the essence of our being. As Hualapai educator Lucille Jackson

presses

"It

it,

the people
artist

when

said that

is

who we

are,

unique,

that's

said,

me
"When

what makes

Harjo Lonefight

said,

behind

Watahomigie

ex-

the languages were created, language identified

where we came from, and where we

and educator Fred Bia

leave

"My

Navajo,

me

language, to
that's

are going."

that's

what makes me who

Navajo

me

what makes
I

am." William

people spoke Dakota, they understood where they

belonged in relation to other people, to the natural world, and to the

spiritual

world."*^

Assimilationist education denied

Cheyennes the

right to speak

our

own

lan-

guage, and the foundation of a healthy individual identity was severely shaken.

We

were denied the

ability to

speak Cheyenne and forced to take on a persona

other than the one ensconced in and identified by the Cheyenne language.

bound

to

tail,

and

fail it

speak English even

up reverberated
ture,

and

if

until

this culture

economics,

did simply because so

had reached every nook and cranny of the Cheyenne

is still

and

to

cul-

socially.

In 1975, Dillon Platero, the

Kee was sent

was

experiencing aftershock after ahershock in academics,

tion, described the experience

was punished

It

not able to

they were willing to deny their Cheyenne-ness. This shakeit

spirituality,

Kee's story illustrates

many Cheyennes were

first

director of the Navajo Division of Educa-

of "Kee," a Navajo student

what happened and

boarding school

still

as a child

happening

where

for speaking Navajo. Since he

during Christmas and summers, he

as

as

was the practice

was only allowed

lost contact

from both the White and Navajo worlds

who became nonlingual.

to many Cheyennes:

he

to return

home

with his family. Kee withdrew

he grew older because he could

He became one of the many

man with out a language. By the

not comfortably communicate in either language.

thousands of Navajos
time he was

16,

who were

Kee was an

nonlingual

alcoholic, uneducated,

and despondent

without

identity.'

Thus

a byproduct ol the denial of speaking tribal languages

was spawned, the

drunken, lazy Indian stereotype. Stereotypes have had devastating

American Indians, and these stereotypes continue

to exact tolls

effects

on

all

from individuals.

Stereotypes

Many

writings have oversimplified Northern

Cheyenne

culture

and have,

perhaps unwittingly, contributed to the stereotypes of Native cultures that pervade

U.S. society and the world. These stereotypes and oversimplifications contribute

not only to misinformation and myth within the larger culture but also hmction
as

42

economic and

social oppressors to living

American Indians.

Bently Spang, a Cheyenne

artist

who

BiUings,

lives in

MT,

speaks and writes

often about stereotypes. If most citizens of the United States see American Indians

only

as

cartoons like the mascot of the Atlanta Braves and Cleveland Indians

who

"Chief Wahoo,"

only

as

will hire a

American Indian so that he or she can support

meaningful way? he

their families in a

who

mystics and shamans

asks. If the

American Indians

are seen

American Indians

are not of this earth, then

obviously require no earthly sustenance to support themselves or their children,

he argues.

Spang points out

that

American Indians

are not a hobby, a fascination, a retail

item, a breed to be authenticated to facilitate

of the

classic

economic consumption of their

his-

nameless dancing Indian on a travel brochure or a U.S. version

torical artifacts, a

Greek

American Indians represent complex,

tragedy.

living cultures

own body of knowledge and the capabilit)' to express and document

own histories in this and all other time periods.
The following quotes further buttress the harm that stereotypes do to Chey-

with their
their

enne people and

to all

A phenomenon

in

American Indians.
White

culture affects any interaction between

and Native Americans. White culture has created an image and

"Indian." But this image

about

real

is

a stereon^pe

Native Americans,

who

and not

really

White people

called

it

informative or accurate

many diverse cultures. All of us could

An important aspect of this stereo-

are of

give details about this stereot}'pe "Indian."

type "Indian"

One

is

that

it

has two sides, like the two sides of a coin.

side of the stereot)'pe Indian

is

the Hostile Savage

the dangerous,

who attacked the settlers of the West, or the irresponsible

reservation drunk who couldn't be trusted, the Indian of which it was said, "the
only good Indian is a dead Indian." The other side of the stereotype Indian
the innocent primitive who was naturally spiritual and
is the Noble Savage
primitive warrior

lived in idyllic
stories

who

harmony

close to the earth, the Indian of the

Thanksgiving

helped the Pilgrims survive. These images are embedded deeply in

our culture and are subliminal backdrop to any of our interactions with Native
people or concepts"'"
Stereotypes have instilled cultural and self-hatred
especially

stereoU'pes

help

among Cheyenne

young people. American Indians must be proactive

imposed by the white

instill a

more

society.

positive self-image

in

people,

doing away with

Speaking the Cheyenne language can

among

the

Cheyenne

people.

Recommendations
After the 1996 survey,

Rhoda Glenmore was

Since that time, several younger

said to be the youngest fluent speaker.

Cheyenne speakers have

the language. She believes she served as a catalyst for

The Northern

Cheye>i>ie

told her they could speak

making people aware of how

Language

43

important

it

to speak the language.

is

Whether or not

we know

speaker under the age of 56 today,

that

its

there

viabiUt)'

more than one

is

depends upon

all

of

us.

Cheyennes should do the same things

become both

English language:
tion with fellow

the

Cheyenne

Cheyenne

for

our language

as

we

are

doing for the

fluent (being able to sustain a prolonged conversa-

and

speakers)

literate

language). These are crucial

(being able to read and write

needed to transfer the

skills that are

language and the culture to coming generations.

If

we

present-day Cheyennes do not attempt to acquire these two

are indirectly depriving

and write Cheyenne.

read,

language fluently;

own

No

Being fluent

in the

is

is

poetry, short stories, novels, plays,

literature

Cheyenne language
it

speak the Cheyenne

needed so that Cheyennes can pro-

skills are

both ancient oral

last to

be the generation that stops the flow of the

to

These

forever.

language teacher. However,

it

generation wants to be

written literature

scripts utilizing

Cheyenne

then
hear,

we do not want

Cheyenne language
duce our

skills,

our descendants of the opportunity to speak,

takes

and contemporary
is

the

requirement for a successfid

first

more than fluency

no exception. Since Cheyenne

is

now

and movie

events.

to teach

any language, and

being taught in classrooms,

imperative that Cheyenne language teachers learn teaching methods, learn

about second language acquisition principles, learn lesson planning and curricu-

lum development, and acquire classroom management

skills.

and culture teachers owe

to

to learn

all

to the

it

Cheyenne language

about our language and culture, and that takes

Cheyenne language

make

supreme

effort

effort, application,

and

persistence.

Cheyenne language

teachers should join the efforts

Cheyenne language

ers,

however, need to go beyond curricular, school-related

in

aimed

at

issues.

it

through the family, and that

should return.

is

the venue to

ideal, the goal for all

enne from the classroom and put

beyond personal and

guage
travel

is

it

political issues.

back

this

is

it

was meant

it.

to be passed

on

language programs: to rescue Chey-

in the family.

To do

Squabbling about minor

not going to help perpetuate

on while

which

teach-

The Cheyenne

language was never meant to be taught in classrooms;

That should be the

perpetuating

Montana and Oklahoma. Cheyenne language

the

In fact,

more

that

means going

details

of the lan-

of the elders are going to

happening. Besides, adults present poor role models

when

they argue with each other.

Conclusion

What

does the Cheyenne language

aspects of the

44

Cheyenne

mean

culture. If the

to

Cheyenne people?

whole

tribe

It

transmits

all

could get together to save

would be

the language, a collateral effect

capable of acting in a unified way, as

Oklahoma. There could be

embodies

a reverence for

show

and non-living

living

better understand the spirituality of those

we

the outside world that

things.

It

are

from

in the grueling trek north

understanding of Cheyenne

a better

all

to

we did

which

spirituality,

could also help us to

Cheyenne people who have embraced

organized, non-traditional forms of worship.

The Cheyenne language

a sacred language.

is

conveys the minutest

It

sence of sacred ceremonies with highly specialized language that

who

those select few

qualified people, male

human

mortality.

leaders of these groups can

and Cheyenne languages have co-existed

should take that

Crystal,

can only be used by certain

in certain rituals. Yet like

Cheyenne

D. (Nov.

as the

1999).

life

and

in

to

do

that.

complementary and suppleday Cheyennes

supreme object lesson of unity.

Millennium

briefing:

The

McCarty, T.

L.,

Romero, M.

(2006). Reclaiming the

http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/

counter-narratives
revitalization.

Grinnell, G. B. (1923). The Cheyenne Indians:

Their history and ways of life. Vol. I

Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
3

aspects of this

succumbing

spirituality. Present

death of language. Prospect, 46. Available online:

all

specialized language and references have to be

headsmen and

mentary fashion to enrich

this

rituals.

languages comprise the present day Cheyenne language. Over time the

Two
So'taahe

specific references

these special terms are rapidly disappearing,

Somehow,

saved, but only the

its

and female,

es-

privy only to

have undergone rigorous and demanding Cheyenne

This specialized language with

Cheyenne language,

is

(pp. 9-10).

New

J.

E.,

& Zepeda, O.

Indigenous youth

on Native language
Nebraska

and

Press.

(Nov/Dec, 2005). Cultural

rights,

language revival, and individual healing. Language

Learner Magazine, 22-24. Washington,

phabet.htm. Retrieved Dec. 2007

loss

American Indian Quarterly jo{i-i),

28-48. Lincoln: University of

9 Reyhner,

http://www.geocities.com/cheyenne_language/al-

gift:

DC:

National Association for Bilingual Education.

4 http://www.geocities.com/cheyenne_language/al-

Available online: http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/-jar/LLcul-

phabet.htm. Retrieved Dec. 2007

tural.html

Rathbun,

D. (Summer 2003). Language teacher

S.

found learning

to be healing. Tribal College Journal

14^). Available online: www.tribalcollegejournal.

org
6

178).

The

(1996).

and language

New York:

in

spell

(April 1995).

Wanting

to be Indian:

1(7).

Boston:

Women's Theologi-

Center.

of the sensuous: Percep-

a more-than-human world

(p.

Vintage Books,

7 Franz, Z. (2006). Skipping out

Truancy takes

M.

spiritual searching turns into cultural theft.

The Brown Papers

cal

Abram, D.

tion

10 Johnson,

When

its toll.

Report. Missoula,

MT:

&

missing out:

Indian Education:

Special

University of Montana

School of Journalism. Available online: http://ww\v.

umt.edu/journalism/student_work/Native.

News. 20o6/story_ncheyenne. html

The Northern Cheyenne Language

45

Northern Cheyenne Reservation District Names

rx

THE

Tongue River

Indian Reservation was created by Executive Order

under President Chester A. Arthur on Nov. i6, 1884.

sisted

of 371,200

to 444,157 acres

acres.'

On March 19,

The

reservation con-

1900, the reservation was increased

by Executive Order under President Wilham McKinley. Within

the second Executive Order, the reservation was referred to as the Northern Chey-

enne Indian Reservation, replacing the

earlier

Tongue River Indian Reservation

name. The eastern boundary of the reservation was established

oi the

Tongue

There

mid stream

River."

are five official districts

and English names of the

much

as the

districts

on the reservation now. Both the Cheyenne

many

have

discussion about which version

is

true.

stories

The

of their origins, and there

reservation also contains

is

some

areas that are not officially recognized as political districts, but they have a history

of their own. Other areas are also being developed. Clusters ol homes are springing up south of Busby, west of
area called

Muddy

Highway

212 in the

Rosebud/Ree area and

at

an

Cluster, about four miles from west of Lame Deer. These areas

are developing because of the increasing

Cheyenne population.

Ashland District
Stubborn/Shy People [Totoemaim)

The Cheyenne
families

who

People from

problems, and they were the

While some
their area

last

were distant from the other Cheyenne

of the reservation. They did not get involved with

people to be involved in matters such

said they were "shy people," they were not bashful.

minding

Totoemana

this district

lived in other parts

is

their

own

difficult; Rev.

and another meaning

is

business and helping each other.

Rodolphe

Petter gave the

"Unwilling Place.

The

meaning

as politics.

They

stayed in

translation for

as "Standoffish,"

"^

47

These

were more involved with the

families

would often camp nearby

These families had

them

ably describe
last to

come

their

Labre Mission, and they

St.

who were

to be close to their children

own

like the

gatherings, their

Amish

in for their rations.

something was happening. This

They

is

posedly, rabbits stay within their

today.

why

own

world.

During the

ration days, they were the

lived quiet lives

their district

in school there.

Someone would prob-

and only came out when

was called Rabbit Town. Sup-

homes and only come out when something

is

happening.^
Before 1900
families

had

when

settled east

the reservation was enlarged to

its

current

size,

these

of the Tongue River. Since these lands were not included

within the reservation boundaries, the families were not eligible to receive any
assistance

from the Tongue River Agency.

These families were starving and

sion dispensed medicine

in

an impoverished

and offered whatever

it

state.

The

St.

Labre Mis-

could to them. After the second

Executive Order changed the boundary to the middle of the Tongue River, James

McLaughlin,
they

special agent, settled with these families. For

left their

Tongue River

home

sites

on the

east side

and

payment of $25

settled along the west side

valley.''

Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation

each,

of the

BiRNEY
There

are really

two Birneys. For lack

nine miles south of the reservation

people. This Birney was

named

colonel in the U.S. cavalry.

a

unique history

all its

Oevemanaheno: Birney

The

one located about

oi a better descriptor, the

is

"White" Birney by the Cheyenne

called

one of the troops who may have been

after

other Birney

is

located

on the reservation and has

own.

District

Scabby People Place

There was
settled

with him in

name of this

place.

said that the

this area

settled in this area.

no

Cheyennes near Birney were known

leaders called

Badger had some sort of skin

and the people from

trees,

no vegetation with only

they describe the place where peyote

like

The people who

were called O'evemana. Oevemanaheno became the

This word means barren

much

cactus growing,

tion,

man named Oevemaha who

this district

rash.

do not

as

is

lound.''

Weist

Scabbies because one of their

However,

this

was

poor

transla-

like this translation.

Busby District
Vohpoometaneno

Busby was named aher Sheridan

owned i6o acres within

the

community came

the reservation,

L.

Busby, a farmer and rancher

the reservation.

to be

named

some white

originally

Busby. Prior to the permanent establishment of

settlers

these homesteaders were paid to

who

Busby opened the first store, and eventually

had

move

filed for their

homesteads

in this area,

and

off the reservation by McLaughlin.

White River
White River People {Vohpoometaneo'o)
In 1879 after the Little

the remaining

Wolf and Dull Knife bands had

Cheyenne

families

under

Little

left

Oklahoma

Ridge Agency where they occupied the lands near White River

These Cheyenne
vation.

the

When

families

were the

last to arrive

Territory,

Chief were transferred to the Pine

in

South Dakota.

on the Northern Cheyenne Reser-

they were transferred to this agency in 1881, these families settled in

Busby area and

called

it

the

White River

place.**

Lame Deer District

Mobhtavbheomeneno: Black Lodge or Meavehoeyw: The Giving Place

The town of Lame Deer was named

after

Chief

Lame

Norttbern Cheyenne Reservation District

Deer, a Minneconjou

Names

49

who was

Lakota

killed in 1877 in a battle held

town

that runs through the

Cheyenne, and

Lame Deer

to

of

possible that

it's

as well.

White

south of

Lame

Deer.

The

creek

Lame Deer was named Antelope Creek by the

there is some correlation in translating the name

Bull saved Brigadier General Nelson A. Miles's

during the skirmish with the Lakota chief whose

name

is

life

borne by the stream and

the town.''

Miles had supported the Northern Cheyenne remaining in

dated June

letter

i,

"There

1889, he stated,

no good reason or

is

this area. In his

justice in

removing

the Indians from this area." In the winter of 1877, the Indians surrendered in

The

faith.

principal ones

and Brave Wolf) were the

(Two Moons, White

first

surrender of the entire Lakota

to

come

in

Bull,

Horse Roads, Iron Shield,

and surrender and open the way

camp of Sitting

Bull

good

for the

and Crazy Horse.

This group of Northern Cheyenne assisted General Miles's expedition against

Lame

several principal
hostilities in this

lodges.

According to General Miles, "There

territory.

well treated

They were
do, the

Chief Lame Deer, along with

and captured. This expedition ended Indian

band of 60

Deer's

warriors, was killed

and allowed

told that if they

remained

Government would

part of the

compact and

is

no reason why Indians cannot be

to live in peace in the vicinity in

it

at

them

treat

would be but

which they were born.

peace and did what they were directed to

fairly

and

justly.

justice for the

They have

Government

fulfilled their

to allow

them

to remain."'"

Black Lodge People

Modhtavoheomenetaneoo
This
It

name "Black Lodge

was

pine.

mean

The

People" was given to the families that lived in this area.

joke due to their lodges being blackened by

joke

that the people

is

and get cottonwood or ash wood

their lodges to get

all

it

any thing

the agency.

they

left

was

out, the
for

name

Deer,

Muddy Creek

called the

The people

stayed close to the

and they did not want

The people

go out

living in

to miss

Lame

out on

mad at them for

Lame Deer were

was the place where rations were given

Giving Place, thus the second name, Meave'ho'eno,

MT.

{heovon^heo'he'e)

Heovoneheo'he'e tsehestahese (Those

50

this

leave to

burned pine, which caused

other districts used to get

stuck.

Lodge People." Because

Cheyennes

Lame

The

smoke from burning

and they would not

to burn. Instead they

a ration point

getting everything, and this

called Black

lazy,

black from the pitch.

Deer agency because

if

were

who

are

from

Muddy

Creek)

Muddy

Creek got

its

name

mud

there were a lot oi

because there was hardly any water in this creek, and

holes.

The Cheyenne used

Creek," and they wintered their horses in this area due to the
there.

The

Cheyennes had the opportunity

went into

him

self-exile

to

hunt

Wild Hog

in the

salt

sage that grew

their horses near by, the

Basin.

When

Little

WoU

aher killing a Cheyenne, the Elk Horn Scrappers went with

'-

to this area.

Other

and with

horses got fat from eating this sage,

Horse

to call this creek "Fat

Significant Reservation Areas

Ononeno: Rosebud/Ree District

This
that

Rosebud Creek between Busby and Muddy Creek.

the area of

is

come down from our

Great Lakes area to eastern North Dakota once lived in villages near the

and Ankara (Ree)

Tribes.

Mandan

There was inter-marriage among the people, and these

descendents settled in what the older people

sidered an official district and, politically,

Pofw'e:

Stories

Cheyenne who migrated from

ancestors relate that the

the Ree District.''

call

part of the

is

Muddy

It is

Creek

not con-

District.

Downstream

who

Pono'e for those

Busby means the area from Busby

live in

who

including the Rosebud-Ree area. For those

Muddy

Creek,

Lame Deer and Muddy,

live in

Pono'e means that area toward Jimtown and Jimtown

to

itself

Hearneohee: Upstream
For those people

from Busby
areas,

who

Busby

live in the

to the Kirby area. For those

He'ameo'he'e

Weist, T. (1977).

(p. 104). Billings:

is

history

McLaughlin,

of the Cheyenne people

Montana Council

for Indian

(1899).

McLaughlin

report

on

proposed removal of the Northern Cheyenne Indians

and related matters. S5th Congress, House of

Representatives, Document No. 153.
3

http://wv\^'.geoci ties.com/cheyenne_language/ al-

phabet. htm. retrieved Dec. 2007

4 B. Rogers (personal
5

McLaughlin

7 Weist,
pp. 164
8

J.

He'ameo'he'e

live in

communication)

(1899).

that area upstream

History of the Northern Cheyenne People,

& 172.
A

&

9 Powell,

Histo)-y

of the Northern Cheyenne

P. J.,

(1998). Sweet Medicine:

the Sacred Buffalo

(Vol.

I,

The continu-

p. 6).

Hat

in Northern

Norman;

Universin,'

Cheyenne

McLaughlin, 1899
L. Tall Bull (personal

12. L.

13

communication)

Tall Bull (personal

communication)

A. Spang (personal communication)

Nortthern Cheyenne Reservatio)i District

Names

and
history

of Oklahoma

Press.

10

People,

1~2.

ing role of the Sacred Arrows, the Sun Dance,

11

6 B. Rogers (personal communication)

Weist,

pp. 164

is

Lame Deer and Muddy Creek

Busby and Kirby.

that area upstream toward

Education.
2

area,

who

Agriculture on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation

THE

Northern Cheyenne people have an agricultural past,

rooted in their

long migration from the Hudson's Bay and Great Lakes region westward.'

This journey included several decades in the

as

farmers along the Missouri River. Part of the

late i8th

Cheyenne

century spent living

legacy of farming has

been unearthed in the Upper Midwest by archaeologists.' People living

in villages

of earthen lodges grew squash, beans, and corn there prior to 1770.

Another part of

Corn Dance
ennes

this legacy

remembered

is

left their

earthen lodges and villages in the eastern Dakotas.

nies died out during the wars

cynically, that "Indians

emonies."^
also

Cheyenne

were

The Corn Dance was

accompanied by

in the 1950s as

in the wars,

remarking, perhaps a

and nobody paid attention

or

Hills.

"*

Corn

was

corn planting dance, overseen by a Corn Master,

a special

But the corn planting dance, too, disappeared

Corn Woman,

to cer-

a healing ceremony, but the planting of corn

and performed by couples while men sang and kept time with

west of the Black

The ceremo-

and turmoil of the period. Anthropologist Robert

Anderson quotes Nancy Divesbackwards

little

in ceremonialism, the

or the Ree Ceremony, which survived to 1877, long after the Chey-

as the

elk

horn

scrapers.

Northern Cheyennes moved

memory of corn farming remains in the name

Woman, a common name on the reservation used

Today, the
Tassel

even today.
After the Northern Cheyennes acquired horses and began to pursue the buffalo in the late 1700s, the cultivation

of farms was impractical.

Still,

the harvest-

ing of plants was important for a balanced diet, medicine, and ceremonial uses.

Always on the go, the Cheyennes necessarily developed

and using wild

plants, adapting

no weeds on the
as

he and

of plants

his

them

a talent for identifying

to their use in a variety

reservation," the late tribal elder

William

of ways. ^ "There are

Tall Bull used to say,

son Linwood strived to keep the traditional Cheyenne knowledge

alive.

53

In the late 19th century,

ated, the question
cially

when

the Northern

Cheyenne Reservation was

cre-

of how the Cheyennes would make a living there became espe-

important. At

seemed unsuitable

first

glance, the rugged pine-covered hills of the reservation

to farming, yet, as

James McLaughlin, then an inspector

Indian Bureau, pointed out in 1899, "the Northern Cheyenne Reserve

is

for the

probably

the best cattle range in the state of Montana."''

Congress appropriated $60,000 for a shipment of a thousand heifers and

bulls in 1902

and 1907. Since the government's policy emphasized individual

ownership of resources, catde were branded "ID" (Indian Department) on one

side

and the number of the individual owner on the

ranged through the reservation

themselves in the winter.

of the agency,

who

The

as a

Chicago

cattle business

54

many

on the Northern Cheyenne

as

12,000 head fetching high

market.'^

are pietiired about 1910 near

to right: Louie Seminole,

collection)

fend for

hired both Indian and non-Indian cowboys to assist with the

Reservation proved highly successful, with as

Cheyenne eovvboys

left to

operation was overseen by a non-Indian employee

roundups. For the next few years, the

prices in the

other. Nevertheless, the cattle

kind of single herd and were

Lame Deer

Highwalker, and Wild

Hog

in the

(standing).

annual

ritual ot

branding. Lett

(Photo from the Mennonite

Cheyenne cowbo\'s were not idcnnhed

Lame

1910 near

One

Deer. (Photo from the

which

killing.

Northern Cheyenne

when no

The

history.

is

beiiL-vcd to

icen taken in about

h.i\'i

collection)

of the obstacles to the cattle business

occurrence of cattle
in

in this picttire,

Mennonite

on the

reservation was the frequent

1890s were one of the most desperate periods

Cheyennes sometimes slaughtered

other food was available.

When

cattle for

food

these slaughtered cattle belonged to

white ranchers, tensions between the Cheyennes and their white neighbors rose
significantly, especially since these ranchers

government from establishing

Rosebud and Tongue

killing.

to a

With

keep the federal

incident of 1890 and the

young man who had never had

a teenaged friend

neighboring rancher.

No

Brains and

demonstrate the serious repercussions of

conflict a year later

Head Chief was

self in battle.

to

Northern Cheyennes along the

Rivers.

The Head Chief and Young Mule

Walks Night

had fought hard

a reservation for the

When

John Young Mule, he

the rancher's nephew,

cattle

chance to prove him-

killed a

Hugh

cow belonging

Boyle, caught the

two butchering the meat, Head Chief shot him and hid the body. Nevertheless,
Boyle's

body was found, and the

unless the murderer

soldiers

day

and Indian police

but
On

to

authorities threatened the

Cheyennes with

was found. Head Chief told Chief American Horse

that he

be prepared:

the chosen day.

would come

He was

into the agency

to

on Friday

arrest

tell

the

ration

prepared to die like a man.

Head Chief and Young Mule appeared

at the

top of a

ridge to the northeast of the present location of Chief Dull Knife College. In an
act of suicidal bravery, the

who

shot

them down

two youths rode headlong into

at the

bottom of the

hill,**

a line

of Indian police,

while the chiefs rode back and

Agricuhitre on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation

forth in front of a group of young

Cheyennes

with the poUce and spark more

interfere

The

next year, two

cow

slaughtered a

agent to

make

sure that

none would

try to

more Cheyennes, No Brains and Walks Night, again

and made

off the reservation

him. Although

kill

to

violence.''

Keogh, the threat resulted

No

a threat against the reservation

Brains was later caught and sent briefly to Fort

Army establishing Camp

in the

Merritt on the reserva-

tion in the event of trouble in the future.'"

The Head Chief and No

Brains incidents demonstrate that the Cheyennes

were hungry, not that they were

were not provided

in sufficient

lawless.

The

promised by the government

rations

supply to feed the people.

They

teach us about the

violence that poverty and hunger can do to a community.

Ranching

v.

Farming

Sporadic cattle killing continued for the

often resulting from

some

ers leasing their lands.

tribal

two decades of the 20th century,

John R. Eddy was superintendent of the Tongue River

Reservation from 1906 to 1914."

close friend

first

members' deep-seated resentment of white ranch-

He was

an

idealist

and dreamer. Backed by

George Bird Grinnell, Eddy envisioned

with Cheyenne

cattle,

his

a reservation fully stocked

but until that objective could be met, he would

sell

grazing

permits for the Cheyenne range to white ranchers.

To

increase the

number of Indian

cattle,

dian Bureau an elaborate plan for Congress to

manage

the herd

and

curtail cattle killing,

he and Grinnell proposed to the In-

make

additional appropriations.

Eddy and Grinnell proposed

To

to convert

the fences on the reservation to telephone wires and send the Indian police along
the reservation perimeter ready to call in any infractions, just as Grinnell noted

policemen did

in

In addition,

New York

City.'~

Eddy envisioned

young Cheyennes away from

It

probably

is

no accident

library,

association designed to turn

and toward

a career in stock raising.

that Eddy's idea coincided with the rise nationally of

the original Boys Clubs of America,

with a circulating

young men's

cattle killing

and even

and Eddy's proposal included

clubhouse

a football team. Eddy's superiors sharply dis-

agreed with further Congressional appropriations for the herd or Eddy's manage-

ment

proposals, with the result that

Eddy and

Grinnell never saw their dreams

fulfilled.'^

Farming was part of Eddy's plan

it

took second place to

collective

work

cattle raising,

for reservation development,

it

projects in the history of the reservation.

of the reservation, with Tongue River on

irrigation

56

could be developed.

and although

nonetheless resulted in one of the largest

its east,

The southern

seemed adaptable

to

portion

farming

if

Tongue River

In 1907, the

Irrigation Project,

commonly

called the Birney

Ditch, was begiui. Bad luck plagued the project almost from the beginning.

Three successive floods

the progress.
all

in the first year

contributed to a

much of

acre,

which was unacceptable

to the

'**

ol his idealism,

all

$300 per

final cost ot

policymakers oi the time.

Eddy, for

of construction washed away

very low water level in the canal, alkali seepage, and land slides

was

remarkably poor manager, and

in 1914

he

was replaced by John Buntin, whose administration emphasized dry-land farming.

Thus

The

the Birney Ditch

struction projects

and

to the north

siring

fell

years of construction

on the

Cheyennes meant
after the

1918.

reservation, as well as the construction of railroads along

find

it

studied the reservation in the

But

and was abandoned by

on the Birney Ditch coincided with other con-

of the Yellowstone River. During

wage work could

completed

into disrepair

on

this project,"

1950s.'''

marked decrease

The

this period,

"any Cheyenne de-

according to Robert Pringle,

availability

in cattle killing

who

of jobs for the Northern

and other

related problems.

Birney Ditch, the Milwaukee Road Railroad, and other projects were

in 1912, the cattle killing spiked, indicating that

when work

disappears,

other means of survival will certainly be found.

Cattle and biandiiig arc Mill an impoitaiu

list century.

Rowdy

From

left to

right are

pan

ut

lite

on

ihc

Nouhcin Cheyenne

Reservation in the

Vernon Small; Jason Lawrence; Clinton Small,

Sr.

(branding);

Alexander; Allen Fisher (on the horse); Kermit Spang; and Merlin Kilisnight. (Photo by John

Warner)

Agriculture on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation

57

Superintendent John Buntin's emphasis on farming was part of a

bureau-wide tocus on the development oi individual family farms.

relatively

ern

benevolent but often heavy-handed administrator, was eager for North-

Cheyenne farmers

to

show

agricultural fairs, as indicated

You

off their produce, especially in local

by

and statewide

this circular to farmers in 1918:

are hereby directed to gather the best exhibits

the reservation and have

Do

larger,

Buntin, a

'^'

them

of all the different crops of

in readiness for exhibit as

not neglect to gather and prepare your exhibits

it

at the

has been in the past.

appointed time. You

can select very good exhibits by taking them as you are going around in connection with your other work.

Urge every Indian, who has something

save a portion tor display. This

and you

are requested to give

it

your special attention.'^

Northern Cheyenne families seemed amenable

pecially during the

World War

years

creditable, to

compliance with the Indian Office wishes

in

is

Buntin's program, es-

to

when wheat

fetched a

premium

at the

market. By 1918, sales of farm produce exceeded those of livestock, and by 1920,

an actual manpower shortage existed

ects
eral

farming and

stock raising

at harvest time.'** Yet

were doomed

to failure

both agricultural proj-

by the continuing fed-

emphasis on individual ownership and production. Buntin and

distributed the tribal herd to individual families, giving owners

sell,

with the result that the number of Cheyenne

1920 to under 3,000 in

cattle

his successors

more

flexibility to

dropped from 7,000

in

1932.''^'

Similar pressure to divide the reservation into individual allotments

increasingly difficult for

Cheyennes

to live oif the land.

The

made

federal policy

it

from

the late 19th century until 1934 was to divide reservations into allotments for individual Indians

who were deemed competent and

steading by non-Indians.-"

made

all

On

the Northern

to

open the "surplus"

Cheyenne Reservation,

the allotments in the arid rangeland, not in the pine-forested

home-

to

the bureau
hills,

which

could have provided a few Cheyennes with a reasonable living selling timber. As
the drought of the 1920s grew increasingly dire,

ment would not provide enough land

lor

it

was

clear that a 160-acre allot-

Cheyenne farmers

to raise the

kind of

crops needed to provide for their families.''

Clearly the most effective agricultural use of the Northern
ervation was for cattle, as

McLaughlin had observed

council launched the Northern

siderable success in

its

Cheyenne

Steer Enterprise,

The

purchased

early years.

tribe

Cheyenne Res-

in 1899. In 1937, the tribal

which enjoyed con-

steers

from the warmer

Southwest, fattened them on the reservation range, and then sold them

at

The system was

II

so successful that

one of Montana's
the neighboring

The

58

largest

Crow

it

was copied during the World War

stockmen. Matt Tschergi,

Reservation.

who

market.
years

by

controlled vast ranges

on

--

Steer Enterprise functioned a

little like

the Tennessee Valley Authority

in that

it

provided opportunities to the community that went

Cheyenne farmers were

ply raising steers.

able to

the enterprise; they could lease pastures to

it;

sell

far

beyond sim-

hay and other supplies to

they could even

sell

calves to the

business.-'

Eventually, though, the Steer Enterprise declined

and disappeared. Cheyenne

ranchers clamored for the business to buy their stock instead ol steers purchased

An

in the Southwest.
profits

new

unusually harsh winter in 1949 took

were disbursed

stock.

By

on the herd. The

its toll

in three per capita payouts, rather than being invested in

had ended. -^

1958, the Steer Enterprise

The New Deal

The

1930s also brought the

as the Civilian

New Deal

to the

Northern Cheyenne Reservation. Just

Conservation Corps (CCC) provided work for thousands of unem-

ployed Americans during the Great Depression, the Indian

jobs to

men

living

on

reservations, including the

have often mentioned that the Depression was

since they

had always existed

anything, the

New

in a state

CCC

provided good

Northern Cheyenne. Historians

of a

less

jolt to

Indian reservations,

of economic depression and joblessness. If

Deal brought opportunities to reservations that

many

Indian

people had never seen before.

At
it

to

Cheyennes were wary of signing up

first,

Yet by

fall

of

1933, over

the reservation.

The

reported that "fully

all

for the Indian

be a ploy by the government to conscript them to

200 Cheyennes had signed up

supervisor of

90%

Indian unemployment

before the Indian

New

work

reliel

men

of able-bodied
is

Among

their

eradicated prairie

in five

camps on

Ted Risingsun remembers

Deal programs, Cheyenne

projects, the

work

Tongue River Reservation and

at

absorbed."-' Elder

work was no longer

many

believing

programs on the reservation even

men

off-reservation ranches as line riders, but the Indian

that off-reservation

to

CCC,

fight in overseas wars.

CCC

provided enough jobs

necessary.

workers for the Tongue River Indian

dog towns and poisonous

across the nation, the

Cheyenne camps provided movies and

grams. By the beginning of World

War

the

II,

CCC

plants like larkspur, built hundreds of

miles offences, and even repaired and restored the Birney Ditch. And, like

camps

that

were often employed by

Cheyenne workers had

CCC

sports pro-

significantly

increased the value of their range by building corrals, wells, and 240 miles of
trails for fire trucks.-*'

farmers,

The

Indian

CCC proved immensely popular with Cheyenne

whose drought-stricken homesteads had

future. Yet other

Cheyennes sometimes

criticized

Anderson, for instance, recorded several

Henry Standing

Elk,

left

tribal

them with

hope

for the

them. Anthropologist Robert

members

and Milton Whiteman) implying

Agriciilture on the

little

(Pius Shoulderblade,

that the

Northern Cheyenne Reservation

government pro-

59

grams of the 1930s

programs began
worst.

The

effectively killed

farming on individual allotments.- Yet the

moment when drought and wheat

just at the

prices

were

at their

choice to forsake the family farm for wage labor was a rational one and

one that was made by American farmers nationwide.

Since the ending of the Indian

CCC

and the Steer Enterprise, agriculture

continued to be an important part of the reservation economy, although the

Bureau of the Census in 2002 reported only about 50 Indian-owned farms and
ranches (out of a total of 64) on a reservation that

people.'^

is

home

water compact negotiated with the state of

credit worries

among Cheyenne
owned

ranching nevertheless

4,000

in 1991 eased

some of whom had become modestly

ranchers,

Many Northern Cheyenne

prosperous.

to a little over

Montana

people

who

are not actively

engaged

some

various livestock, especially horses, and

in

culti-

vated family gardens.

The story of Northern Cheyenne agriculture

development. Tribal

politics

can be ferocious

really a lesson

about economic

at times, leaving a

few Cheyennes

is

government. Yet in an impoverished com-

with a certain cynicism about the

tribal

munity looking

people to find gainful employment, collective

projects
cies

as

ways for

for

opposed

its

to the individual

have always done reasonably

emphasis of former government poli-

well in this

community. Examples include the

Birney Ditch and other construction projects of the early 20th century; the

first

Indian Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930s; and the

tribal cattle herd; the

Northern Cheyenne Steer Enterprise.

In

more

sector,

bers.

Community Education and

recent years, the federally-sponsored

Training Act provided

many Cheyennes with

opportunities working in the public

Dam

and the reconstruction of the Tongue River

The

employed

collective agriculture practiced

by the Cheyennes

in

what

is

many Cheyennes

and

isn't

to

work with Mother Earth

successful

and ways oflife

(Vol.

i,

4).

New

York:

Cooper Square Pubhshers.

Wood, W.

R. (1971). Biesterfeldt:

coalescent site

ton,

M.

(1989). Early

Institution Press. Kurtz,

Cheyenne migrations and

change. South Dakota Archaeology

13,

W.

cultural

69-88.

Anderson, R. (1958). Notes on Northern

Cheyenne corn ceremonialism. Masterkey for Indian
3

Lore

and Hntory}2(i),

4 Ibid.

60

61.

what

H.irt, J. (1981).

The ethnoborany of the Northern

Cheyenne Indians of Montana. Journal ofEthnopharmacology

A post-contact

on the north-eastern plains. Washing-

DC: Smithsonian

commitment of

rather than against her, explain

on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation.

Grinnell, G. B. (1961). The Cheyenne Indians:

Their history

mem-

now North Dakota

over 200 years ago. Perhaps that memory, and the continuing

is

tribal

success of these collective projects reflects, in a way, the success of the

4(1).

6 Proposed removal of the Northern

Indians,

Cheyenne

House Documents 55* Cong.,

3"*

Session,

no. 153 (17 Jan. 1899), 6.

^ Anderson, R. (1951).

A study of Cheyenne culture

^-^^^^^ ^-^^ ^p^^i^l ^^f^^^^^ ^^ ^^^ Northern

Cheyenne. Doctoral

dissertation, 186.

(Ann Arbor,

MI: University of Michigan).

{i^H) A history of the Northern
Cheyenne People (pp. 136-137). Billings: Montana
Council for Indian Education.
8 Weist, T.

9 T. Risingsun (personal communication), 1987.

A History ofthe Northern

10 Weist,

17 Buntin, J. Circular to farmers, 28 July 1918,

Cheyenne People,

Tongue River Agency, Lame Deer, MT. National

Archives and Research Administration (Denver), 8

p. 137.
11

NS

The name of the

was

reservation

changed from Tongue River to Northern Cheyenne

Order

in 1900.

However, the old name was

when

used until 1946,

announced

Indiatis in the

19 Ibid., 61.

still

the Bureau of Indian Affairs

that "reference to these Indians as the

"Tongue River Indians' or by any other name

is

20 Washburn, W. W.
tribalism:

(1975).

The

The General Allotment

assault an Indian

Law (Dawes Act) of

1887 (Philadelphia: Lippincott).

unwarranted and should be discontinued

entirely
to avoid

any confusion." Bureau of Indian

District

No. 2, Memorandum,

Billings,

Affairs,

MT,

Administration (Denver), 8
12 Pringle, R.

M.

(1958).

NS

19

075 97 013, Box

15.

The Northern Cheyenne

Indians in the reservation period. Bachelor's of Arts

Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard.

thesis, 41.

Northern Cheyenne

history.
13 Ibid.,

63-64.

(Norman: University of Oklahoma

23 Weist,

History of the Cheyenne People,

reservation period, 88.

25 Ibid., 71.

26

Ibid., 75-78.

163-164.

15

Pringle,

A study of Cheyenne culture

history,

192-193.

41-42.

p.

p. 194.

24 Pringle, The Northern Cheyenne Indians in the

27 Anderson,

14 "Weist,

and grass

Press).

Pringle's

Harvard remains one of the most

thesis at

useful sources for 20th century

21 Ibid.,

22 See Randolph, E. (1981). Beef leather,

September 1946. National Archives and Research

honors

28.

The Northern Cheyenne

18 Pringle,

reservation period, 57-58.

the reser\'ation was expanded by Executive

when

075 97 010, Box

officially

History of the Northern Cheyenne People,

28

Cf

<<http://www.nass.usda.gov/mt/county/pro-

files/reser\'ations/nchevenne.htm>>

The Northern Cheyenne Indians

in the

reservation period, 48.

Buntin

16

J.

17

August

MT.

Commissioner of Indian Affairs,

Tongue River Agency, Lame Deer,

to the

1917,

National Archives and Research Administra-

tion (Denver), 8

NS

075 97 010, Box

28.

Agriculture on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation

61

Native Plants of the Northern Cheyenne Reservation

n
can be poisonous. Readers are advised not

(Editor's note: Plants

or

make

tea

from them without being absolutely sure of the

to eat plants

identification.

Use in

moderation.)

ARE MANY
THERE
many

plants that were used by the

still are. It is

very close relationship with

rocks have

lite,

and ol

all

American Indian people, and

important to tinderstand that the Indian people have a

things

living things. Everything has

all

"Only the Rocks Live

life.

Even the

Forever."

Teas
The

tea plants used

Cheyenne word
ervdav use, and

by the Cheyenne

for tea
as

is

mint, June berry, and rose bush.

The

vehpotsehohpe (flower or leaf soup). These teas are for ev-

many plants,

with

are:

they bring good memories, which contribute

to the healing process.

Wild Mint
This plant grows along the banks of streams, springs, and ponds and should be
harvested before

blossoms turn to seeds. All of the plants from the mint family

its

can be identified not only by their smell but by the square stems.

How to
you can

pick:

The good way

to pick plants

is

leave the roots. This enables the plant to

to use a cutter of

some

grow the following

your mint home, wash the plants with cold water, and

tie

sort so

year.

Take

the stems together.

Before you take them in the house, shake the water from them. Find a good place
to

hang them

not useable.

The mint

gives

are completely dry, put

would pick enough

How
leaves

to

hang them

to dry; never

make

tea:

sun to dry

your house a good smell

them

to last

in the

in a plastic

them through

bag

as

they turn black and are

as they are drying. After they

for storage for future use.

Cheyennes

the winter.

Put a pot of water on the stove and place a handful of

and stems into the water.

When

the water starts to boil, turn the stove off

63

and

let

Cheyenne people would sweeten

the tea steep for several minutes.

with honey or sap from the box elder

tree,

which

is

member

their tea

of the sugar maple

family.

as a medicine:

Use

The mint

tea

is

from depression should use

that suffer

healing this condition

is

used for headaches and nausea. Persons

this tea.

we

to use the senses

One

are each

of the important parts of

born with

(smell, taste, sight,

and hearing).

feel,

Cheyenne Name: moxesene

Botanical Name: Mentha arvensis

Rose Bush

The

rose hips were picked

The Cheyenne

vitamin C.

trimmed

all

and eaten

in the

and bark off a section

the stickers

winter and were a good source of

selected long stalks of rose bushes

and cut enough

bush could be dug up and used

roots of the rose

for tea also.

along streams and ponds and are readily available.

The

popular for the hunters and war parties because of its

How to

cook: The

rose

a knife,

of tea.

The

rose bushes

bush

tea

The

grow

was the most

availability.

roots or peeled stalks are cut into small pieces

and put

in

with water and boiled for several minutes and then allowed to steep

a vessel filled

minute or two. The

for a

rose

and using

for a pot

tea

is

pink in color and can be used to stop diarrhea.

bush root that has been cut into one-inch pieces can be carried with you and

used over and over for making the

tea;

the roots have a black outer shell.

Cheyenne Name: henenoe

Name:

Botanical

June Berry

Rosa arkansasa

Sarvisberry

June berry bushes grow along streams and

and the

winter,

leaves can be used in the

tributaries.

branches to construct ceremonial sweat lodges.

and

this

wood

is

no longer used. The

or dried for future use.

a time

when

stories

were told and

and

bands gathered to pick the

was

in the

large

protocol has been forgotten,

are eaten fresh

treasured the berry picking seasons as

tribal

feasts held. It

The

berries ripen in early July

The Cheyenne

and various

families

The bark can be used

summer. Some Cheyenne used the

berries.

it

was

Many

time of plenty with the abundance of

wild game.

How to
in a vessel

the

fire

usual

64

cook: The green leaves or bark was stripped from branches and put

of water, which was heated.

and allowed

When

to steep for a couple

amount needed

for

brewing

tea.

the water boiled,

of minutes.

it

was taken from

handful of leaves

More water can be added

is

the

to strong tea, but

nothing can be done with weak

was so weak that

it

came

My father

tea.

to the table

(William Tall Bull) used to

say, "It

on crutches.

Cheyenne Name: hetanemenbtse

Botanical

Name: Anwlanchier alnifolia

Berry Plants
Buffalo Berry

The Cheyenne word

for berries

menotse.

is

is

and very hard

tart

and knock the

to pick.

Some

to the bushes

picked

all

her berries and used to

berries

were dried on

given
the

Cheyenne

is

comment

fruit.

and

The

My

is

fruit

is

very

grandmother hand

that only lazy people used sticks.

when

very useful as a pudding

smudging and

elders,

a small berry

form of harvesting the berry

and should not be encouraged.

the tart pudding.

is

is

produce yellow

The

a hide or canvas and put into containers for future use.

buffalo berry

patient. After the

buffalo berry
that

people place a hide or canvas under the bush

berries off with a stick. This

damaging

The

The

some bushes

usually red in color, but there are

The

prayers, the patient

is

a healer

experience of a hospital stay

and most

feel that

is

offered food,
is

doctoring a

and the

first

a very frightening to

they will not return home.

The

majority

of the people that spend long periods in a hospital will give up and slowly starve
themselves

pudding

them

feed

to

cook: Place a handful of dried berries

the berries boil until soft. Next

let

make

a thick mixture.

the thickness that

sugar to your

meat

to

Pour

this

appetite,

and then you can

taste.

The

in a

pot half filled with water,

of flour

and two cups of water

mixture into the boiling berries until you get

is

the desired consistency, then

dried buffalo berries can also be

a staple for the

and warriors away from

to the

mix one cup

you want. After the pudding

make pemmican. This was

the hunters

duced

and brings back the

the rest of the meal.

How to
and

they have no appetite. However, the tartness of the buffalo berry

triggers the saliva glands

pounded up with dried

women

their villages. Before

Cheyenne, the breadroot was used

add

that gathered

wheat

to thicken soups

flour

wood and
was

intro-

and puddings.

Cheyenne Name: mdkemenbtse I makestatsemenbtse

Botanical

Name:

Shepherdia canadensis

Chokecherry
The chokecherry
it is

is

probably the most popular of

hardy and grows every

animals (deer,

year.

The Cheyenne

elk, antelope, buffalo,

Native Plants

and

all

berries.

Unlike other

berries,

hunters would not shoot female

horses) until the chokecherries turned

oftlie Nortljern

Cheyenne Reservation

65

red.

This was the time when the animals' young could survive on their own. As

the berry ripens in July,

it

can be eaten fresh and the seed spit out, but usually the

berry was picked and the stems taken

a

pounding

a hide

The pounded

stone.

and allowed

pounded-up

to dry, at

The chokecherry

tree

and coup

berries

and

pits

were then made into

which time they could be stored

cherries constituted

shafts, spears

The

off.

berries

one of the basic ingredients

was used

to

make

sticks, root diggers,

tipi stakes

and other

and

were pounded on

patties

and put on

for the winter.

for

pins,

The

pemmican.

bows and arrow

useful items for the families.

Makeshift shelters of chokecherry limbs were used to make structures resembling

the sweat lodge. These were used by warriors in the

The Cheyenne and Sioux

1866 for the warriors
soldiers

field,

usually in the winter.

constructed these dome-shaped lodges in the winter of

who were given

instruction to harass the

wood

trains

and the

of Buffalo Creek Fort (Fort Phil Kearny).

How

to cook:

and boiled

dried chokecherries (about a handful) were put in a pot

for several minutes,

the pudding.

box elder

The

The

tree

and

a flour

and water mixture was added

to thicken

sweeteners that the Cheyenne used were honey or sap from the

(maple family).

Cheyenne Name: menbtse

Botanical

Linwood

Name: Prunus

virginiana

Tall Bull follows in the footsteps

of his

Chief Dull Knife College. (Photo by Sherry

66

Ann

father,

William

Foote)

Tall Btill,

and teaches ethnobotany

at

Who Saved Her Brother

The Girl

MOST

BATTLES WERE fought by men, but occasionally there were ex-

tremely brave

Cheyenne heard
the

women who went

Woman who

Calf Road

that General

WY, and

fiercely

with great

him vulnerable

Woman

to safety

to rally

and

battle as

skill,

but

his horse

on her

Fight

The

Crow

was shot and

to the circling soldiers

to defeat

The

recorded as

lost sight ot

rode beside her

her brother.

When

Indian scouts and white

chance to count coup on him. Chief Comes in Sight fought

charged the crowd of hostiles, dodging

him

Rosebud Creek between

his soldiers near

Calf Road

the

hundred Cheyenne

MT, on June 17, 1876. She

brother. Chief Comes in Sight.

she finally spotted him, he was surrounded by

soldiers waiting for a

When

war party against them,

Busby,

husband, Black Coyote, and her

battle Buffalo

to halt the troops. Several

and Sioux warriors attacked Crook and

During the

This was the case of Buffalo

George Crook was leading

Cheyenne warriors rode out

present-day Sheridan,

to war.

saved her brother from death.

and

bullets,

horse. This brave rescue

General Crook and his

Where

the Girl Saved

killed

during the fight leaving

scouts. Buffalo Calf

Road

Woman

and grabbed her brother, carrying

on her

soldiers.

Her

part caused the

The Cheyenne

Cheyenne

refer to the

Brother. In history the battle

is

Battle of the Rosebud.

At the time of the

with one child, a

girl

battle Buffalo

Calf Road

Woman

was

mid

twenties

Woman

was the

in her

about four years old. Buffalo Calf Road

woman to accompany the warriors and to fight in the battle. There were two
Crow women that fought as scouts for General Crook's army.
One week later, the Battle of the Little Big Horn was fought, and Buffalo
Calf Road Woman was the only woman to fight in the battle against Custer. She

only

'

proved to be so brave and courageous the Cheyenne gave her an honorary name.
Brave

Woman. The

events in

American

Horn is one of the most written about

know about her participation in this battle.

Battle of the Little Big

history, yet

few

67

Despite her

many heroic

defend the freedom and nomadic Ufe

efforts to

style

Woman has been overlooked in history. Much

recorded." A nomadic life style and lack of a written lan-

of her people, Buffalo Calf Road

of her history was never

guage account for some of the absence of sources. The narratives,

and other

bits

of information that

exist are largely

letters, diaries,

from the perspective of white

interpreters.

Male anthropologists, who dominated

women and

century, rarely interviewed

yond

and Indian-white

Photographers such

early 20th

women

interest in

be-

politics.

Huffman provided an important source of

as L. A.

formation about the Northern Cheyenne and other

ally

little

and anthropologists were mainly interested

their traditional roles. Historians

in chiefs, battles,

and

the field in the late 19th

demonstrated

tribes.

in-

However, they usu-

women engaging in domestic duties and rarely identified them.

Cheyenne women were photographed many times with their husbands.

portrayed

Northern

Captions would often read, for example, "Dull Knife and wife" or "Cheyenne

woman."
Woodenlegs,
the

same

a warrior

battles, notes

who knew

Buffalo Calf

Road

Woman

and fought

of her second child. Unfortunately, he omits her significant participation

Battle oi the Little Big

Horn. There

Cheyennes connecting her

Bull

and Tall

Bull,

are only a

two

to these

both battles with Buffalo Calf Road

White

battles.

Woman,

Chief Two Moons,

failed to

With

who

mention her
also did not

acknowledge

the exception of Woodenlegs brief

of the

same events

accounts, the

women

A Sioux warrior,

men were

about her accomplishments.

However, two Cheyenne

many

fought in

in interviews.

statement about her role in the Rosebud Battle, the Northern Cheyenne
silent

women

as Buffalo

Iron Teeth and Kate Bighead

Calf Road

Woman.

attended

In their autobiographical

give detailed narrative of her participation in the

two

presence at the Custer fight. Kill Eagle reported seeing Buffalo Calf Road

In actuality, she lived

her,

but he erroneously stated that she was

and took an

active role in the tribe's

Woman

killed.'*

exodus

to

Okla-

subsequent escape. During the cold winter of 1877, the Cheyenne were

women and

starving,

and some

Army

in

an attempt to get them

When

most of the others decided

children were being held hostage by the U.S.

of 34 Cheyenne

who

period, Buffalo Calf

resisted the

Road

to

all

move

to Indian Territory

to surrender, Buffalo

husband, Black Coyote, continued to

68

battles.

and confirms Buffalo Calf Road Woman's

Kill Eagle, also credits

with a revolver strapped on

homa and

at the

few statements made by Northern

Northern Cheyenne warriors,

her noteworthy participation in battles.^

completely

in

her role in the Battle of the Rosebud and relates the birth

refuse.

move

Woman

Calf Road

(Oklahoma).

Woman and her

The couple was among a small group

to a reservation in

Oklahoma. During

this

gave birth to her second child, a son. Within

pUVA4

urni.f ^iwH'i'i -W
'

'

.'

i^Lifiit
i

TT^

u^fll mmymmfmmmmmmmm

#//

by Buffalo Calf Road

Bullets soar

certain death. Buffalo Calf

and

leather belt,
tailed

Road

Woman as she rescues her brother,

Woman dressed for battle with her

a decorative choker

war bonnet, has

the rein. This horse

is

his right

Chief Comes In

around her neck. Chief Comes In Sight, who

arm and

leg

a fast one, indicated

Nose Ledger, courtesy of the Smithsonian

draped over the horse's neck with

by the

split ears.

from a

Sight,

finest elk tooth dress, a

is

broad

wearing a long-

his left

hand holding

(Drawing from the Spotted Wolf- Yellow

Institution, National Anthropological Archives,

Bureau of

American Ethnology, ms. 166.032)

the group there were several children,

band decided

to surrender. In

and there was so much

suffering, the small

August 1877 the group reached Oklahoma.

proved very

Life in the Indian Territory

difficult for the

Cheyenne. Hunt-

ing rights were denied, and diseases such as measles and malaria spread
the people.

Unaccustomed

to the

humid

among

climate and living with restrictions, the

When

Cheyennes longed

for their

homeland.

Road

Woman

and her family were among them. The journey back

Buffalo Calf
to

Montana was

The Army

followed and attacked them the whole way.

to surrender, but Black

people to persevere.

Woman

left

Indian Territory,

1,500 miles.

the constant threat from the soldiers.

wanted

300 Cheyenne

to return to

With

Coyote had not

Little

on

the soldiers

lost his fighting spirit

Wolf and Dull Knife decided

Red Cloud's

Many grew weak with

their trail

reservation. Black

some wanted

and encouraged the

to split the group.

Some

Coyote and Buffalo Calf Road

followed Little Wolf's party to return to the north. Black Coyote, Buffalo

Calf Road

Woman, and

others held out

and hid

in the

Sand

Hills

of Nebraska for

the winter.

Meanwhile, Black Coyote grew more militant against the Army.

ted

some

acts that

compromised the

The Girl

safety

He commit-

of the small band. Unrest and hostility

Who Saved Her Brother

69

among

the group broke out, and Black Coyote killed a fellow

wounded

another. Chief Little

crimes. Buffalo Calf

left

the

Wolf ordered

the exile of Black

Road Woman, Black Coyote,

their children

main group. The banished group remained hidden

Cheyenne and

Coyote

for these

and four others

in the

Sand

Hills

of

Nebraska where there was plenty of game and few white people. Later that spring,
Black Coyote killed a

soldier,

in 1879. Black

Woman's

and the group was captured and imprisoned

Woman

Keogh. Buffalo Calf Road

Coyote was so distraught when he heard of Buffalo Calf Road

death, he took his

American Indian

own

women

life.""

and have survived unspoken

are extraordinary

hardships. Information sources are limited, vague, and biased.

and thorough

historical records

to be other Native

ten

if

women.

Road

women

Woman may

reliable

have proven

have been forgot-

woman.

Grinnell, G. B. {1972). Cheyenne Indians,

War, ceremonies,

Nebraska

and religion.

2;

women:

J. (1981).

Resurrecting

A case study from the

A Journal of Wotnen

Indians. Frontiers:

Studies, 6{^). 8-16.

& Agonito (1981)

Agonito

4 Graiiam,

W.

(1953).

The Custer Myth: a source book

ofCusteriana. Harrisburg, PA: Stackpoie

& Agonito,

history's forgotten

Cheyenne

Vol.

Lincoln: University of

Press.

2 Agonito, R.,

70

concerning American Indian

Buffalo Calf

The most

Iron Teeth and Kate Bighead had not conveyed the important acts of this

distinguished

at Fort

contracted diphtheria and died in captivity

Agonito

& Agonito (1981)

Company.

Cheyenne Peace Pipe

rx

STORY BY John Stands

in

made were of antelope

shanks, just the straight hollow bone, with a hole

drilled

keep

it

from

on top

splitting.

a pipe in the

at

the

straight

Cheyenne

that the

first

first

pipes the

this

tied

was good

it

way by

fiar

Cheyenne

with sinew to

got the red stone, they

and hollow, and

There were four old pipes made

to

tells

one end and the place wrapped and

When

same way,

Timber

this

made

into

it

purpose.

the early people, and there used

be one large one pipe and three smaller pipes that were be kept in the Sacred

Hat. In fact

all

Indian pipes used to be

came along with

pipes the

way they do

In the

done

Cheyenne

alter prayer.

begins without

first

is

that way, until the white

how

is

they

came

to

man

make peace

now."'
culture,

smoking the pipe

The Cheyenne

say,

is

solemn occasion and only

"The pipe never

fails."

Nothing sacred

who

dwell at the lour

offering the pipe to the Sacred Persons

directions, to Ma'heo'o.

the truth

made straight

corncob pipe sticking up. That

and

to

Grandmother

When

Earth.

smoking the

pipe, only

spoken and nothing but the truth.

Stories have

cine Arrow's

been told that in March 1869 Custer had met with Chief Medi-

band under along the Sweetwater Creek. This was

on Washita Nov.

27, 1868.

and Custer did not want

There were two white

to attack the

Cheyenne

women

for fear

after the

Attack

captives at this

camp,

of

death to the captives.

Custer in a peaceful meeting smoked the ceremonial peace pipe with Chief Medicine Arrow.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Chief Medicine Arrow emptied the

ashes of the pipe

on

Custer's boot in a gesture of future

Cheyenne, he would become

he was killed

at the Battle

of

like those ashes.

Little

Big

Horn

they are

shown with

their pipes in elaborate

pipe signifies that a person

is

luck. If he lied to the

in 1876.^

In photographs of the chiefs' visit to the Great

DC,

bad

Custer went against his word, and

White Father

in

Washington,

beaded pipe bags. Smoking the

of good heart and being truthful.

71

For Northern Cheyenne people Hke Chief Dull Knife, smoking a peace pipe
a person

is

Stands In Timber,

Cheyeyme Memories

J.,

&

Libert)-,

(p. 81).

New

M.

(1967).

Haven, CT: Yale

P. J.

(1969). Sweet Medicine:

The Continu-

ing Role of the Sacred Arrows, the Sun Dance,

and the

Sacred Buffalo Hat in Northern Cheyenne History.

Norman: University of Oklahoma

72

Greene,]. A. (2004). Washita, the Southern

Cheyenne and the U.S. Army. Norman: University of

Oklahoma

University Press.
2 Powell,

signifies that

of good heart and being truthful.

Press. Vol.

i.

Press.

Joseph Whiteivolf Sr.

Whitewolf Sr., a member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, was a

Prisoner of War during World War II. The Germans captured him in central

JOSEPH

Europe, and he spent nine months

ly different cities in

On

Dec.

25,

1944, he was sent to a

PFC Whitewoll

as a prisoner.

Germany, according

work camp

what was then Czechoslo-

in

vakia and stayed there until he was released in 1945. As a prisoner,

suffered greatly.
water,

lost 50

In 1993,

PFC Whitewoll

pounds because of being fed only black bread and

and he was beaten with

month

for a

He

was held in

to the family.

a bayonet.

When

freed,

he had to be hospitalized

to recover from his mistreatment.

Whitewolf s family was presented with

POW Medal for honorably

The Veterans Upward Bound program

family with the application process. The

serving his country as a Prisoner of War.

at

Chief Dull Knife College helped the

medal was long overdue because

this

PFC Whitewolf had

died by the time he received

medal.

Joseph Whitewolf

Sr.

73

Bomb

Balloon

in

Lame Deer

acquainted with
Japanese were
DURING World Warblow from
towards North America. The
II

vailing

Japan

flows eastward across the United States

the winds are variable
a current

of

per hour.

'

air called

Japanese used the

traveled

and often stormy.

the

jet

the pre-

well

the

winds that

If the

winds

are high above the storms,

stream flows across the earth

jet

at

speeds ol 300 miles

steam to launch balloons carrying bombs. The balloons

6,000 miles across the ocean. The concept of launching bomb-carrying

balloons was a sophisticated and economical

tactic. Utilizing

the natural air forces

took careful long-range planning and an understanding of nature.

called the balloons the

able destruction

Wind

Ship

Weapon and hoped

and panic on American

The Japanese

and 500

fires

casualties

anticipated that the United States

South Pacific to protect the homeland.

ful.

wanting

Japanese

in 1944. Japanese

were

a result

propaganda

of the balloons.

would withdraw troops Irom the

American and Canadian media were

keep the balloon attacks unpublished.

order, not

The

they would cause consider-

soil.

The Wind Ship Weapon campaign began

claimed that widespread

to

air

and Canada. In lower regions

The

U.S. Office

of War

told

issued a silence

to give the impression that the balloon launching

was success-

During 1944 there may have been 300 balloon bomb incidents throughout the

United

States,

but the media respected the order to be

In January 1945, a balloon

occurred about
Bear was

just

15

bomb

miles outside of

seven years old

when

landed near

silent.

Lame

Deer,

Lame Deer up Muddy

in the first grade at the local

students, ranging in age

from

first

to

Creek. Juanita Lone

she and her brother James and a group of

neighbor children spotted the balloon floating through the

Juanita was

MT The incident

one-room

sky.

school.

There were

six

seventh grade, and Juanita was the youngest.

Normally, she and her brother rode on horse back to school, but

this cold

Janu-

75

'a)wm

The Type A Paper Balloon

At the Lame Deer

of panels of laminated
book, Silent

ary

the balloon, 19 shrouds,

site,

tissue paper, the balloons

and the
were

gas relief valve were recovered. Constructed

a well disguised

weapon.

(Illustration

from the

Siege)

morning they walked

to school instead.

Juanita and James on the long walk home.

to shorten the six-mile trek

The Rowland

children accompanied

The group took

two-mile cut across

home.

Franklin Rowland, a friend ofJuanita's and James, saw the balloon and thought
the
is

moon was

falling."

The

balloon was grazing the tops of the

dangling by a rope.

The

Franklin kept pointing to the sky and saying,

falling.

The

big ball barely cleared the

children were alarmed, thinking the

The

children ran

home

went out

that evening

on horseback

search. Juanita

and her

folks

The

hill

really

and was rapidly descending.

might have

fallen.

The Rowlands

to look for the object, but darkness

went out the next morning

in the family

mother spotted the balloon on

ended the

pickup truck
a steep creek

grayish colored tarp was about as wide as a road, Juanita said.

Sixty-seven years

later,

Juanita vividly remembers the image of the strange

object and what a close call they had. She said: "At the

76

"The moon

and some apparatus was

to report the incident to their parents.

to search for the balloon. Juanita's

bank.

moon

trees,

bottom of the balloon was a

small box that was connected to a rope. There had been other ropes, but they had

been cut off by hitting

shaped object about

examining

it.

We wondered what

Her parents thought

Deer, which they did.

There was

and dragging on the ground. There was

trees

ill feet long.

to be

no

it

We were

on

earth

it

The Japanese

much

publicity,

in to the

agent in

we were

told, so the Japanese

S. soil,"

balloon.

It is

believed the wet

their

bombs were intended to self-destruct

many malhmctioned and were found somewhat

Lame Deer

Lame

would not know

she said.

balloons and their

a cycle; however,

like the

agent was interested in the location of the landing.

bomb-launching balloon had landed on U.

end of

was."

should be reported and turned

"The

a torpedo-

curious and poked around the thing

cell batteries froze,

at the

intact

mak-

ing the circuits inoperative.

Thinking back, Juanita

around, thrown

it

realized

gone off at any time.

roads. "It could have

he probably would have shot at

Webber, B.

attacks on

2
15,

Lone

lucky they were.

If

and

They had dragged

traveled over gravel

my brother would

and

it

dirt

have had his gun,

it."

(1992). Silent Siege-Ill: Japanese

North America

OR: Webb

how

into the back of the truck,

in

World War II. Medford,

Research Group.

Bear,

J.

(personal communication), Nov.

2007.

Balloon Boih in

Lame Deer

11

At

Sgt.

Uriah

Two Twos

victory dance,

tiie

ceremonial smudges on his

face,

combined with

his

Army

uniform, captivated photographer Gwendolen Gates (author of the photo book, Indian Country).

Uriah Two Two

rx

THE
LOOK
Uriah Two Two. At

dictionary under the

IN

least that

is

word

Two Two was

Two Two enlisted in

her youngest son. In 2007,

the loist Airborne Division.

you

"noble," and

what Kathleen Beartusk

will find Sgt.

people about

tells

with

in Iraq for his third tour

the

Army

and

in 1998

in 2006,

he re-enlisted until 2012.

This troubled his mother.

"I

am

definitely not looking forward to another

year of anxiety, worry, sleeplessness, and fear of watching the news." However, she

know deep down

said, "I

do since he was

Two Two
port

when he

a Purple

in

my

heart that he

years old. Uriah

received a hero's

returned

home

is

is

doing exactly what

he's

wanted

to

the epitome of what a soldier should be."

welcome

at the Billings

Logan International Air-

March 2004. He earned

bomb went off More than

after his first tour in Iraq in

Heart for wounds he received when

a roadside

150 people gathered.

In a traditional Northern
blessed

A war

Cheyenne ceremony

at the airport.

Two Two was

and cleansed by smoke from burning sweetgrass fanned by eagle

bonnet was placed on

blue star quilt.

Two Two

Two Two, and

Women's high-pitched

until the

feathers.

he was wrapped in a red, white, and

ululating pierced the

ceremony was conducted

to

air.

remove the

No

one touched

aftereffects

of war,

according to a report in the Billings Gazette.

He and
Uriah,

Jr.

(CDKC)

his wife,

Alma, have four children: Jacob, Cathryn,

His mother, Kathleen Beartusk, has worked

for 26 years.

children as a single

A graduate of Chief Dull

mom.

at

Bresais,

and

Chief Dull Knife College

Knife College, she has raised

five

The children are sixth generation descendants of Chief

Dull Knife.
(Reprinted with permission from Tribal College JournaL Vol.
ter

17,

No.

3,

Win-

2006, www.tribalcollegejournal.org)

79

American Indian Reburials: A Spiritual Perspective

THE

SUBJECT OF

and

a spirit,

to

many

but

somehow

went

was

that he

to see

told

him

to

be

make

and

told

man;

a great

him

you have now

go back.

to

to this office,

that

in a

to

remain.

all

focus

will take

when

it

saw him and

him

that

spirit.
I

that he

him

that

comes back,

We watched

It is

quite

it

saw

buried

Not only

this

box on

all

his

his

people and

people that loved him

would, with respect, offer him smoke,

many

him

said

we

will

to this resting place.

people, and from this point

where you belong.

went

and during the

to the countryside,

came from

the south.

The

comes back form the south. He came

him come down

Then

a table.

70 years with

people would go there after he was

to return

to be buried
I

lived

many

would be honored

you back

had

when he was

told

a shelf somewhere.

sure that his spirit was also there.

to the reservation.

acknowledge the

that are

box

They decided

to be studied.

box on

course of the reburial there was this spirit that

wind.

sprits

on what

going

volunteered to do that, to bury him, because

satisfied the curiosity of

went back

people

have gone on, their

But they

sitting in a

for the last time; that

buried to talk to his

is

who had

man

had

began talking to him.

has

spirit

couple of years ago to be on the lands oi one

little.

They put them

years.

did not want that poor

and

know everyone of us

all

are gone.

going to

found during road construction.]

came

who

we

Your

after

would put him back and bury him. [The skeleton had been

that perhaps they

As we

difficult.

to the spirit.

been dead for

that,

is

is

tribe differ a

had an opportunity

people

remain here long

be here, yours and mine. Those

The customs of each

happen

Spirit

will

it

the valley,

and then he went

right

spirit of

as a whirl-

on by

as

if

ritual.

diffictilt to

spoken to him

rebury a person because there are usually a few words

after

he has passed on:

not turn around and look back."

We

"Now

that

you have

left,

go.

believe that if they look back, they

You do

may

take

81

We

with them.

a child

teach our httle ones

in the evening. If they do, those spirits

have trouble sleeping

don't think

it;

we have

animal

lived

We

it.

The

life.

at night. All

we understand

do not

may

visit

the graves of our people

of you have a

understand the

spirit

understand

whether they are good or bad,

view that when we bury them.

to

We

nature of earth, the plants, and the

relationships between these spirits

We tend

to do.

they will

spirit.

the spirit world well enough.

they guarantee us spiritual well being. If we bother them,

we want

home and

follow the kids

it is

not the thing that

We bury them

once to

put them away.

learned these things a long time ago

me.

He

going to go.
I

when

said

It's

think this

house the

is

spirit

going to go where the

why many

spirit

my

pass on;

when

was

My grandfather

little.

spirits go.

And

come

will

Who

Who

are the others?

you

to

in times.

mounds

people have a special regard for these

world people.

told

not going to go where you people are

is

they

who answer

are the ones

our prayers?

At the request of the

in the hills

young

by children

child.

And

was no problem with

When we
spirit

world,

a river

on the

playing in a cave.

They found

his boots, the

day

is

come
over.

five o'clock, that

That

beginning to wake up. That's a time

eastern edge of the reservation [the

would

Tongue

some point one of these

moment and

will stand for a

gist isn't

disappear.

an Indian, he probably wouldn't see

the sun goes

down,

this

is

things that

we understand

else sees

how

it,

are

was found by

girl

there.

days,

when

the spirits

I'll

it.

There

we going

to convince

We have

where they

we

going to walk that

are

it.

are go-

along the wall

spirit

If this archaeolo-

valley before

We see many, many sorts of

and important

anyone

world, our

River]

probably see

out.

the archae-

like to walk.

As you look down the

come

are very significant

when

is

when our

the time

is

probably with some archaeologists. We're going to come to

who

the remains of

Children are the spiritual nature of ourselves.

that.

ing to build a railroad. At

found

also buried a little girl

was happy that children did come

believe she

talk to archaeologists,

up
is

who had been

was comfortable with that because that young

playing children.

ologist hangs

State Preservation Office,

of the spirit

But

to us.
life

if

no one

in the valley?

One of the reasons that the burial/ reburial is taught is that it depends upon
who is being buried. Some of these people are powerful people, and indeed they
may be very fond of this spot, and so we have to deal with this in the reburial. One
of the things

They have

have to rely on

to appear as one.

is

that the final

And

ceremony

takes place with

they sing a song that goes with that.

my elders.

It's

just

not

if

had

something that you do everyday.

To bury
done the
I

was willing

82

that old

right thing.
to take

man
But

bothered

me

had sworn

whatever

for a long time,

to take the

risk there was.

didn't

box and return

lot

know
it

to the grave.

of spirit things are not talked

about.

We

have to talk until

all

the people understand that they are part oi our

lives.

When

archaeologists surveyed the land,

significant to

our way of

life

the beginning of the earth.

such

we had

a lot of things that

as plants. Plants are part

The Creation

We

very beginning.

it

between man, animals, and plant

still

hold that and

life,

stories include the spiritual, the sacred

beginnings of the earth; everything that appeared on

a sacred relationship

of our

were very
ever since

we

strive to

was sacred. So, there was

life

and the earth from the

maintain spiritual harmony

with the earth, plants, and animals.

(This paper

is

a transcription ofa presentation by William

Joint Meeting ofthe Archaeological Society ofAlberta

Society,

May 2-6,

1990, at Waterton Lakes

were published in

from

Tall Bull at the First

and the Montana Archaeological

National Park, Alberta, Canada. The papers

a book, Kunaitupii The

.

article

is

published here with permission

the Archaeological Society of Alberta.)

J
William

William

Tall Bui

Tall Bull

at

Muddy

Creek on the Northern Cheyenne

Busby,

MT

interested in history listening to the stories of his grandparents,

who

Indian Reservation.

He became

was born

He

attended the government boarding school

survived the Sand Creek Massacre

in

Colorado

American Indian Reburials:

in

at

1864 and the long trek to Okla-

Spiritual Perspective

83

homa and back

and became

Montana. In September of 1942, he went into World War

to

a radio operator in the

Army Air

Force.

He served in

the

II

Army during

the occupation after the war.

Tall Bull spent

much of his

life

on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation

serv-

ing his tribe, including a position as a councilman for the Northern Cheyenne.

He became

an assistant history professor

oral traditions

and ethno-botany

at

Chief Dull Knife College, teaching

From

classes.

1983 through 1995, he served as

chairman of the Northern Cheyenne Tribal Cultural Protection Board. In 1990,

he received the Montana State Historic Preservation Award, the

first

American

Indian so honored by the state of Montana.

Tall Bull

tection

was instrumental

in the passage

of the Native American Grave Pro-

and Repatriation Act, having worked with former U.S. Sen. John Melcher

of Montana on the

initial draft

of that

legislation.

former Secretary of the Interior Manual Lujan,

wrote the regulations for

on

that committee.

Bozeman

He

this act. Tall Bull

Jr.,

He was
to sit

later

appointed by

on the committee

was the only American Indian

served as an at-large

member of

that

to serve

the Fort Phil Kearny/

Trail Association.

In his ongoing efforts to safeguard the

American Indian culture and

heritage,

he was a founder of the Medicine Wheel Alliance, an organization committed

to preserving the

Medicine Wheel National Historic Landmark

in the

Bighorn

Mountains.
This commitment to landmark preservation led former President Clinton
in

1994 to appoint Tall Bull to become the

the Advisory Council

first

a national panel

protecting historical landmarks across the country.

He

84

passed on

March

7,

1996.

to serve

on

committed

to

American Indian ever

on Historic Preservation,

Northern Cheyenne Sacred Sites and Objects

rx

WITH ALL American Indian

sites

A:'

and objects

eing.

tribes,

the Northern

Cheyenne hold some

very sacred and central to their spiritual and tribal well

as

Some of these

are described below.

BEAR BUTTE
This sacred mountain near Sturgis, SD,

meaning "The

Hill

large grizzly bear

Where

and

is

known

is

as

Noavose to the Cheyenne,

the People Are Taught." This

the heart of the

Cheyenne sacred

mountain resembles
places

and sacred ways.

Sweet Medicine, a prophet of the Cheyenne people, received the Four Sacred

Arrows from Maheoo

Peter

J.

two-volume

(All

Father and supreme deity) at Noavose.

Powell chronicled Sweet Medicine and the Cheyenne people in a

set

of books, which includes a section about the Sacred Arrow

at

Noavose.'

Today many Cheyenne people still go

to fast at

Noavose (Bear

Butte). Pledges

of fasting are made in times when loved ones are sick so that they will recover from
their illnesses or other

prayers are
Lately,
tial

made

such reasons.

When

there for their safe return

family

members

are in the military,

home.

Noavose has become endangered because of its potential

for residen-

and commercial development and because of the proximity of the annual

motorcycle

rally in Sturgis,

SD. Northern Cheyenne and other

tribes

have

come

together to fight the development and the rally activities.

DEER MEDICINE ROCKS

This
It

site is

located north of the Northern

Cheyenne Reservation on

was where Hunkpapa Lakota Chief Sitting Bull went prior

private land.

to the Battle

of

85

He

the Little Big Horn.

flesh

brother,
Bull's

Jumping

Bull, cut 50 pieces

of Sitting

creator). Sitting Bull's

Bull's flesh

from each of

Sitting

arms.

When
his

pledged his Sun Dance and vowed lOO pieces of his

offering to Wakan Tanka (the Lakota name of the

Sitting Bull took his place in the

arms and shoulders

crowd of people saw

as

he

sat

Sun Dance

lodge, blood ran

down

throughout the night. The next afternoon the

that Sitting Bull

was weakening, and they

laid

him down on

the ground.

The

chief had a vision. Sitting Bull

ing, "I give

announced

that he heard a voice say-

He

looked up and saw soldiers

you these because they have no

ears."

and some Indians on horseback coming down

down and

their hats falling off

vision the

Sun Dance came

Little

to

They were

like grasshoppers,

with their heads

falling right into the

camp. After that

an end, and the Hunkpapas moved toward the

Big Horn. Thus the dream portended the results of the Cheyenne, Lakota,

and Arapaho victory over George Armstrong

In 1876, Lakota Chief Sitting

some Indians on horseback

86

Btill

had a vision

falling into the

at

Custer."

Medicine Rocks.

He

looked up and saw soldiers and

camp. (Photo by Heather Ryan)

LAKE DESMET
These accounts of Lake DeSmet
lost

are included here because they are rapidly being

with the passage of time. Only a few

stories

The
go for

lake

is

located north of Buffalo,

spiritual quests.

enne warrior, fasted

also

During one

for four days

known). White Bull served

WY,

After
raft.

It

raft,

of these times

it

other creatures away

Cheyenne would

Nose, a famous Chey(or Ice as he

was

medicine advisor. According to a

as Sitting Bull's

Roman Nose was put out in

the middle

creatures tried to get him.

got very quiet, and he sensed something getting on his

was the weasel. The weasel told him not

this lake

Roman

and during the night the water

some time

people.

a place where the

and four nights with White Bull

story that was relayed by one of the elders,

of the lake on a

remain yet Lake DeSmet was once

Cheyenne

very central to the spiritual ceremonies of the

who were

and that he had come

to worry; he

had chased those

trying to get him. Weasel said he was the king of

to instruct

Roman Nose

about some things before

he went home.

Weasel told

The

Roman Nose

to

make

the weasel taught

Roman

Nose.

Roman

not perform the necessary purification

tive

a parfleche using the weasel's coat of fur.

parfieche was to hold the weasel cap,

powers that had been granted

Roman Nose had

used

made

that

would have

restored the protec-

him.''

spotted.

These Arrows were

stuck in the ground, that meant they

cap was

rites

that

in his haste to join the battle, did

been instructed by the weasel that the Arrows were to be

when an enemy was

Arrows did not

some Arrows, and other medicine

Nose,

stick in the

would

and

to be thrown,

ground, the tribe was to move their camp.

for the chiefs to

wear

at their

if

defeat the enemy. However,

ceremonies.

they

if

the

The weasel

The Arrows and

weasel

cap had powerful medicine and were kept in the parfleche.

According

Wolf wearing
parfleche

to the elder relating this story, there

the weasel cap. Prior to old

somewhere

in the hills south

horned war bonnet that protected

tive

power was broken when

man Wolf

is

also a legend that

Roman Nose from enemy bullets. That

protec-

spoon made from the white man's metal touched

Elk Society leader was
Island.^

some Cheyenne people went

into the lake to es-

cape the U.S. Cavalry. This band of Cheyenne had camped near Lake
to replenish their supplies.

Little

of Busby.^ White Bull made the buffalo-

Roman Nose was eating. Shortly thereafter the

down by Major George A. Forsyth's men at Beecher's

There

photograph of

Roads death, he buried this

the food

shot

is

The men were

hunting, and the

women

DeSmet

were drying

meat and making moccasins and clothing before winter. Soldiers had come upon
them, and there was no place for the Cheyenne to escape since

this area

is

in the

open. With no place to hide, they decided to go into the lake. There were dogs
that

went into the

lake with them. Stories are told that

sometimes

Northern Cheyenne Sacred Sites and Objects

a person can

87

hear children playing on the water, dogs barking, or see people on the lake.

Cheyenne honor
into the

The

and sending the cloth

these ancestors by taking prayer clothes

lake.''

SACRED HAT
Esevone

Sacred Buffalo Hat)

('the

is

the great symbol

and source of female

renev/-

ing power. Esevone's power renews the buffalo herds of the past, as well as the
cattle herds
first

came

offers her

natural
in

of the present.

It

was through the Buffalo Hat that the Sun Dance

to the So'taahe people. In the

body

as a

Sun Dance

there

is

a Sacred

power of the Arrows and Buffalo Hat, the male and female

Cheyenne

life

Woman who

renewal of the Cheyenne and their world. Through the super-

are blessed, ensuring continual strength,

relationships

harmony, and new

life

"^

for the people

and

their world.

SACRED ARROWS
The

four sacred, black painted Arrows were given to Sweet Medicine at Bear

Butte.

Cheyenne

called the

Arrows Maahotse, derived from the name of Ma'heo'o,

the All Father. These uniquely sacred objects share the

Creator himself, and they channel supernatural

life

into

supreme powers of the

Cheyenne

lives.

Maahotse

continue to be the means by which the Cheyenne are united with the All Father.
After

Morning

November

Star

(Dull Knife's) village was destroyed by General

1876, the Sacred

safety in the south,

and

that

Arrow Keeper, Black Hairy Dog bore

is

where they have remained. The Sacred Arrows

the divinely-given symbol of male power, and

Powell,

P. J.

(1969). Sweet Medicine:

ing role of the Sacred Arrows, the

The continu-

Sun Dance, and

I,

p. 19).

Hat in Northern Cheyenne history

Norman: University of Oklahoma

no female dares

4 Littlebear, R., (2005).

Dull Knife College

the Sacred Buffalo

(Vol.

McKenzie on
the Arrows to

Powell,

J.,

DVD

recording in Chief

library.

Sweet Medicine.

6 E. Whitedirt (personal communication,

November 2007)
2 Powell,
3

Powell,

J.,

Sweet Medicine,

p. in.

P. J.,

Sweet Medicine,

p. 95.

P.

are

to look at them.^

7 Powell,

P.

J.,

Sweet Medicine.

8 Powell,

P. J.,

Sweet Medicine,

p. xxiii.

Early Education on the

Northern Cheyenne Reservation

^
STEEPED
THOSE
without

IN European-based education often believe that people

formal schooling are uneducated. This

forced

upon them,

through

is

misconception espe-

detrimental to American Indians. Before formal schooling was

cially

a type

the

Cheyenne and other

tribes

educated their children

of on-the-job training. Family members and elders were teachers

of the Cheyenne children.

The main

instructors for children were aunts, uncles,

and grandparents.
Children learned through observation in settings similar to today's "open
classrooms," l^ollowing the examples set by older tribal members. Education during the adolescent years

became more intense and focused on preparing

ed and productive adults, according to Henrietta

and Arapaho education. Subject

ment, customs, gender

Mann

in her

respect-

book on Cheyenne

areas such as language, ceremonies, tribal govern-

roles, traditions,

morals, botany, biology, astronomy, geog-

raphy, child rearing, hunting, weaponry, food preservation, nutrition, agriculture,

bead work, tanning hides, sewing, healing/medicine, making clothing, keeping a

lodge,

and

religion

were taught by extended family and

tribal

members.

Traditional oral storytelling was performed by certain respected elders. Stories

were divided up into narratives about the creation, prophets,

teries,

and war

heroes,

and promoted

With
drastic

stories.

The Cheyenne

lile-long learning

and

tribal history,

mys-

ctirriculum was culturally applicable

survival.'

the onset of the reservation period, educational practices underwent a

change

as the

following accounts detail.

Fort Marion Prison, Florida

In 1875, Lt. Richard

dering white

Henry

settlers to

Pratt escorted 72 Indian warriors suspected of

Fort Marion Prison in

St.

Augustine, FL.

The

mur-

warriors

consisted primarily of Kiowas, Cheyennes, and Arapahos.

one woman,

Cheyenne by

name of

the

The

captive in an attempt to keep their tribes peaceful.' Pratt later

most

captives included

Buffalo Calf {No-chi).

They were held

became one of the

aggressive crusaders for assimilation education, founding the Carlisle Indian

School in Pennsylvania and adopting the motto,

Through education and humane treatment,

"savage" of Indians might

He

"kill

become educated and law abiding

viewed the imprisonment of the warriors

nity to begin his experiment.

military

The

drills.

the Indian to save the man."

Pratt believed that even the

He

put the

men

in

prisoners learned to read

at Fort

most

citizens.

Marion

as

an opportu-

uniform and had them perform

and write

lessons

in

English.

Christian religious instruction was also part of the rigorous routine. Pratt called
the warriors the "Florida Boys."
his

rank was lieutenant.

Cheyenne

Vekeseoxhaestoxese

Head: Netsehemeko

Medicine Water: Maheonemahpe

Long Back:

Tsehe'esepa'o

Hail Stone: Ao'eseto

Rising Bull: Hotodasetoesestse

Limpy: Nohne'kdheso
Bear's Heart:

Nahkohehesta

Hotohke

Star:

Howling Wolf: Ho'nehenestoohe

Making Medicine: Hoxehetane
Antelope:

Vo'aa'e

Wolf's Marrow: O'kohomehevene

Little

Medicine: Mdheo'oxhaahketa

Shave Head: Oo'kestseahe

Roman

Nose: Vohkdxenehe

Big Nose: Tahpe'eeese

Squint Eye: Tseske'ehaenehe

Little Chief: Veho

Oxhaahketahtse

Match: Tlehesehasedo
Buffalo Meat: Hdevoobtse

Buzzard: Oohehe

Soaring Eagle: Netseohnemde'dhtse

Bear
Left

Killer:

Nahkohkendhane

Hand: Namosestse

Chief Killer: Ndhaneveho

Buffalo Calf: Voestae'keso

Gray Beard: Vohpemehahtse

90

prisoners, there

Marion were:

Bear Shield: Nahkoheose

Eagle's

referred to Pratt as "Captain" even

Out of the 72

prisoners held at Fort

Heap of Birds:

They

were

33

though

Cheyennes. The

Big Moccasin: Maxebeseeobtse

Lean Bear: Nahko Oxhaahketdhtse

Standing Wolf: Ho'neheOnee'estse
Spotted Elk: Mo'eohvovohcxestse'

men were encouraged by Lt. Pratt to make souvenirs

wintered in Florida. The prisoners also painted and
made drawings of their experiences at Fort Marion. The drawings and souvenirs
were sold in the region, and the prisoners were allowed to keep the money from
the sales. Many sent money home to help their families financially. The men also
While

in captivity the

to sell to the tourists

performed dances and

real

crowd

the

end

lack of funding.
of

them

skits for the tourists.

pleasers with locals

famous and earned

By

who

later

and

a reputation as a

late

These performances were

said to be

The group of prisoners became

Marion discharged

The men

betrayed and deceived by the government, but

felt

quite

popular tourist attraction.

of 1883, Fort

all

achieved success and led productive

Territory (Oklahoma), but several

By

tourists.

went

to

of the prisoners in Florida for

lives. ^

Fiampton

Most returned

some

to Indian

Institute in Virginia.

Those

1878 Pratt was told he could continue the education of the prisoners being released from Fort

Marion.

He

took these prisoners to

for freed slaves.

had converted

Hampton Normal and

These men were accustomed

to Christianity. After years

"before and after" photographs.

(Courtesy of

Hampton

Many

of clothing, spoke English, and

among whites, they had fewer problems

students who came later. Pratt was famous

of working

ing to change and separation from families than

with props of books and

Industrial Institute in Virginia, a school

to the restrictive style

"after"

photographs resembled

tools. Pictured are 12

this picture

adaptfor his

of posed students

of the "Florida Boys" with the tools of

civilization.

University Archives)

Early Education on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation

91

who

many

returned to Indian Territory overcame

met with

by

distrust

ways. Buffalo

Meat

members. People

tribal

became

eventually

Often the

obstacles.

men were
new

appearance and

criticized their

deacon of a Baptist church and served

as

head chief of the Southern Cheyenne. Before landing the deacon position he
wrote a

letter to Pratt

Oklahoma, Buffalo Meat, Bear

to have

worked

The men farmed,

Killer,

his friends.

new

badly worn, and he would not receive

known

when he was

never

said his clothes

were

saying he longed for the Florida days

hungry or poor, and the white people were

Chief

He

clothing for a long time.' In

Killer,

Hail Stone, and Star are

various jobs; wherever they could find employment.

at

raised cattle, cut

wood, dug

wells,

made

bricks,

and became

leaders in their communities.

Upon

from Fort Marion, the Cheyenne named John Tichkematse

his release

(Squint Eyes) went on to study at

employee of the Smithsonian

Hampton

Institution,

Institute.

working

Later he

in various

became an

departments. There

He

he was trained in taxidermy and learned to display birds and mammals.

lected bird specimens for the

Cushing

to study the

later served in the cavalry

While

in

museum. He

Native people of

and police

col-

traveled with anthropologist Frank

New

He
MT.

Mexico, Florida, and Arizona.

forces before settling in

Montana he took up ranching and became an

Lame

active

Deer,

member of

the

Mennonite church.
Several of the

Roman Nose

men went on

to further their education after their release.

helped to organize the

Others hired out

as scouts.

Many

Roman Nose Gypsum Company in 1903.

home where they joined police forces,

returned

organized ceremonial dances, founded Christian missions, created local businesses,

taught at agency schools, farmed, ranched, headed tribal councils, and preserved
traditional societies.

However, the whereabouts of many warriors could not be

traced, according to Lookingbill.

A strong bond was created amongst the men dur-

men

gathered courage through their exile and were the

ing their banishment. These

blazers to a

trail

importantly

new and

refused to

most

movement. They met many challenges and

foreign

become

culturally extinct.

Boarding Schools

One

of the most damaging and catastrophic federal Indian policies was the

enforcement of boarding school education

are

still

being

felt

for

today. Beginning in 1884,

Native Americans, and the impacts

Cheyenne children

at a

very young

age were forcibly taken from their families and taken to the Catholic boarding
school, St. Labre Indian School, at Ashland,

the year that the Northern

were forced to

92

MT,

just off the reservation.

This was

Cheyenne Reservation was formed, and the people

live a sedentary,

non-warlike

lifestyle.

This was a complete change

PLATE T\VEL\K: \\AU DANCF. AT lOKT MAKION"

The performances
to the fort.

pictured by

Over 2,000

Cohoe were

so popular that people started lining

formed the War Dance of the Plains Indians,

men

with their bustles, fans,

Oklahoma

from

their

suits,

a striking contrast

and top

hats.

with the Victorian ladies and gentle-

(Reprinted with permission of University of

former culture.

An

Indian Bureau school opened at Busby on the reser-

Tongue River Boarding School.

Labre Indian School began with a humanitarian purpose.

by Bishop John Brondel, the Vicar Apostolic of Helena, MT.

at Fort

7 p.m. to rush

at

Press)

vation in 1904, the

St.

up

one time reportedly watched the performances. The dancers per-

spectators at

Keogh

was opened

It

soldier stationed

had contacted the bishop because he was concerned

in Miles City

On April

about the poor living conditions of the Northern Cheyenne Indians.

1884, the

first

mass was held

Benedict Joseph Labre.

''

The

at St.

all

Some

ol the parents

day until school was

talking of Christ," according to Indian Bureau

dance:

Washington,

"first

DC,

however, that he

accompanied

let out."

refused to send their children to St Labre because "there

visors in

named

3,

after St.

mission provided two meals a day, and after an early

supper the children were dismissed.

dren to school and stayed

Labre Mission, which was

is

Some of

too

much

praying and

Agent J. TuUy. TuUy told

knew how

their chil-

the parents

his super-

to enforce school atten-

by persuasion and then by withholding harness and other goods sent

here for issue to them."'

Early Education on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation

93

The
as

goals for teachers at both schools included religious conversion as well

education. In a letter written in 1940 by Principal Jerry N.

Tongue River Boarding School

at

Busby

Thompson

to the superintendent

of the

of the Tongue

River Agency, he said, "All boarding pupils were lined up on the porches of the

dormitory on Sunday morning and from there marched under the direction of a
teacher to the church of their choice for

Then

a.m.

to 11:00

The

school standards usually included getting Natives to dress, speak, and

like

white people. Their hair was cut; their diet changed; and their language,

look

religion,

to

Sunday school from 10:00 a.m.

they marched back to the dormitory after services ended."'"

and culture were suppressed. The boarding school program was designed

remove

traditional culture, family patterns,

and communal behaviors." The

children were immediately confronted with a language barrier and were removed

from

their families

and

all

that

was

familiar.

Unaccustomed

from

to separations

family and home, they became quite homesick and often became physically

The

ill.

children could not acclimatize to the regimentation and were often overcome

with depression. School attendance was a problem throughout the years. Parental
resistance to the acculturation took

on

different forms, such as refusing to send

nvnr

5nr

^'

ff
The

girls

church.

94

from the Tongue River Boarding school

The

in

Busby

are standing in front

of the Mennonite

students were required to go to church. (Photo from the Mennonite Collection)

children to school, sending orphaned or

agents,

An

Indian

less

desirable children, complaining to

home visits.
Compulsory Attendance Law was passed by Congress

and reinforcing

'-

customs during

tribal

in 1891.

Indian Bureau agents were responsible lor school attendance and keeping schools
filled.
il

The

empowered

Secretary of Interior was

One

children did not attend school.

withhold rations and annuities

to

of the most harmful ideas lor solving the

attendance problem was separating children and their families for longer periods

of time. Advocates of boarding schools argued that educational training, in combination with several years of separation from family, would diminish tribal cus-

toms and take care of school absenteeism. The separation from family was the
foundation of

As

Lt. Pratt's

a result,

it

educational philosophies.

became the policy

home

Children were allowed to go

River Boarding School and
lies

remember

St.

the school

for

Home

Some

home

visits.

Tongue

at the

students and famishelter.

long-term effects of the students' separation

were regulated by school

visits

home

the school considered a child's

officials,

and

unsuitable for any reason, parents were

denied permission to have their children

childhood created a

month

being their only source of food and

Nevertheless, they were devastated by

if

only one weekend a

Labre Boarding School.

as

from family and community.

ol boarding schools to limit

Loss of family contact during

visit.

hardship on children and

families.

Some

parents voluntarily

placed their children in school, whereas others evaded or opposed the mandatory

enrollment.
In
false

some

situations parents

went

to great lengths to hide children

and make

claims of sickness to protect and keep their children home:

James Deafy has two children enrolled

tom they

are allowed to

in the

Busby School. According

given this privilege at their regular time, but a

them
week

to go

to cus-

go home over week ends once each month. They were

home again.
The mother contended
The

week

before.

that

was

it

mother came

later their

principal told her that they

for

had been home the

their time

now, and

after

con-

siderable argument, she took the children against the principal's protest.

The

who

means

principal did not feel justified in using physical

and she took the children against

advised

would have

him
to

to

his protest.

have the police go that evening and

appear before Indian court

should be ready

He phoned

when

at

Lame Deer

to prevent her,

the superintendent
tell

Mrs. Deaf)' that she

the next day. She

police called in the morning.

She told the policeman positively that she would not go to Lame Deer.

During the night the husband missed her from the house and went in search of
He found her in a small outbuilding hanging from the rafter with a rope

her.

around her neck. The husband

they were sure she would

live.

hastily cut the rope

but

it

was sometime before

This incident indicates to what extremes some of

the parents will go to have their

way about

the children attending school."

Early Education on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation

95

Parents were, also aware of the health risks of enrolling their children in boarding

where

schools

Communicable

could

they

be

diseases thrived in

exposed

Busby suffered from crowded conditions

Agency Superintendent C.
Commissioner of Indian

He

sleep in 10 beds.

total

measured

for boys

are single size,

dormitory for boys measures

The

diseases.

letter April

Tongue River

29, 1930, to the

Affairs describing the deplorable living arrangements.

The beds

sleeps 21 boys. In the

in the dormitories.

wrote a

B. Lohmiller

"The small dormitory

said,

contagious

serious

Tongue River Boarding School located

reservation boarding schools. In 1930 the

at

er

to

overcrowded and communal environments of

39.5

28.5

and two boys

by

32.5 feet

dormitory for small

girls,

24

by

16.5 feet,

and

sleep in each bed.

and has

19

boys

The

larg-

12 single-size

beds and

girls sleep in 12 single size

beds.

dormitory should house 68 students, but 83 students sleep in the dor-

mitories."'^

Tongue River Agency Supervisor George Miller wrote

on the Tongue River Reservation Nov.

44%

of the children

of the pupils

at the

at the

Birney

a report

on Education

30, 1928, describing the health crisis

where

Tongue River Boarding School had trachoma and 52%

Day

School had

it.

(Trachoma

is

bacterial condition that can result in blindness if untreated.)

a chronic contagious

He

described horrific

conditions at the boarding school:

The

laundress and the poorly equipped laundry the past few

months probably

help to account for the soiled condition of the children's clothing.

The

lack of a

supply of both hot and cold water was mentioned in section one of this report.

Boys washing
very clean.

in a

No

dark room, without

individual

no toothbrushes were

side of the building

mitories

and classrooms was

tary odor. This

is

warm

due

unsanitary plumbing

water, can't be expected to get

combs were used by

fairly

either boys or girls.

to be found. Ventilation

On

good, but the whole building has an unsani-

to lack of careful cleaning, especially in corners,

clogged

the boys'

of the dor-

toilets

and drain

pipes.

and

to

'^

Tuberculosis was also a huge problem. Pupils with contagious diseases were

from attending school, but tuberculosis, trachoma, and

theoretically excluded

other diseases thrived in classrooms and overcrowded dormitories.

became

According to

31% of
nearly

diseases

a threat to not only boarding school students but also to the reservation

population. Students returning

bers.

The

statistics

the poptilation

home

often spread the sicknesses to family

mem-

taken in 1911 by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs,

on the Tongue River Reservation had tuberculosis and

17% had trachoma."'

Correspondence beuveen Superintendent Boggess and the Commissioner of

Indian Affairs in Washington,
giving

more

physician

96

DC,

dated 1923

states: "I feel that

careful attention to the children excused

we have had

here.

our physician

is

from school than any other

keep a record of the excused children and from time

we

to time,

many of

discuss the cases. So

of returning a large percentage

these are tubercular that there

them

ol:

to

remained the greatest health problem on the reservation

no hope

is

room."'" Tuberculosis

the class

as late as 1947. In a report

prepared by Dr. H. W. Kassel and Field Nurse Miss Francis Cleave they said
tistics
sis.

Venereal disease and trachoma were

tions

sta-

indicated that 800 cieaths per 100,000 population were due to tuberculoprevalent and special care and precau-

still

were being taken to prevent an increase.

'-

"Vocational" Training at the Boarding Schools

Congress never appropriated enough money to

The

schools.

fully

support the reservation

lack of funding resulted in the overcrowding

spread oi disease.

It

also

meant

and contributed

to the

that the schools utilized student labor to subsidize

the daily operations. Pupils assisted with building repairs, washed and ironed
laundry, fixed uniforms, milked cows, grew

and harvested

crops, cleaned, hauled

water and coal, and participated in kitchen duties.

At the time, the administrators believed they were providing the children with

would help them be productive members of mainstream

skills that

So

far as

developing the boys into farmers, one of the most gratifying endeavors

of the Busby School

at the

society:

school

all

is

that 10 Indian boys were given

summer and looked

and otherwise took care of them. This

this school.

They were

also given a

age of 8 pigs to the sow.

Now

if

do not know what

direction,

produced

its

own

of grains such

as

the

is

first

isn't

and they stayed

would

results

have been an aver-

be. In general the school has

and milk, and

and

them,

getting the lads started in the right

a right start

rye, barley,

heifers,

time that has happened in

sow each, and the

that

potatoes, beef, pork,

wheat,

after those heifers, raised feed for

oats

in addition 1,000 bushels

and much

alfalfa.'''

At the Tongue River Boarding School, the supervisor of home economics, Carrie
A. Lyford, described her program with
II,

much enthusiasm

in a letter dated

March

1936:

The

children are learning good habits ol

detail

work

milk, carry

carried on.

The

wood, and do other

report to the sewing

towels, sheets,

room

and pillow

mend,

girls

and

amount of
The boys clean,

the limited
clean.

errands. All the older boarding school girls

in small

cases

work through

iron, cook,

groups for 10 week periods. They

hem

and make holders, bloomers, night gowns,

aprons, and school dresses.

All the girls,

both day and boarding pupils, join the 4-H Club aher they are

ten years old. Each of these girls sews one-half day each

week on

carehilly

graded problems, following the Montana 4-H Club program. Each

box

in

room

which she keeps her work

to

do homework. The

carefully,

girls are

and she

takes

it

to her

girl

home

has a

or

taken to Billings to select their patterns

Early Education on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation

97

and

Billings, they are

goods

are also taken

at a party

which they

Looking back

at the

on

When

them.

they

dry

are having very

happy

girls are

learning poise

times.-

boarding schools, Indian educators today point out that

ment. Students learned

have completed their

camping expedition. The

of the trades training for boys

dull.

who

plan. In the late spring those

ly "vocational" training. It

and

for

as well as to the

once a year to the reservation Achievement Day: a few

creditably are taken

and confidence and

much

marks an eventful day

county Achievement Day. Once a year they entertain the Boy Scouts

to the

work

trip

taken to various places of interest

stores.

They
go

shopping

materials. Their

go to

and domestic training

did not provide the job

skills

that were useful, but

skills

much

for girls

real-

of the labor was tedious

made

small percentage of the students actually

was not

necessary for employ-

a living at the trade

they learned in school.''

1.

Mann, H.

1871-1982.

Cheyemie-Arapaho education:

(1997).

Niwot: University Press of Colorado.

Lookingbill, B. (2006).

2.

War dance

at Fort

12.

13.

OK:

Marion: Plains Indian war prisoners. Norman,

University of Oklahoma Press.

Davis, American Indian boarding school experi-

ences.

Stevens,

C,

Report, April

to

by Office of Indian

3.

Lookingbill,

War dance at Fort Marion.

4.

Lookingbill,

War dance

at Fort Marion.

5.

Lookingbill,

War dance

at Fort Marion.

Monthly

supervisor of schools.
15

May

i,

Affairs,

1923.

Report received

Record Group

3,

Classified Files, 8NS07597010, National Archives

and Records Administration, Denver, CO.

14.

6. Little Bear,

R.E. (1983). History of Northern

Cheyenne education,

p. 6.

Knife College Library at

Schonenbach, M. A.

7.

received by

Available at Chief Dull

Lame

Deer,

MT.

(n.d.). History

Lame

8.

Roth,

M.

Deer,

of St. Labre

J.

of St.

Deer,

Affairs,

Records of

CO.

Miller, G.F., Supervisor

Nov.

30).

of Indian Schools (1928,

Report on Education received by

Commissioner of Indian

p.i.

Available at Chief Dull Knife College Library at

Lame

75,

97-013, National Archives and Records

15.

Cheyenne Indians,

DC, Record Group

Administration, Denver,

MT.

(1966). Education contributions

Labre's Mission to the

Commissioner of Indian

Washington,

the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1926-1952, iONS-075-

Mission, pp. 1-2. Available at Chief Dull Knife

College Library at

Lohmiller, C.B., Superintendent of Tongue

River Agency {1930, April 29). Inspection Report

Record Group

75,

Affairs,

Washington DC,

Records of the Bureau of Indian

Affairs, 1926-1952, iONS-075-97-013,

MT.

National

Archives and Records Administration, Denver,

9. Tally, J. (1884, June 30). Monthly Report on the
Tongue River Agency. McCracken Library, Buffalo

Bill Historical

Museum,

CO.
16.

p. 4.

United States Department of the

30, 1911.
10.

Thompson,

J.

(1940, Feb.

gious instruction at the

13).

Letter

on

reli-

Interior.

June

Annual Report of the Commissioner of

Indian Affairs,

p. 152.

Tongue River Boarding

School. Letter received by Office of Indian Affairs,

Record Group

4, Proselytizing Files,

8NS07597013,

National Archives and Records Administration,

Denver,
11.

CO.

Davis,

].

(2001).

American Indian boarding

school experiences: Recent studies from Native perspectives.

Magazine of History,

15(2), 20-22.

17.

Letter

on education/health matters

at the

Tongue River Boarding School, April 11, 1923.

Letter received by Commissioner of Indian Affairs,
Washington,

DC, Record Group

Correspondence

Files,

9,

General

ONS-075-97-010, National

Archives and Records Administration, Denver,

CO.

i8.

Kassel,

H.W.

Report on health

&

Cleave, K.F. (1947, July 29).

issues

on the Tongue River

Agency received by Commissioner oi Indian

Affairs,

Washington,

C, McCracken Research

Library, Buffalo Bill Research

19.

Letter

Museum, Cody, WY.

on education/health matters

at

the

Tongue River Boarding School, September 10,

1940. Letter received by Commissioner Indian
Affairs,

Washington DC, McCracken Research

Library, Bufflilo Bill Research

Museum, Codv, WY.

March 16). Report on eduTongue River Boarding School

received by Commissioner of Indian Affairs,
Washington, DC, Record Group 75, Bureau of
20. Lyford, C.A. (1936,

cation at the

Indian Affairs

Files,

1926-1956, iONS-075-97-013,

National Archives and Records Administration,

Denver,
21.

CO.

Archuleta, M.L., Child, B.J.

K.T. {2000).

&

Lomawaima,

Away from home: American

Indian

boarding school experiences. Phoenix, AZ: Heard

Museum.

Early Education on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation

99

Contemporary Northern Cheyenne Education

THE

Northern Cheyenne

leaders

Chief Dull Knife and Dr. John

Woodenlegs were important advocates

Cheyenne, and both helped

for education for the

on the

to encotirage schooling

Northern

reservation.

Chief Dull Knife emphasized the importance of schools in 1878 even before the

Northern Cheyenne had

"The time
Education
Their

past

is
is

their

own

when we have

reservation.'

to

A century later, Woodenlegs said,

keep living in some old, broken

down

way.

the key to our future."'

efforts to help the

Cheyenne

learn a

new way of life were not intended

to support assimilation or replace the students' Cheyenne culture. Instead, they

wanted
ety

to obtain the resources

needed

for the

dominated by the non-Indian, American

which Northern Cheyenne

the toughest in

which

Cheyenne

culture.

to survive in a soci-

Among

the

many

issues to

leaders have devoted their energy, education has

to achieve success. Yet the

been

now are
and John Wood-

Northern Cheyennes

beginning to see the benefits of schooling that Chief Dull Knife

enlegs envisioned.

Attitudes toward education today continue to be shaped by the history of

education on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation.

Among

factors affecting schooling today are the legacy of the early

eventually led

Cheyenne

the

most important

boarding schools, which

leaders to pursue greater influence

and control over

local

schooling and to minimize the effects of racism on students and parents. Another

important factor

is

the persistent poverty

that Custer did less violence to the

poverty. Nearly

40%

reservation.

of Northern Cheyenne families

which was exacerbated

the Northern

on the

Cheyenne people than

in

live

One might
a

well say

hundred years

under the poverty

of

level,

2007 by $3-per-gallon gasoline and the remoteness of

Cheyenne homeland (about

hundred miles from an urban

center).

According to the 2000 census, unemployment fluctuated from 60-85%, for jobs
are scarce

and often seasonal on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. Almost

42%

of the reservations people were under the age of

between the ages oi

18

and

i8,

and another 50% were

64.'

Like students in other reservation communities where job opportunities are

many Cheyenne

scarce,

high school students need help to deal with peer pressure

regarding substance abuse, overcome poor preparation for the

demands of high

school, access the academic resources needed to succeed, take care of family
financial needs,

and

and

see the relevance of high school graduation to their future

Cheyenne educators must

opportunities. These are the daunting conditions that

address.

The 1960s and

the 1970s were a critical time in the history of Indian edu-

and the Northern Cheyennes had an important

cation,

a national

movement

legislation in 1965 (Title

1972 (the Indian

Busby

in 1972,

same

three years later

and the

making

facilities
it

of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) school

one of the

first

was chartered

on Colleges and

BIA and

it

full

Lame

Cheyenne decide

concerned, they do

one of the

as

children

education program, which

nation's first tribal colleges.

Then

the

community

And

Chief

Commis-

initiated another

Deer. These successes demonstrate that

to tackle

in a big way.

its

the tribal council.

accreditation by the Northwest

Universities in 1995.

a public high school in

the Northern

in the nation to provide

first

year, the tribe established a vocational

Dull Knife College was granted

sion

this time,

of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act) and

schooling through a contract between the

In the

During

was supported by

Education Act). The Northern Cheyenne Tribe assumed control

of the governance
in

role.

for greater tribal control of schooling

when

an issue about which they are deeply

they usually succeed.

Overview
Over the

last several

decades. Northern

increased dramatically

among

adults.

Cheyenne educational achievement has

By

1980, the majorirv' of Northern

enne adults (55%) had completed high school. At

this time.

high school education was keeping pace with schooling

across the country even

though

it

was

still

lower than

among American Indians

for residents of Montana

generally (74%). In 1980 only a small percentage (3%) of the Northern

had completed a college degree, compared

to

Chey-

Northern Cheyenne

Cheyenne

18% of all Montanans.

Similar to national patterns, education has generally increased with each

new

generation of Northern Cheyenne. For example, the 1989 Northern Cheyenne

Educational Census^ showed that

half of adults ages 45-64
tantly,

among

12 years

just

had completed

20%

of

12 years

Cheyennes 65 years or older and

of schooling

at that time.

the next younger group of adults (ages 25-44),

of schooling.

80%

Impor-

had achieved

However, unlike the majority of Americans, the Northern Cheyenne have

recently seen increasing dropout rates

two

thirds

12 years

among

their

youth and young

{66%) oi young adult Northern Cheyennes

of school by 1989, and

than

less

60%

ing.^ Unfortunately, the dropotit rate has

Other American Indians

adults.

Only

had completed

ol high school seniors were graduat-

remained high since the early 1990s.

across the nation also have experienced this decline in

among young

the levels of schooling

(ages 19-24)

adults.

^'

The

implications of high dropout

rates are serious for reservation schools,

which now must

become

eligible for college

students finish high school and

find

new ways

to help

and other postsecond-

ary education.

Such changes

are related to the different opportunities

and conditions of

schooling that each generation has faced. Earlier generations sometimes lacked

When

schools to attend.

the Northern

Cheyenne Educational Census was con-

ducted in 1989, some older Cheyennes reported that they only received a third
grade education because there were no higher grades to attend. Several of these

people even went to the third grade several times because they wanted to continue
to

go to school.
In the past. Northern

schools
12

Cheyenne

leaders fought to increase schooling oppor-

The Northern Cheyenne

tunities at every level.

private, tribal,

and public

schooling opportunities.

With

are

now

served by several types of

that provide a range of pre-kindergarten to

the accreditation of Chief Dull Knife College,

the educational circle was completed for providing education opportunities from

preschool to at least two years of higher education. These schools

to increase resources to

help Northern Cheyenne students

now

are trying

stay in school until they

graduate and continue to college.

Each of the four school

following sections:

St.

School (formerly

known

Lame Deer High

School.

St.

districts serving the reservation

as

described in the

Busby Tribal School), Colstrip Public School, and

Labre Catholic Mission School

Both Catholic and Mennonite missions were established

"assimilate" the

sion in Ashland,

boarding
St.

is

Labre Catholic Mission School, Northern Cheyenne Tribal

Northern Cheyenne. However, only the

MT,

facilities. It

(just east

ago.

It is

is still

a privately administered

exclusively Indian population.

St.

educate and

Labre Catholic Mis-

of the reservation) has offered both day school and

serves both

Labre Catholic School

initially to

Northern Cheyenne and Crow Indian students.

part of the St. Labre Mission

Roman

founded

a century

Catholic school, which serves an almost

The Northern Cheyenne

from Ashland and Lame Deer communities.

St.

Labre

is

students are primarily

probably the best

Contemporary Northern Cheyenne Education

known

io3

of the schools serving the reservation because of its successful national direct-mail,
fund-raising activities.
it

has built a large

As

Once an impoverished mission,

and

The

Older Cheyennes

St.

academic de-

of its history, missionaries

relate

how some

at St.

Labre favored assimila-

members, inspired by the sermons

tribal

Labre missionaries, roamed the reservation on horseback, roping and pull-

down

ing

decades

history of St. Labre closely parallels national priorities in Indian

policy. In the earlier years

of

last several

private donations.

a Catholic school, St. Labre emphasizes spiritual as well as

velopment.

tion.

over the

endowment from

relatively stable

sweat lodges.

While some

harsh or negative experiences in this

recall

boarding school, others express gratitude for the care they received during

difficult

times on the reservation.'^

Today,

St.

activities

tional

Roman

Labre staff integrates

traditions of the

community.

Now some St.

with members of their parish.

programs with private funding,

special education

programs

Due

St.

Catholic values with respect for the

Labre clergy participate in sweat lodge

to

its

commitment

to provide educa-

Labre does not allowed federally funded

However,

to be offered.

it

does provide some remedial

instruction with the intent to mainstream students as quickly as possible.

An
in 1978.

important part of St. Labre school's history

From

1978 through 1984

St.

is

the changes in governance

Labre School operated under a contract with

the Bureau of Indian Affairs. During that time, the school was governed by a

community-elected school board, and the

facilities

were leased from the

St.

Labre

Mission. In 1985, however, the governance was again assumed by the Catholic
diocese of Great

Falls,

MT. A community

advisory board, elected mostly from the

Northern Cheyenne Reservation area but including one member from the Crow
Tribe, provided input to the school management.''

Funding

for the school

improved

school again. As a contract school,

it

radically

St.

became

a private Catholic

its

composition of the faculty and

staff was

non-Indian;'" there was one Cheyenne and one Sioux teacher, one

counselor and

15

$400,000

budget increased to $1.7 million.

Labre charged a minimal tuition but had a scholarship program

for students in need. In 1985, the

ily

it

received federal monies of about

per year, but with the change to private status,

At that time,

when

Cheyenne

paraprofessionals. In

2007 the enrollment

primar-

Cheyenne

at St.

Labre

was about 500 students, with about 210 elementary students, 120 middle school
students,

and 150 high school students.

In the 1980s

and

early 1990s,

between

a third

and

a half of the students attend-

Labre Catholic Mission School were from the

Crow

ing

St.

just

west of the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. Today over

at St.

Labre are Native American, and of those

reservation, located

90%

of the students

62% are Northern Cheyenne. The

'

'

high school continues to be accredited by the Northwest Association of Schools

and Colleges. Some of the

104

classes offered at St.

Labre are

home

economics, busi-

ness, music, art.

Native American

and

tive language,

culture.

In recent years,

literature, history

and

tribal

governments. Na-

'-

some members of Northern Cheyenne Tribe have

Labre Mission should share the

money

they have

ert)" of the people.'' In 2004, St. Labre

through donations; and

its

assets

made

brought

in

felt

off ot the "plight

$27 million

that St.

and pov-

in contributions

from investments, buildings, and land amounted

to $89.4 million.'"'

Dr. Jeffrey Sanders, a professor at

"There

some

is

on

often friction

tribal

Montana

State Universit)'-Billings, said,

reservations between mission

members. Although some mission schools

contributions,

many

tribal

and boarding schools and

remembered

are

members have been leh with bad

the dismissal oi Native cultures, or other problems. For

for positive

leelings over abuse,

many

Indians, mission

schools or boarding schools represent the symbol ol majorir\' culture trying to

forcefully assimilate a Native people."'^ Controversy over the mission resources

has continued in recent years.

Busby Tribal School

As

won

tribes

the right to provide educational services to their

members

in 1972

under the Indian Education Act, the Northern Cheyenne Tribe contracted with
the
ity

BIA

to administer the school at Busby. Its

of an interim

who was

all

governance became the responsibil-

Cheyenne school board, according

elected to the

first

school board.

'^'

It

to Dr.

was one of the

Richard
first

the country to be converted to an Indian-controlled school. Tribal

been upset about conditions in the school. In

administered by the BIA,
the students.'"

strict

The unhealthy

its

M.

schools in

members had

early years as a boarding school

and sometimes abusive

policies

were directed

at

conditions of the 1920s and 1930s were described in

the previous chapter. In 1969, the conditions were

Daniel

Little Bear,

BL\

still

very bad.

Rosenfelt"* summarized the conditions at the

BIA boarding and

day school, which served 98 boarders and 223 elementary and secondary day students.'''

Consultants to the Senate Subcommittee reported to U.S. Sen. Edward

M. Kennedy

that "the

Busby School, both day and boarding students, seems

operating as a custodial institution." Further, the school

unusually high suicide attempt

was reputed

to be

to have

an

rate.^"

Rosenfelt described the process of developing the tribally controlled school.

First

they had to bridge the barriers between the

effort

community and

was aided by the parent participation requirements ol

Title

the school. This

I,

and

a "Paren-

tal Involvement Program in Education" project kmded by the Donner Foundation of New York. Gradually, he said, a consensus formed among the community
that it, rather than the BIA, should operate the Busby School. The BIA, in turn,

Contemporary Northern Cheyenne Education

i5

seemed eager

to relinquish control of the school. In July 1972,

an elected Busby

School Board assumed control of the school under a $795,000 contract.-' Thus,

Tongue River Reservation Boarding School

the tribe changed the BIA's

to

Busby

Tribal School.

The

He was

first

chairman of the Indian-controlled school board was Ted Risingsun.

eager to transform the school from the assimilationist school that he re-

membered from

Everything was
boys,

youth during the 1930s:

his

like in the military.

we would

get

was

in

Cheyenne, and we were made

ashamed of our
want

to

come back

became deaf
deafness.

school.

families.

But

I still,

When

[to school.]

to feel

have been told that

could not hear, and

my

it

my

things to Indian children.

if

family said that

cried that

as a child.

hearing sometimes.

The

my name

[in

me
I

back to the

think

was expected

Ted Risingsun.

Busby School has changed

more about
problems

to

a great deal.

to use

hung

who wants

goes

didn't even

would have been

With more

"I'd

never

know

that

head. If there had been a

different."'^

control by the tribe,

teaches

and language. However,

in providing the kinds

mandate

it.

my

community concerns and

their history, culture,

Tribal School's unique

it

Indian schools have done terrible

bilingual [or multi-cultural] teacher there, things

become more responsive

--

at school

English] was

did not

problem, but hysterical

a physical

family could not send

my

must go back. So

Risingsun described being forbidden to speak his Native language:

spoken English, but

little

the whistle blew, go

pieces of paper

punished

was not

today, have trouble with

me

when

got a chance to go home,

But

back to what happened to

little

We were

learn to be "responsible."

dress

and things so we
we spoke to each other
ashamed that we were Indians and

out and "police" the grounds picking up

would

and with the other

a little boy,

up when the whistle blew,

it

has

it

Cheyenne students

has continued to face

of schooling Cheyenne students need. Busby

to

provide schooling to any Cheyenne student

to attend has resulted in a large

number

of students

from other com-

munities on the reservation choosing to go there, overtaxing the school.

Among

the three schools serving the reservation in the 1980s,

Busby Tribal

School had the smallest resource base with which to provide comprehensive
vices for grades

through

12.-^

ser-

For example, in the 1985-86 school year. Busby

Tribal School received only about

$650,000 from the BIA for administration of

the school and about $332,000 in federal grants for special programs such as bilingual education, special education, and Title

IV Indian education.

Busby Tribal School's enrollment declined dramatically from 207

in 1972 to

80

students in 1985. Declines in the early 1980s were related to the school being closed

because the building was assessed as hazardous; there was not enough funding for

adequate maintenance.'^ During

106

this time,

Busby Tribal School was governed by

a five-person board elected within the portion oF the reservation located in Big

Horn

Cotmt}', the westernmost part of the reservation. Students attending

Tribal School were primarily

from Lame Deer. Dropout

years, the school

changed

accurately reflect

rates

estimated in the late 1980s was 54%.''' In recent

name

its

to

Northern Cheyenne Tribal School

more

to

mission to serve the entire reservation. In 2007, enrollment

its

had climbed again

Busby

from Busby, but a substantial proportion was bussed

to

Crow

about 175 students. Both Northern Cheyenne and

students attend the school.

CoLSTRip Public School

Colstrip grew from a small settlement to a

of the early 1970s,

the reservation, Colstrip

in

is

one oi the

learning opportunities tor

member
included

nator,

and

athletic facilities

Cheyenne Reservation.

teachers

51

and

staff in

for the school district,

and one

as

The budget

boom

wide

It

prides

variet)'

of

students. Colstrip schools are governed by a six-

its

school board elected district-wide, with one board

the Northern

worked

during the energy

Twenty-rvvo miles north of

states wealthiest school districts.

on an abundance of academic and

itself

boom town

as discussed in the energ\' chapter.

Facult)'

and

staff

one

as a counselor,

composition

Only

the high school.

one

member

three

as the

elected

from

in the 1980s

American Indians

home

school coordi-

an elementary teacher.^
for Colstrip

High School increased from

a little

dollars in 1980 to over $2.8 million in 1985 as a result of Public

under

a million

Law 874 (which

authorized funding for reservation students in lieu of taxes from residents) and

from the Johnson-O'Malley program (which provided

districts

with Indian student enrollments)."^

When

this

special

funding to school

law went into

effect, the

public school district in Colstrip admitted increasing numbers of Northern Chey-

enne students.
surrounding

Colstrip's student

area,

hoods of these

which

is

body

reflects the

population of the town and

primarily white, middle- and working-class. Liveli-

families include primarily mining-related work, service jobs,

and

ranching.
In the late 1980s about a third of the students

were from the Northern Chey-

enne Reservation, primarily from Lame Deer, although there were students from

Busby

as well.

Some

students lived as far as 75 miles from the school. Although

the Indian students comprised a minority of the student body, the Indian students
at Colstrip

represented the single largest concentration of Indian students in the

three schools serving

most reservation

Enrollment of Indian students

28%

to

38%

of the

total

residents at that time.

in the

high school has typically ranged from

high school enrollment. Total enrollment in Colstrip

High School declined sharply between 1982 and

1989, primarily because of the

Contemporary Northern Cheyenne Education

lo?

end of construction on
as

452 in 1985, but

it

local

power

plants.

High school enrollment was

high

as

decreased by more than half by 1987. Enrollment in Colstrip

was affected by the establishment oi Lame Deer High School

High School

also

in the 1990s,

which drew away some Northern Cheyenne students. Enrollment

increased again in later years. In

231,

fall

and 422 students were enrolled

2006 enrollment
in the

in Colstrip

High School was

elementary schools.

Lame Deer Public Schools

Since 1909 the town of

Lame Deer

has had a public school district that served

elementary and junior high students. In the 1940s, two buildings housed the kindergarten through

8'''

grades in

Lame

Deer.-''

While the

early schooling provided

by the Lame Deer School District was primarily intended

Lame Deer

tory and culture in the curriculum and hired Northern

teacher aides. Northern

munity needs and

Cheyenne members

Lame Deer

school to the

high schools.

Cheyenne

initiated efforts to

rates

Lame Deer was

(42-54%) for

its

the only area of

students

who

were bussed

School

miles from

in

Some

Lame

high

largest concentration

students has attended Colstrip schools. Typically

in the Colstrip public schools

without

had one. Some

St.

Labre Cath-

Deer; Busby Tribal School, located 16

Deer; or Colstrip public schools, 22 miles from

During most recent decades, the

Cheyenne dropout study

attend classes in Colstrip,

students did not want to attend

Ashland, 23 miles from

Lame

add

in the entire state

its size

as far as 150 miles daily to

Hardin, Busby, or Ashland.

olic

com-

traveled to other

a public high school; each of the other six reservations in the state
rural students

and

teachers

Public School District, pointing out the excessive bus-

and the high drop out

"^^

Cheyenne

ol the school board represent

interests for the benefit ol students.

Starting in the 1960s, the Northern

sing

to assimilate students,

Schools subsequently increased the focus on Northern Cheyenne his-

up

to

Lame

Deer.

of Northern Cheyenne

30%

of students enrolled

have been Cheyenne. Nevertheless, the Northern

report^'

showed

that about

dropped out ol Colstrip High School compared

42%

to only

Although students attending Colstrip High School

of Cheyenne students

8%

typically

of white students.

had more courses

to

choose from and some services for American Indian students, they also reportedly
experienced more prejudice and discrimination than at other local schools. Native
Studies were not offered at Colstrip until recently.

Gail Small, then a teenager,

school in Colstrip during the

students," she said.

"They

'-

remembered what

boom

years.

"We

were

it

was

like to

really treated

called us 'prairie niggers,' everything

attend the high

badly

as

Indian

you can imagine.

We had to really fight just to hold our ground."'' While Small went on to graduate
from the University of Montana and

108

to get a law degree

Irom the University of

Oregon, the high school experience never

Action

in

Lame Deer

in 1984,

memory. She founded Native

her

left

and the organization

later

fought for the local high

school.

Native Action became involved after

youth organizer, Jay Wolf Black,

its

surveyed young people and discovered that a high school was their
priority.

number one

Native Action presented petitions signed by high school parents to the

two county school superintendents. One of the Native Actions donors, Archie
Alexander, a retired administrative lawyer, volunteered to be the lead attorney.

Indian school superintendents from around the country donated their time
expert witnesses.

The

superintendent worked together for the

by

all

new high

school, but they were

opposed

the neighboring school districts. Every Indian child was worth $10,000 in

federal

impact

aid; the

new high

school threatened to take millions from the other

schools, according to Small. Alter the

$7.3 million to build a

permanent

After a lengthy effort, the

new

Montana

district

was created. Congress allocated

'^

facility.

Office ol Public Instruction approved the

establishment of a public high school district in

Lame Deer

in 1994.

This decision

required Congressional approval for the federal funds to build the school.
the high school was built, students

complete their education.

that

as

government, and the school

local school board, the tribal

"'"

Having

who had
a public

Cheyenne students no longer have

When

previously quit school re-enrolled to

high school in

to leave their

Lame Deer now means

community

or reservation to

receive a public education.

Despite
the

its

successful beginning.

Lame Deer High School

same challenges faced by the other high schools

in school

has faced

many of

in ensuring that students stay

and graduate. Students' skepticism about schooling can be traced

negative school experiences of family and

community members

school era as well as contemporary prejudice. Sttidents in

from poor preparation

school; distraction

all

the schools also suffer

in early years, leading to frustration

from schooling

and

related to substance abuse

and perceptions of the irrelevance of school

to the

in the boarding

failure in

high

and peer groups;

credentials to getting good-paying

jobs in the local economy.^'' Additionally, students are negatively affected by the

high turnover
reservation.'

and teachers

levels of staff

Such changes contribute

core subjects such as

math and

that are characteristic of schools

to a lack

on the

in instruction in

science that are critical for school success and col-

lege preparation. Parents continue to

worry about the lack of student motivation,

poor school performance, and drug and alcohol

In fact, dropout rates at

of continuit)'

use.''*

Lame Deer High School have been

as

high

as at the

Lame Deer High Schools dropout rate is suggested by

completion rates reported by the Montana Office of Public In-

other local high schools.

the high school
struction.

The completion

rate at

Lame Deer High School was 48%

Contemporary Northern Cheyenne Education

in 2003,

45%

109

in 2004,

and 56%

in 2005.

According

to these figures,

Northern Cheyenne students drop out of Lame Deer

about the same number of

as

out of the other area high

schools.^''

An
rates at

ditional attention
to

program has helped

alterNative high school

Lame Deer High

School. Students

and individualized

now

instruction. Additionally, special initiatives

improve reading, math, and science instruction

moving toward

a greater proportion of students

science, as

shown by

Montana

the

the

Cheyenne educators

feel

of high school graduates

titudes

Cheyenne

of the

have contributed to

One

still

57%

as well as

the increasing

numbers

positive sign

is

enroll in college. This indicates that student at-

37% of Lame Deer High

all

Montana high

Labre students

St.

School graduates; and 35% of North-

Tribal School students enrolled in college.

for

math and

have not performed

toward education are improving. In 2005, half (50%) of

enrolled in college,

ern

they can.

who

at all levels

proficient skill levels in

Office of Instruction reports for 2005-06.

Cheyenne students

Nevertheless, Northern

improve the completion

to

have opportunities to receive ad-

Although

this falls short

school graduates, the gap seems to be closing.

Reservation Initiatives
Educators on the reservation are involved in

many programs

designed to increase

the performance of students, beginning with the very youngest and including

older students

who need

supplemental instruction. Programs for middle school

and high school students, such

local schools.

as

Talent Search and

Upward Bound,

serve several

For more than 40 years, the Northern Cheyenne Tribe has obtained

support for Head Start centers to provide early learning experiences for pre-school
children.

The Northern Cheyenne Head

Start

program administers

5-year-old children of low-income families with a comprehensive

their emotional, social, health, nutritional,

In addition a disability
five years.

With

is

skills that

and psychological needs.

help to prepare

Start centers incorporate

them

Cheyenne

Head

program

early

childhood education. For the

to help

Cheyenne language and

participated in

GEAR UP

Start teaching staff

last

pre-

for school. Additionally,

culture into their

programs. Chief Dull Knife College partners with the Northern Cheyenne
Start

meet

to

provided for children aged newborn to

seven centers across the reservation. Northern

schoolers develop the

many Head

program

services to 3-

program

Head

complete an associate degree

eight years,

Lame Deer

in

Public School has

(Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Under-

graduate Programs). This provides tutoring, computer access, and a wide range of

enrichment

activities

GEAR UP

during the school year and in the summer.''"

also provides services to parents,

workshops, and training.

GEAR UP

works

such

as access to

closely with other

computers,

programs such

as

Talent Search as well as the

new Upward Bound program

at

Chief Dull Knife

College to help Northern Cheyenne students complete high school successfully

and prepare

for entering college.

Lame Deer High School

with

The

tribal college facult\'

to offer courses for

members work

which students can

closely

receive credit

following graduation and enrollment at the tribal college. Other cooperative

forts include

Lame Deer
in

ef-

that can better prepare students

math.

for college level

Club

new math curriculum

developing a

Schools coordinate with the Northern Cheyenne Boys and Girls

Lame Deer

to offer a safe place for students to

go

after school

where they

can receive academic help

as well as recreational

When

Club of the Northern Cheyenne Nation was formed

1993,

the Boys

it

and

Girls

and other learning opportunities.

was only the third Boys and Girls Club ever

can Indian reservation.

mission

Its

is

for social, educational, vocational, cultural,

The Boys and

Girls

Club occupies

The

and character development.

Labre Indian School Associa-

St.

building includes a gv'mnasium, classrooms and meeting rooms,

and kitchen

facilities.

Deer and another

Lame Deer

in

This

is

Ashland.

one ol two centers the club operates, one

The

total

membership

States for exposure to

METHSmart

are

among

the

most

methamphetamine

program, which teaches the

to recognize

its

excellence

and

money

of Justice to provide seed

The

abuse.
risks

Reno

Circle of Schools includes

Colstrip Elementary and

Schools, Northern

Cheyenne

a foothold

ment

movement

St.

tising the

Lame

like

to address their

it.

Educators

common

con-

Schools,

Labre Indian Elementary and High

Tribal Elementary

and High Schools, Ashland

GEAR-UP initiative,

the Northern
is

(el-

Cheyenne Head

an outgrowth of the

that gained popularin' in about 2003.

It

was gaining

until an ill-conceived

move-

Northern Cheyenne Board of Regents was launched. After two

years, the tribal council

future efforts

35.

United

visited the club in

and other programs

on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation

to establish a

in the

club recently started a

Program, and Chief Dull Knife College. This Circle

Start

statewide P-20

Ashland serves

group

Lame

children.

Lame Deer Elementary and High

High Schools,

ementary) Public School, the

700

offices,

in

She directed the Department

effectiveness.

for this

is

and consequences of

on the reservation have formed an informal group

The

both clubs

critically at-risk

drug. In July of 2000, then-Attorney General Janet

cerns.

in

serves an average ot 100 children per day, while

Cheyenne children

Deer

on an Ameri-

and leadership

lifest)4es

a 15,000 square-foot building formerly

donated to the Northern Cheyenne Tribe by the

tion.

to be established

promote healthy

to

in

stopped

this effort,

and the

would be headed by Chief Dull Knife

tribal president said that

any

College.

Consequently, the Circle re-fornied and has been meeting regularly

at various

venues. Chief Dull Knife College's involvement in this Circle stems from statistics

showing the kind

of students

who were

enrolling at Chief Dull Knife College

Contemporary Northern Cheyenne Education

and

The

other institutions of higher learning.

at

Schools

is

to systematize educational approaches

over-all goal

from

of the Circle of

of the diverse schools

all

w^ho serve Northern Cheyenne students and other area students

The

college.

Circle aims to plug the achievement gaps in

all

who come

academic areas but

math, science, and communications (English). The intentions are

especially in

to

to

remain non-political and to focus on bettering the educational opportunities of all

of the students on or near the reservation.

Conclusion
As the information presented shows, the Northern Cheyenne Nation's education
institutions have
fulfill

the goals

made remarkable

progress in the

and dreams of leaders

enlegs. Today, the tribe's education

like

last several

decades in trying to

Chief Dull Knife and Dr. John Wood-

department supports these improvements by

continuing to monitor the dropout and school completion rates of Cheyenne

students. This department also works with high school graduates to access tribal

scholarships and other funding sources to support their college goals.

Northern Cheyenne educators from

tribal college

all

four local school districts and the

communicate with one another

to address issues that arise. Despite

the continuing needs to improve academic

high school dropout

for the

rates, there

is

skills at

the K-12 levels and to lower

good evidence

also

that schooling

is

improving

Northern Cheyenne.

The

fact that

Chief Dull Knife College enrollment almost doubled between

2001 and 2005 shows that more students are looking to local schools to help them
prepare for their futures.

Now

with more resources in place to support higher

achievement, Cheyenne educators are optimistic that more Northern Cheyenne

students will graduate from high school and will continue to enter college and
receive college degrees than ever before.^'

Ted Risingsun, who was

board

member

6 Snipp, M., (1989). American Indians: The Pint of

tor

Chief Dull Knife College, often quoted Chief Dull

this

Knife's statement.
2

John Woodenlegs was

Montana

State University.

Knife College
3

tribal

president from 1955

is

named

The

(SF

4 Ward,

library at Chief Dull

in his honor.

0, wri
&
Wilson,

A case study

elders. (Doctoral disserta-

State University). Baird-Olson, K.,

(^q^^) Recovery and resistance:

renewal of traditional spirituality

Research Journal 24(4):

D. (1989). Northern

Cheyenne educational household census. Report

the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, Lame Deer, MT.
w;
WardJ

(1994)- Tribal education:

among

The

Native

American women. American Indian Culture and

& Wilson,

household census.

F.

Montana

^j^^

^ ^^^^^ ^

3).

C,

Rowland,

^f Northern Cheyenne

Bureau of the Census. Census 2000 Summary

File

and had an honorary doctorate from

until 1968

Land. NY: Russell Sage Foundation.

7T. Risingsun (personal communication), 1989.

to

W.

L.,

1-35-

& Yellowtail, W

P.

(1985).

Future

high school education options for the Northern

,
,u
("L
J
Cheyenne educational
Northern

VI

9 Bryan,

Chevenne

Tribe:

An

education v
planning
& and

'

strategy study Report prepared for the

Cheyenne

Tribe.

Affairs, Office of

Northern

Bozeman, MT: Bureau of Indian

Indian Education Programs, U.S.

Department of the

Interior.

&

10 Bryan

Yellowtail, Future high school educa-

tion options tor the

11

Stark,

at St.

M.

Northern Cheyenne Tribe.

(2005, April 10). Giving and getting

Labre School: Northern Cheyenne sue for

share of mission's wealth. The Billings Gazette.

MT.

Giving and getting

at St.

Labre School.

Giving and getting

at St.

Labre School.

Stark,

Giving and getting

at St.

Labre School.

16 R. Little Bear (personal

communication), Dec.

Bryan

& Yellowtail,

Future high school educa-

tion options for the Northern

D. M.

18 Rosenfelt,

Cheyenne

(1973, April). Indian schools

Busby was known

to have

sister,

is

of

in its

not true. Little

Delores Little Bear F^art, graduated

from the school

in

Busby (then

called the

Tongue

River Boarding School) in 1952. She went on to

a registered

practitioner.

their

freshmen

her and Elizabeth

White

large,

by

left in their

Fox. Hart, D.
8,

L.

MacDonald, Ph.D.. and William D.

Ph.D., to Edward

M. Kennedy,

SENATE COMM. ON LABOR AND

PUBLIC WELFARE, THE EDUCATION

OF AMERICAN INDIANS: A COMPENDIUM OF FEDERAL BOARDING SCHOOL

EVALUATIONS, 84S (1969). OUR BROTHER'S
KEEPER: THE INDIAN IN WHITE AMERICA
(E.

Cahn

ed. 1970).

ment.

Lanham,

27 Bryan

BIA agency on

Office in Billings,

the reservation

MT,

and the Area

suggested that the school

become part of the public school system, but the

community preferred to operate the school with
funds obtained through contract with the BIA.
T. Risingsun,

Busby,

28 Bryan

MD:

and academic achieve-

AltaMira

& Yellowtail,

29

Press.

Future high school educa-

Northern Cheyenne Tribe.

& Yellowtail,

Lame Deer Schools

31

Future high school educa-

Cheyenne

Tribe.

website: http://www.

Ward, C.

Northern Cheyenne Dropout

(1990).

Study report, 1990.

32 Colstrip currently offers classes in Native Studies

and teaches a Northern Cheyenne language, reading,

and writing program

via satellite

from Chief

Dull Knite College.

Jamison, M., Getting the big picture: Gail Small,

Northern Cheyenne Reservation. Retrieved Dec.

northernlights/ncheyenne.html

200/ (2008).

22,

Lame

Deer,

MT,

Native Action.

A. (1993). Northern Cheyenne struggle

for high school after 30 years.

Indian Country Today

/i(8), p. Ai.

36

Ward, Native Americans

37

Ward, C.

tion of the

in the school system.

& Widdison-Jones,

K., (2007). Evalua-

Northern Cheyenne RSI program.

Ward, C.

& Wilson,

D., (1985). Northern

Cheyenne adult education survey. Report to Dull

Knife Memorial College, Lame Deer, MT.
39 http://www.opi.mt.gov/measurement/Index.

html

40 Lame Deer High School website: http://www.

lamedeer.k12.mt.us.phtemp.com/GearUp.htm

chairman of Busby School Board,

MT (personal communication), Nov.

11,

2007, from http://www.missoulian.com/specials/

38

Footnotes from the original: Officials from

the

26 Ward, C. (2005). Native Americans in the school

35 Clifford,

Jan. 7,

1969, in

21

Future high school educa-

Northern Cheyenne Tribe.

34 G. Small (personal communication), Dec. 21,

2007. Native Action 20th Anniversary Report, 1^84-

2008.

20 Footnotes from the original: Letter from

Arthur

6(16), 44.

Northern Cheyenne Tribe.

& Yellowtail,

system: family, community,

33

class at

Tongue River Boarding School was

(personal communication), Jan.

40

25

Bryan

Week

Future high school educa-

nurse and eventually a nurse

Although

graduation time there were only two

Bliss,

& Yellowtail,

lamedeer.k12.mt.us.phtemp.com/aboutus.htm

no graduate

completed college

50 year existence. However, this

class

of bilingual educa-

30 Ward, Native Americans in the school system.

19 Rosenfelt said in his report that

become

special case

2^(4),

489-550.

Bears

Submitted to the U.S.

tion options for the Northern

Tribe.

and community control. Stanford Law Review

the

The

tion options for the

2007.
17

J.

tion options for the

Stark,

15

Crawford,

tion options for the

Labre Indian Mission. (2007). Keeping the

14 Stark,

13

23

24 Bryan

net/articles/2005/o4/io/state/export/20i984.txt.

Miracle Alive. [Brochure]. Ashland,

p. 8.

Department of Education. Lame Deer, MT.

tion for Indian students. Education

Retrieved from website: http://billingsgazette.

12 St.

Cheyenne Follow Ihrough Program

11 Northern

proposal (1980),

41
III

Ward, C.

& Widdi.son-Jones,

K., (2006). Title

Evaluation Report: 2005-06. Chief Dull Knife

1971.

College.

Contemporary Northern Cheyenne Education

113

Chief Dull Knife College

1878,

IN

live

the

Chief Dull Knife

way we used

to.

said to his

There

is

Cheyenne people, "We can no longer

new way of life

that

we

are

going to know.

Let us ask for schools, that way our children can attend them and learn

this

new way of life."'

At the time, some of his people

called

him

"the wife of a white

man," accord-

ing to Ted Rising Sun, a charge of treason at the time. Dull Knife
as

knew

as well

anyone the danger of empowering the white man. Yet he also recognized that

education was essential for his people to survive and adapt to the changing times.

He

believed in adaptation, not assimilation. However, from the 1880s until the

1970s, the only educational options were schools designed to assimilate students

into the mainstream.

From

the time of the

encouraged

dom

first

English settlements, American Indians have been

of Western civilization.

to participate in the rituals

been enhancing the Indian students or the well being of

The

goal has

their tribes.

sel-

Educa-

tion based

on assimilation has never worked with the Northern Cheyenne people

and others

in similar circumstances,

and these

policies have

had

a residual negative

effect.

When

the Northern

to attend college,

Cheyennes sent

many dropped

munity knew they were good children and smart.

were

many

reasons.

and brightest students away

their best

out and returned. Their parents and the com-

Young people on

Why did so few graduate? There

the Northern

Cheyenne Reservation and

other reservations grow up in culturally distinct communities. Despite struggles

with poverty, substance abuse, unemployment, and

political disenfranchisement,

the Northern Cheyennes and others have retained many

tions.

The

in larger

students were not prepared

academic institutions

school

distinctive cultural tradi-

for the hostility they often

officials

encountered

and classmates who believed

stereotypes of American Indians as "dirty," "lazy," "drunk," and

in

"dumb."

"5

2006

Student of the Year,

21 m is -

Mariah Maxwell was

selected to be the college's

for the

2005-2006 academic

year.

Maxwell

is

American Indian College Fund Student of the Year

member

of the Northern

Cheyenne

Tribe.

It

was a

struggle for her to attend college because she has six small children, but because of her determination

and dedication

to her studies,

member of the American

Maxwell was on the

CDKC

President's List three times.

She was a

Indian Business Leaders Club for two years, including one year as president.

She graduated from Chief Dull Knife College

in

2006 and went

to

Montana

State University-Billings.

After she receives her Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education, she plans to get her Master's Degree
in

Administration. (Photo by Kathleen Beartusk)

116

Student oi the Year, 2006-2007

Chief Dull Knife College selected

Tommy

Robinson

B.

Student of the Yeat for the 2006-2007 academic

Tribe, but he
life.

When

is

part

he was

Northern Cheyenne and has

in

high school, he took out a

business raising cattle.

for

one year and

He made

the

is

majoring

in

is

American Indian College Fund

an enrolled

member

of the Crow-

on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation all his

loan that was just for the youth and started his own
lived

Indian Science and Engineering Societ)' (AISES) Chapter.

President's List four times

graduated from Chief Dull Knife College

He

to be the

Robinson

While attending Chief Dull Knife College, he was the student senate president

member of the American

CDKC

year.

in

and the National Dean's

2007 and went

to

List

two

times.

Robinson

Oral Roberts University in Tulsa,

OK.

biology with a concentration on health professions. After graduating from Oral

Roberts Universit)', he plans to attend the University of

Montana and

get his Doctorate Degree in

Physical Therapy. (Photo by Kathleen Beartusk)

Chief Dull Knife College

117

many of their

Unlike

relatively care-free classmates, the college students

the reservations often were responsible for children of their

for elderly family

were

stitutions

members. The nearest community

no

at least

own

colleges

from

or for caring

and four-year

in-

miles from their extended family and cultural support

systems on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation.

Nor were
larger

they prepared for the academic rigor they encountered

academic

institutions. Colleges

with high school graduates

Cheyenne students

who

and

universities across the

under prepared

are

American Indian

also lack

at

the

country struggle

for college work."

Northern

models and sometimes face

role

under-prepared and/or unqualified K-12 teachers, inadequate school materials and

equipment, and apathetic parental attitudes toward education.

It

became obvious

therefore

a successful educational

to a

group of American Indian educators that

program must

create higher education institutions that

could provide learning experiences related to the students, their culture, and their

environment. In 1968 the

college

first tribal

opened

ervation in the Southwest. This group of educators

colleges

on

their

own

reservations,

of Indian Affairs (BIA), the

and continues

and

tribal colleges

to thrive today.

started colleges in

and although

As word spread

doors on the Navajo Res-

its

promoted the

initially

universities

across the

idea of creating

opposed by the Bureau

movement was born

Northern

Plains, tribes

North Dakota, South Dakota, and Montana.

History of the College

Chief Dull Knife College, originally known
as a vocational training

The

as

program, housed in

Dull Knife Memorial College, began

Army

original curriculum reflected the West's coal

tents, in

boom

Ashland,

MT,

during the 1970s

in 1972.

train-

ing Northern Cheyennes for mining and construction jobs as well as forestry.

The program continued

when

the Northern

to operate out of make-shift facilities until 1975,

Cheyenne Tribe

received funding

from the Indian Technical

Assistance Center of the Bureau of Indian Affairs for construction and operation

of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Action Program, Inc.

The

tribe chartered the Indian

Ordinance

5(76). Tribal leaders,

Action Program in September 1975 by Tribal

program

staff,

and the board of

ognized the need for additional vocational programs,

and

liberal arts.

satellite

first

academic courses were offered

campus of Miles Community

soon

rec-

education

in the winter of 1978 as a

College.

for the new tribal college was held, and

member of the Northern Cheyenne tribe who ultimately became
doctor, submitted the name Dull Knife Memorial College. Northern

During

Tim

The

trustees

as well as general

that quarter, a

naming contest

Wilson, a

medical

Cheyenne

Tribal Council

Ordinance

5(79) subsequently

changed the name and

authorized the college to award degrees. Although the academic curriculum from

118

1978-1979 was limited, the vocational curriculum grew to include wastewater disposal

and surveying. The relationship with Miles Communit)' College continued

through

Fall

Quarter 1979, when Dull Knife Memorial College was given accredi-

Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges.

tation candidacy status b)' the

From 1979

to 1984, the college

wide

of student

fered a

variet)'

expanded

activities

and women's basketball teams.

In 1985,

its

curricular offerings

and

also of-

including Region IX intercollegiate

men

Northern Cheyenne Tribal Council Or-

dinance 8(85) chartered Dull Knife Memorial College, granting autonomy to the
revising the charter to provide for an elected rather than an appointed

college

and

board.

To extend

in the state, the

the benefits ol a tribally controlled college to other reservations

Northern Cheyenne college became the sponsoring institution

for

both Fort Belknap College and Stone Child College. The Northwest Commission
Universities granted [ull accreditation to Chiel Dull Knife Col-

on Colleges and
lege in 1995.

In 2001, the

(CDKC)

to

name

of the college was

people. (Dull Knife

enne, he

known

In
ties in

to Chief Dull Knife College

emphasize the importance of Dull Knife

Cheyenne
is

changed

as

is

Vooheheva or Morning

the United States, including seven within

to provide the

of the Northern

the Northern

Chey-

Star.)

2007 Chief Dull Knife College was one of 36

The curriculum has expanded

as a chief

among

Sioux name, but

and

tribal colleges

Montana

universi-

the most in any state.

Northern Cheyenne people and

their

neighbors with access to a variety of programs leading to the degrees of Associate

of Arts, Associate of Applied Science, and

The
leges

two-year institution

and

Universities.

land-grant institution.

Cheyennes and
arts

It is

Its

certificates in several skill areas.

accredited by the Northwest

is

Commission on Col-

a communit)'-based, tribally controlled college

and

open-admission policy provides a standing invitation to

their neighbors in the region into the

world of career and

liberal

education.

Goals of the college include the following:

1.

2.

To be

members
3.

financially stable

and

To provide educational
in acquiring

To maintain an

improved

self-sufficient.

resources
skills for

and experiences

work and

accredited institution of higher education

Cheyenne Indian Reservation capable of providing

vocational

skills

to assist

community

life.

on the Northern

college transfer

training to increase the educational level

programs and

and meet the training

needs of the sttidents and the community.

4.

To provide

effective

successful completion of
5.

To provide

traditional

support services to students that

programs offered by the

a language

Cheyenne

program

culture, language,

will facilitate their

college.

to preserve, teach, research

and

and support

history.

Chief Dull Knife College

"9

Cultural Mission
Throughout

Almost

more than 30-year

its

foundation ior

42%

its

young people,

and fewer

them prepare

provided a cultural

for a

changing world.

of the reservation's people were under the age of 18, and another

were between the ages of

tion of

history, the college has

students while also helping

who

elders,

it

18

and 64

in the

follows that

2000 Census. 'With

young Northern Cheyenne can

are the keepers of

Cheyenne knowledge,

50%

high propor-

this

find fewer

to learn from.

Research on the reservation has shown that knowledge of the Cheyenne ways
is

correlated with educational success.

and

ture

their history not just to

"*

The

students must learn about their cul-

keep that knowledge

alive. It also gives

the foundation they need to succeed in other endeavors.

They have

to

students

know who

they are and from where they came.

There

a healthy

is

Indian cultures

as

need

in Indian

country to "save" traditional American

an abstract, theoretical, and practical "good." After a century

of military conquest, economic disenfranchisement, and

need

their traditional culture to be

munity

survival in education,

in turn, contributes to the

The
es,

college

CDKC

fulfills its

an active and

political isolation, tribes

critically

important part of com-

economic development, and

community's

social integrity. This,

ability to build a sustainable society.

cultural mission in

many ways.

Like other tribal colleg-

maintains a cultural heritage center (the Florence

Whiteman

Cultural

Center) that sponsors programs in Cheyenne language, history, and culture from
the
sion

Cheyenne

perspective.^

Programs from

participate with tribal college students

bow and arrow

and

this center

sponsor language immer-

camps and Native American Week every September. Community members

and

shoot; a tipi-raising class

staff in a variety

and

contest; a

of activities, such

"handgame" tournament;

cultural mini-courses that demonstrate cutting dry meat,

and flint-knapping arrowheads. The college

as a

making

frybread,

Cheyenne language

also certifies

teachers, as discussed in the language chapter of this book.

In 2007, student

Roman

Fisher, 28, talked to a

importance of Chief Dull Knife College. Fisher

singer

is

magazine reporter about the

an eighth generation traditional

and drummer. His family taught him songs, and he hopes

traditions

on

to pass these

to others:

There are so many Native Americans who think that high school

is

the last

days of their education, and they go on to drink alcohol and do drugs

reason

why

I'm here

is

a lot high school students are raised

on

The

MTV or TV and

just by watching all that rap. They are starting to lose

own ways like singing, traditional dancing, and the language. I
have younger cousins who speak kind of Black, like how they do on TV. That's

becoming acculturated
focus of their

pretty weird to

me

growing up

in a traditional family."

The Cheyenne have encountered

so

much

oppression.

It's

hard to get back

to

knowledge of our

many

have

tribes that

They

identities.

programs

and

way of life,

lost their

their language, their land,

are being acculturated into the

CDKC,

who may

modern

services

not

know as much about

tribal colleges ordinarily

and instruction. Tribal

their origins.

However,

it

The funding

support only the most bare-bones student

colleges can support activities directly related to

only the most elementary functions of the institution, such

ics

their

were originally established to provide edu-

has been difficult for the colleges to find funds for cultural programs.

formulas for

and

ways.''

appropriate environment for students such as

in a culturally

for others

way of thinking,

age need to get back to that

traditional ways. That's important because there are so

Tribal colleges, such as

cational

Fisher

my

where we were. The people

that

as

teaching mathemat-

or English and keeping student records.

Thus

cultural projects,

leges, often

Dean of Cultural
the college.

which formed the

go unfunded. For example,

Affairs position as part

the

of the duties of the present president of

CDKC has received some funding in the cultural area, getting a grant

from the Administration

for Native

to teach fluent

Montana under

received funding from the state of

and Equipment

Tribal Histories

Americans

Cheyenne speak-

and develop Cheyenne language curriculum. The center

ers to read, write,

book

rationale for establishing tribal col-

CDKC in recent years had to reassign

Initiative,

an

also

the Office of the Governor's

initiative that

made

this history

possible.

Serving Community Needs

It

has been said that tribal colleges and universities are imder-fimded miracles.

CDKC definitely

fits

that description. Despite financial limitations

lenges of serving this communit)',

it

and the

chal-

has succeeded in increasing student enroll-

ment, increasing student retention, increasing numbers of students realizing

their

educational goals, and expanding programs and services to the community.

CDKC,
community

like

other schools on the reservation, must address the needs of a

characterized by persistent low educational achievement, povert}', un-

employment, and underemployment across

several generations.

was created to serve the Northern Cheyenne people, but

it

The

tribal college

also serves students

from surroimding communities, many of whom share the obstacles that the
dian students

face.

these students are

Of the

300 students each academic

American Indian;

70%

are female;

year,

and

In-

85% of
number of

approximately

a significant

the students are either heads of households or are un-married, primary caregivers
to

young

80%

children. In addition,

90%

of entering students are low-income,

are first generation college students.*^

When

one considers the

Some

and

of the students have disabilities.

social milieu that they

Chiej Dull Knife College

were raised

in,

it is

not sur-

prising that
sistance,

nearly

and

90% of- the students are eHgible for federal student financial aid as80% are fully eligible for Pell Grants. According to the 2000 census,

50% of Cheyenne

fluctuated from

ern

Cheyenne

families live

60-85% because

under the poverty

jobs are scarce

Reservation.'' Clearly,

level,

and unemployment

and often seasonal on the North-

without the opportunity to attend Chief Dull

Knife College, most of these students would not have had the opportunity to

pursue and

realize their

In 2007,
his circle of

join the

post-secondary educational goals.

one student described the importance of the

support to succeed. Perry Big Left Hand,

Army. He came back

with a traiunatic brain injury.

Cliief Dull Knite College serves the

a foundation in the tribe's history

(left

to right)

John

Renee Beartusk,
Lett

Hand,

.1

J.

Wooden

a student

student

who

and

after six years

"When

tribal college to

of active duty and two tours

was away

in the

in Iraq

Army, people asked me

Northern C,he\eniie eomiiiunity and

and

expand

28, left the reservation to

their neighbors, providing

traditions while preparing students for the future. Pictured are

Legs, president of the board of directors

a sixth generation

and Vietnam veteran; Ronelle

descendant of Chief Dull Knife; and Sgt. Perry Big

served for six years in the L'.S. Army. (Photo

b\-

Kathleen Beartusk)

where

was from, and

what kind oi hidian

Having

a strong identity

forward

to. It

would

tell

was, and
is

them Lame Deer, MT. They would ask me

would

them

is

was Northern Cheyenne.

gives people

it

wrong about

helps prove people

American Indian or whether someone

Some

tell

important because

something

a certain identity,

to look

whether that

is

disabled," he said.

much

people told him he wouldn't be able to do

alter his brain in-

but he was determined. Attending Chief Dull Knife College helps him be

jury,

more

active in his tribal culture

and

learn

more about

"People should be proud to be Northern Cheyenne.

a survivor.

It

the history of his people.

defines

can help other people and show them what

my

identity,

being

did to overcome such

obstacles.""'

Nearly

60%

of

all

Chiel Dull Knile College's graduates transition to

year college or university.

To make

studies, the college has established

stitutions within the

and acceptance of all

The
and

college also

Montana
credits

makes

it

and maintains

articulation agreements with in-

University System that facilitate "seamless" transfer

and degrees earned

it

a tour-

possible for these students to continue their

possible for

master's degrees on-line primarily

at

CDKC.

community members

to earn bachelor's

from Rocky Mountain College,

a private

four-year college located in Billings. In 2007, the college also had three staff

members
the

most

enrolled in an on-line

members working within

CDKC

MBA program

part, students taking these degree

stafi

a local school

members completed

through Gonzaga University. For

completion courses were community

system or

tribal

bachelor's degrees

program. However, three

and one

a master's degree

through the Rocky Mountain College on-line program. In 2007 an employee

at the

Bureau of Indian

CDKC

Student

Affairs,

two employees

Activities Director,

at St.

Labre Indian School, the

and one Northern Cheyenne Headstart em-

ployee were enrolled in advanced courses.

Student Success

CDKC
The

is

changing the poverty and unemployment

levels,

one graduate

at a time.

graduates have been employed in a wide range of both general labor and

professional positions.

Many

of the vocational students

in the areas

of carpentry,

welding, heavy equipment operation, and secretarial science held positions both

on and off the

reservation.

Most vocational graduates were employed with

Montana Power Company (PPL Montana) and had maintained

for over

20

years.

office personnel

sistant to the

They worked

as utility

that

employment

men, plant apprentices, boilermakers, and

with PPL. In 2007, one female graduate was the administrative

company

the

as-

president and therefore involved with management, while

another was involved with the company's personnel department. Other vocational

Chief Dull Knife College

^3

graduates had started their

tribal agencies

Cheyenne

such

Utilities,

own

employment with

construction businesses, found

Northern Cheyenne Housing Authority and Northern

as

or returned to college to pursue a transfer curriculum.

Graduates of the Associate in Arts degree programs had also found employ-

ment

in a

wide range of positions. The immediate past academic dean

CDKC

at

(Judith Davis) was a graduate of the college after completing her bachelor's degree

and master's degree and returning

emphasis in business (Jerry Fozzard) started

ment

A student who graduated with an

to the college.

service headquartered in Illinois

own

his

international medical place-

and provides placement opportunities

for

doctors and nurses throughout the world.

Other

associate degree graduates

went on

to

Robert Shotgunn, AJvera Cook,

seling degrees (Janice Breyer, Jewel Davenport,

John Currier) and were employed

complete teaching and/or coun-

in local school systems

reservation. In 2007, the president of the

Coyote) was also a graduate of Chief Dull Knife College

employees.

The

both on and

off the

Northern Cheyenne Tribe (Eugene

college recruited several of

own

its

were several

as

graduates

Little
tribal

who went on

to

complete bachelor's and master's degrees (Michelle Spang, Rae Peppers, Verda
King, Debra Reed, Michelle Curlee).

The dean of
graduate

as

students at the college (Zane Spang) in 2007 was a

CDKC

were the Upward Board Program director (Evelyn Roundstone) and

counselor (Delores Shoulderblade) and the college's bookstore director (Michelle

Threefingers).

CDKC

alumni

also filled part-time faculty, secretarial positions,

administrative assistant positions, maintenance positions, and various student

activity positions at the college.

The success of these

as their

own

hard work.

graduates resulted from several

CDKC

courses needed by students

expanded

who would

its

like to

CDKC initiatives, as well

science curriculum to include the

pursue science and technology or

health fields as majors in their bachelor's and graduate degrees.

The

tribal college increased the

number and range of opportunities

lege students to participate in internships that helped prepare

transitions to four-year programs.

Over the

last several

students participated in internships either on the

years

them

more than two dozen

CDKC campus in science, math,

and technology, or on the campuses of the University of Montana

Montana
ter

State University-Bozeman.

for col-

for successful

in

Missoula and

These experiences helped students

feel bet-

prepared to pursue bachelor's and gradtiate degrees alter they graduate from

CDKC."

CDKC was

major participant

College University Partnership

in the National Science Foundation's Tribal

(TCUP), through which

it

enhanced math and

science teaching through innovative pedagogy and rigorous evaluation.

oped and expanded science programs with

124

a grant

It

devel-

from the National Science

Dr. Alonzo Spang graduated from Colstrip

earn a doctorate in education and

High School

became the

first

in 1953 as class valedictorian.

He went on

to

American Indian (and Northern Cheyenne) agency

superintendent of the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. After a distinguished career with the BIA,

Spang became president of Dull Knife Memorial College

Foundations Rural Systemic

and

Initiative (RSI)

effective techniques in learning skills

The

USDA Extension
community and

program

whom

tribal college

program.

It

developed innovative

math

at the college

labs to assist

courses.

expanded

it

services to the res-

offered a variety of financial workshops, tax preparation,

and nutrition programs designed

The

(Photo by Kathleen Beartusk)

and established learning

students with self-paced software programs in

ervation

in 1994.

to target

community

needs.

has stretched the horizons oi reservation residents,

some of

never previously considered a trip outside of Montana. At the same time,

cultural exchanges

and internships may have helped

involved. For example, three faculty

members

dispel stereotypes

by everyone

and several students participated in

Chief Dull Knife College

125

cultural exchanges in Mali over three years. In Africa, they

and Peace Corps volunteers

helping Malian farmers learn about

how

to

worked with farmers

Management

to deliver Integrated Pest

combat the cowpea

CDKC students successfully interned at Brown University,

Montana^ and Montana

pest problem.

tunity to experience other cultures

it

'-

the University of

State University in "Bridges" programs.

of these internships were science related,

information,

Although most

gave participating students an oppor-

and communities.

Work With Other Schools

The drop-out

lege preparation

has

on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation

rates
is

and the

poor, as discussed in the preceding chapter. Therefore,

compelled

felt

are high

to help

improve schooling

lor

col-

CDKC

Northern Cheyenne students

by coordinating with and supporting pre-K-12 schools that serve the Northern

Cheyenne Reservation. As mentioned

working

closely with

in

an

earlier chapter, this has

Lame Deer High School

students planning to enroll at

CDKC.

and science instruction and technical

Other

included

to offer college level courses for

initiatives include

assistance to

math and

providing math

science teachers at

the elementary and middle school levels.

CDKC
its

received support from the National Science Foundation through

Rural Systemic Initiative (RSI) to develop math and science courses for

lo-

helped them master the material they needed to improve their

cal teachers that

classroom instruction. This project, which was very successful in attracting teachers

from

ence

all

ol the local schools, contributed to

skill levels

Foundation

among Northern Cheyenne

project,

in students' increased success

to the

and higher performance

School, where

many

also coordinating
in 2007,

curriculum in both

math and

science.''

began reaching out

CDKC students graduated,

with the new Upward

which

in

CDKC

the experience gained in these programs,

Lame Deer High

awarded

sci-

impact of this project was starting to show

on improving math and science preparation

was

math and

Another National Science

CDKC

the resources to improve

science. In 2007, the positive

With

students.

in

funded though the Tribal College and University Partnership

(TCUP) program, provided

math and

improvements

at the

secondary

Bound program

levels.

that

serves students at St. Labre Indian School,

High School, and Northern Cheyenne

to

work

This effort

CDKC

was

Lame Deer

Tribal School.

and Staffing

Limits

on

When

the U.S. Congress enacted the Tribal College or University Assistance Act

in 1978,

126

it

Facilities

authorized $5,820 per pupil to serve as the baseline institutional funding

at

each college. This amount has never been appropriated, however.

leges

have had to operate with

up more

The

tribal col-

$2,800 per ISC (Indian Student Count),

as little as

recently to $4,200 per ISC, tar below actual costs per student.''*

This federal funding

tribal college.

based upon the

is

CDKC

About 15% of the

funding. In Montana, the state provides

who

cating such non-Indian students,

number of Indian

students at each

students are not covered by the federal

some funds

to the tribal colleges for edu-

are referred to as non-beneficiary students.

Each year the presidents of the seven Montana

tribal colleges

have to implore the

appropriate state legislative committee to appropriate funding for these students.

Even when the Montana Legislature approves funding,

per student. This means that

CDKC

supplements the

mately $4,000 per non-beneficiary student

In short, Chief Dull Knife College
to

launch

new academic programs

typically only $1,500

of Montana approxi-

yearly.

must depend

or services.

but meager growth over the vears in a

it is

state

largely

CDKC

fiscal sense,

upon

but

it

10%

student headcount by

its

each year.

The

funding

has not kept up with

the expanding student population. Between 2002 and 2007,

20%

special

has demonstrated steady

CDKC

increased

per year and the full-time student enrollment by

lack of funding for staff has severely limited the college's

ability to provide essential

tional classrooms, library

programs. With more students, the college needs addi-

and

archival space, laboratories,

and student recreational

facilities.

In order to sustain the

most basic operations required

to

meet accreditation

standards and institutional effectiveness, the college had to cut two faculty positions, the

dean of cultural

and culture

finance manager, an archivist within the library

affairs,

studies area, three facility

maintenance positions, and the institutional

development position. With these necessary reductions

staff had to

to

assume additional

add programs and

responsibilities,

making

services with existing staff.

The

it

remaining

in staff, the

impossible for the college

success being realized with

increased student enrollment and the identified need for expanded programs and
services has seriously

Like most
ties

Army

been impacted by reductions in funding.

tribal colleges,

tents in Ashland,

building (12,000 square

feet)

Chief Dull Knife College was born

MT, and
was

in

built in

Lame Deer

facility

was constructed primarily

the

The

for vocational training purposes. In

from the National Science Foundation,

facility. It

subsequent

college to

currently houses laboratories and classrooms for science,

math, computer science, agriculture, and

college's extension

original

USDA, and

American Indian College Fund/Lily Foundation have allowed the

remodel the

facili-

using funding from the

Indian Technical Assistance Center of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

years, construction grants

meager

operated there for three years until a small

program. The

facilities

secretarial science courses, as well as the

heating system was also converted from

Chief Dull Knife College

1^7

propane

coal-fired boilers co

expanded technolog}'

well,

While an

heat.

in the classrooms

electrical retrofit

and

was completed

as

labs created additional electrical

complications.
In I9''9, the college acquired a tacilirv tor the college library;

it

was originally

constructed tor the tribal

commodit}' distribution program, and building trades

An

adjacent building, built to house an inpatient drug and

students remodeled

it.

alcohol program, was giyen to the college in 1980.

With

the assistance ot renoya-

tion grants, the colleges building trades students remodeled the facilirw

houses tour classrooms, taculn" and

stati otifices, the college cafeteria,

Many

student learning lab, and the college administration offices.

The

children.

center. Later

college

it

remodeled an old BIA mechanical shop

was conyerted

to

which

bookstore, a

students haye

make

day care

to a student actiyit)' center.

Untortunately, these remodeled buildings were not originally created as college tacilities so their designs are less than ideal,

and they

are not energ\- efficient.

Records indicate an ayerage of 390 hours ot instructional use per year in a

designed tor 2~o hours.

meetings

is

The largest room on campus

1,200 square

feet,

which preyents the

seminars, classes, and meetings tor

By working
tions,

creatiyely with

more than 60

many

tor classes

college

tacilin^

and/or community'

from hosting workshops,

people.

different agencies

and nonprofit organiza-

CDKC has been able to build some new tacilities on campus and make some

older ones

more

efficient.

Center funded by

HUD

by the Lily Foundation

The new

buildings are the Early Childhood Learning

USDA, the adult education/literao" center funded

and USDA, the yocational skills center tunded hv L'SDA,
and

Whiteman Culture Center funded by

the Florence

recently completed yisiting lecturer center

.Vll

of these

tacilities

funded by

the Lily Foundation, and a

USDA.

were designed and constructed

utilizing sustainable

green-build technolog^ in cooperation with the American Indian Housing Initiatiye.

This

is

a national collaboration in public scholarship joining

Uniyersit)-, the Uniyersit}' ot \\ ashington, the Uniyersit}-

Dull Knife College.

The

initiatiye

sustainable deyelopment strategies.

ered

utility-

Penn

State

of Wisconsin, and Chief

demonstrates green building technologies and

The

straw-bale buildings haye resulted in low-

costs to the college.

Xeyertheless, as

CDKC

grows,

it

will

need additional land tor the campus

and construction funds. The most immediate needs

complex, a student multipurpose center, a

new

are for a

library,

new

and

classroom/office

new maintenance

tacilirw

Conclusion
Chief Dull Knife College and other
tural

128

education

as well as a

tribal colleges

and

uniyersities proyide a cul-

more standard academic education

to .American Indian

Through education,

students.

the

Chief Dull Knife wanted them

economy and

tribal

Cheyennes can adapt

to do.

government and

preser\'e

\\ ith their cultural education, the students

Knowing more about who

and

culture.

fies

the students tor their roles in

to the

They can continue

changing world,

Indian rights to land and resources.

can help to

revitalize their

socierv",

language

come from

forti-

whether they continue

their

they are and where they

modern

as

to develop their local

studies at other universities, take positions in the private or public sector, or create

own

their

businesses.

Roman Fisher told the Tribal College Journal: "A lot of people
now beginning to understand that we are losing our culture and
language. Having our own histor\\ our own secrets, our own songs, stories of how
we came to be that s \\\\zi separates us from the rest of the world because we
student

^As

mv

age are just

kno\\'

where

T. Risingsun

college

who

\\

come from.

was a board member for the

tribal

8 Enrollment, student financial aid, matriculation,

and retention data from Chief Dull Knife College

often quoted Chief Dull Knife's

statement.

files.

1 .\lliance for Excelleni Education. (2006). Paying

9 Bureau of the Census. Census 2000 Suminar>'

doubU: Inadequate hi^ scfroob and community

File 3

college remediation.

Washington,

DC: AlUance for

December

Excellent Education. 2006. Retrie\'ed

200-

hom

http://wn-w.aU4ed.org/files/archi\-e/pub-

lications/remediation.pdt
3

Bureau of the Census. Census 2000 Summai}'

File 3

SF

3).

u Ward. C. & Widdison-Jones, K. (2006). Title

in Evaluation Report: 200^-06. Report to CDKC.
12

CDKC research teaches from Mali to Lame

i(f(2).

Winter 2004.

3).

4 Ward, C.
ment.

Braun (2008).

Deer. Tribal College Journal

(SF

system:

10

J.

(2005).

SaniY .Afnencans

in the school

Family community aitd academic achieve-

Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira

Simonelli. R. (2003). Keeping

it

Centers

contribute to cultural renaissance

on

puses. Tribal College Journal iy{z).

Winter 2003.

college

.Madsen, B., Hodgson,

T,

cam-

& Ward, C. {2006).

Pathways to success in pre-college mathematics.

Tribal College Journal 18(2),

Press.

alrve:

13

Wmier 2006.

14 Tribal colleges: An ititroduction. Alexandria, VA:

American Indian Higjier Education Consortium,

n.d- available at http://w\^w.aihec.org/documents/

Research/intro.pdf

6 Btaun.

J.

(200S1.

Whats

in a

name?

Tribal

colleges nourish students" cultural idenrii\'. Tribal

College Journal 19^^, Spring 2008.

- Houser,

S. (1991).

Underfunded miracles:

Tribal colleges. Washington.

DC: Department of

Educarion Indian Nations at Risk Task Force, 1991.

A\-ailable online in

fiill

text

from ERIC 545772

http://www.eric.ed.gov

ChiefDull Knife College

lis

Energy Development on the

Northern Cheyenne Reservation

We
are

can no longer

live

way we used

the

to.

There

is

new way of hfe

that

we

going to know.

Chief Dull Knife,

1878'

LITTLE

DID Chief Dull Knife know

would be
ennes,

like for his people. Less

who had

what

than a century

to rip their

Mother

"new way of

that

and

mine

apart to

life"

the Northern Chey-

later,

lived for centuries as part of the land

Mother Earth, would be asked

wouldn't, others

in 1878

as

coal.

stewards of

And

if

they

-newcomers to Cheyenne country would.

In the early 1920s the Northern Pacific Railroad was looking for land in

eastern

Montana.

railroad

Its

mine

locomotives.

at

Red Lodge was not producing enough

More than

that, the

men who mined

increasingly prone to strike. Geological surveys of the

from Red Lodge

to a

new

coal

decided to shih

camp

its

"Coalstrip," but an error in the Post Office's administration in

tiny village with

its

name

misspelled forever. ')

time the impact that the discovery of coal and

its

in 1913

some corpo-

coal-supply production facility

called Colstrip in 1923.-

No

become

Rosebud country

and 1915 had found a significant field of sub-bituminous coal. After

rate soul searching, the railroad

coal to fuel

the coal had

(It

should have been

Washington

left

one could have predicted

development

at

Colstrip

the

at the

would

have on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation, 20 miles away.

Northern

Pacific hired a construction contractor, Foley Brothers

sota, to operate

its

new

coal mine.

remove the "overburden"

the coal.
to

make

They

originally

planned

(the layer of earth above the

to use

seams of coal) and scoop out

An enormous amount of reasonably clean water would

the steam for the shovels,

It

just so

happened

The only

power

would have

that

seriously

alternative lay in electric power.''

that in 1924 a utility

able to provide that electric

have been needed

and the Foley engineers quickly learned

the water in the Colstrip area was heavily alkaline, which

corroded the expensive machinery.

of Minne-

steam shovels to

company

to the Colstrip coal

in

Montana was

mining camp.

Montana Power Company. The Montana Power Company grew out

It

avail-

was the

of a great

131

up during the beginning of the 20th century.

dish of corporate spaghetti cooked

Montana grew under

Big business in

titude for business aUies

old copper kings together as the

one time

this collection

and accounted

the direction of John D. Ryan,

and mineral

Anaconda Copper Mining Company

of businesses owned

but one of the

all

Montana's payroll.

for three-fourths of

whose ap-

brought the properties of the

alloys alike

Some

state's

in 1915.

At

newspapers

authors said that a

money went to the state's legislature.^

To Anaconda, Ryan added the Montana Power Company

significant portion of their

tively called

the

simply

The Company,

Montana Power Company

early 20th century

ruled the region.

meant the

electrification

Montana Power

in the

Anaconda owed

its

success partly

mechanical shovel ever

of its mines.''

built a 100-mile transmission line

open

Colstrip, enabling Foley Brothers to

largest

in 191 2. Collec-

Anaconda Copper Mining Company and

of a technologically cutting-edge mining operation, which in the

to Ryan's vision

In 1924,

the

its first

built. Colstrip

United States to be completely

pit

from

with what was

became the

first

Billings to

at the

time the

open-pit coal mine

electrified.^

Energy development brought a few opportunities to the Northern Cheyennes

from the 1920s through the

worked occasionally

work week near

the

The Yellow

Painted

but

'50s,

cliffs

cliffs

Man

also

brought problems.

in Colstrip,

as

in their

vanished with them.

Wallowing Bull

to

v.

No Cheyenne

work

ers,

has seen

him

since,

and afterward the

for the Foleys.^

Termination
Cheyenne Reservation

region's richest fossil fuel resources. In 1948,

Martin Naddy and A.E.

as a federally-recognized

Beeler,

Indian

Cheyenne man, woman, and

revenues would

The
its

tribal

two energy promot-

convinced Tribal President John Russell that

make

tribe), there

child

the Northern

13

years earlier

would be

reservation.

a hefty

They

Cheyenne people

payment

under the

if

status

to every

said that the potential

rich.''

in

federal Indian Reorganization Act.

coimcil passed a resolution requesting termination, which, fortunately, was

denied by the Secretary of the

Interior.

Bull understood that termination

132

on the

its

government was young and inexperienced, having been created

modern form only

The

When

a dragline, the Yellow Painted

the tribe were to petition the Secretary of the Interior to terminate (end

oil

Man.

spiritual

migrants 20 miles from their home.

In the 1940s, energy companies realized that the Northern

had some of the

few Cheyennes

camp, providing them with

crumbled before the rugged power of

Cheyennes refused

where they camped during

inhabited by a spirit they called the Yellow Painted

Man visited them

comfort while they worked almost

the

it

mines

in the Foley

The

next tribal chairman, Rufus Wallowing

would mean the

loss the

Cheyennes' homeland

and dissolution oi the Cheyenne

cliffs

inhabited by Yellow Painted

members

Their cukure might crumble

as a tribe.

Man. Wallowing

like the

Bull convinced his fellow tribal

that survival lay in the strength, not the dissolution, of the tribe.

The Cheyennes were

had petitioned

lucky. If the Russell's administration

for

termination in the 1950s instead oi the 1940s, the Interior Secretary would have

accepted their decision. By then, termination was the federal policy. In particular,

Congress targeted the resource-rich

became

tribes for termination.

many

Indeed

tribes

destitute after losing their tribal status.'"

However, the people elected Rufus Wallowing Bull

until 1952.

The

would put up

Drinnon

writer Mari

a statue

of^

Rulus Wallowing Bull

Wallowing Bull

called

and he served

in 1948,

Sandoz once remarked that someday the Cheyennes

in

a "tribal patriot.

Lame Deer."

Historian Richard

"'-

Race and Energy

In the coal

town

oi Colstrip, racism

was

as

bad or worse than

border towns. Aside from the handful of Cheyenne miners

few

years, the coal

in

other reservation

who worked

there lor a

camp had only a few Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) employees,

and some Cheyenne children attended Colstrip High School. Dr. AJonzo Spang
graduated from Colstrip High School in 1953

on

Spang went

as class valedictorian.

and became the

to earn a doctorate in education

first

Indian (and Northern

Cheyenne) agency superintendent oi the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. After

distinguished career with the BIA, Spang became
rial

College (now

known

as

Chief Dull Knife College)

Spang graduated from high school

who

doesn't

remember racism being

a year

in 1994.

ahead of local rancher Wally McRae,

problem.

"When went
I

to school,"

bers McRae, "roughly half of the graduates came from the reservation.

half came from Colstrip.

there were not

two

Lame Deer and

was

factions.

in the middle.

There was

on both

sides.

Wholly

good things about being

slurs,

reflect

on

"For instance,

we were

the darlings

either place.

But

community spanning between

a youngster," explained

was never invited

homes

on the

subtlety,

it

emerge from each. "One of the

Spang,

"is that

you

don't

know

doesn't hurt your psyche right then.

things.

never invited to

invited to their

come from

other

but with different, almost whispered,

different Colstrips

that you're being discriminated against, so

you

didn't

a cohesive

economic, and community divisions often act with

not always with the glare of ethnic

After,

remem-

The

Colstrip that held us together.""

Racial, cultural,

feelings

Memo-

president of Dull Knife

homes over

in Colstrip.

to a

there,

home.

My

brother and

and

others,

but other non-Indian students were

People really didn't acknowledge you.

We were

on the

baseball

football field or

on

the basketball court or

Energy Development on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation

I33

134

diamond, but once diat

Cheyenne from

He

final

whisde blew,

all

and I was just another

that evaporated,

the reservation."'*

certainly

seemed

to have

been popular with

him

high school classmates elected

his fellow students. Spang's

Montana's Boys'

as their delegate to

When the principal submitted his name to the Women's Club,

Go

this

back and get another candidate, they told the principal. Another election

won

time Spang

Spang

him

to

by

wider margin. The Women's Club relented and allowed

go to Boys'

State.

he was rejected.

long

State, so

as a co-delegate.'"' Yet

non-Indian student would accompany

as a

whatever new challenges the coal camp brought

Northern Cheyennes, they were paltry compared

what happened

to

to the

next.

Cheyenne Coal Leases

(OPEC)

In 1974, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries

an

oil

embargo

motion

against the United States.

a frenzy

sources of

fuel.

of activity by

states

One of these new

The

"energy

and corporate

crisis"

declared

oi the 1970s set in

new

interests eager to find

sources was coal. In 1976,

Montana

historian K.

Ross Toole called the Northern Cheyenne "the most important Indian tribe in
country.""'

He described them

quoted the

tribal

as

"'^
attorney calling the Cheyennes "the American Arabs.

In late 1965, a consulting geologist

Affairs (BIA) superintendent of the

made

inquiries to the

The

superintendent, charged with

developing income-producing opportunities for the

vidual Cheyennes, "responded enthusiastically."'**

than half the

which

unemployed, and

Montana

average.

Bureau of Indian

Northern Cheyenne agency about obtaining

a permit to explore the reservation for coal.

reservation were

this

having taken "a page from the Shah of Iran" and

tribal

indi-

the

less

income was

the average per capita

He was

government and

More than half the people on

overruled by the

BIA

Billings

$1,152

Area Office,

said that bureau regulations required competitive bidding.

For the

first

a public coal

that the sale

1971), the

two months of 1966, area and agency BIA officials pieced together

permit

was

sale.

They persuaded

the Northern

in the tribe's best interests.''^ In three

Cheyenne Tribal Council

sales (1966, 1969,

and

Interior regulations

and

permit

BIA departed from normal Department of the

allowed bidders to claim embarrassingly large parcels of land.

The BIA

permits

included no environmental safeguards.'"

By the end of the

leased to energy

56% of the reservation had been

BIA Area Director James Cannon

third coal lease sale, over

companies and speculators.

initiated the coal sales partly in response to the

Cheyenne

Reservation.-'

exploration rights, the

ered

Cheyenne

When

Peabody Coal

BIA considered

coal a "white elephant"

it

extreme poverty of the Northern

Company

a "very good"

and wanted

to

bid 12 cents an acre for

offer. Naively,

make

it

BIA

consid-

as attractive as pos-

Energy Develop)nent on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation

I35

Only

sible to industry.

later

Gradually

did

BIA

lOO

bids of $i6 to Sioo an acre

members became more aware of

tribal

their ramifications. Activists arranged for a busload

what

the Southwest to see for themselves

lands and

on Indian

was

why

their coal

of tribal members to

mines looked

They formed

several council

was worth only

bid."'

and

these coal contracts

and

like

travel to

to talk

with

who owned

allottees (people

became upset about exploratory

burial grounds.

Rowland and

President Allen

about

strip

Cheyenne

the Navajo people impacted by them.

reservation land individually)

had received

realize that similar coal already

looo times higher than Peabody's

to

drilling

on

their

landowners association. Tribal

members began asking questions

17.5 cents a

ton in royalties

when

their gravel

selling for 18 cents.

In 1972 Consolidation Coal (Consol) returned to the reservation with an

astounding

Consol wanted

offer.

to build lour plants to gasify

the tiny reservation, in effect turning

Consol offered millions of dollars

lated reservation

a $1.5 million

it

important

bonuses plus

in

Cheyenne

into an industrialized

community

city.

coal

on

In exchange,

for the rural, iso-

health center. Consols offer tipped

off tribal officials about the true value of their coal.''

Most Cheyennes agreed

economy

a better
result

that energy

development would mean more jobs and

When

for the reservation.

asked what positive changes would

from coal mining, however, nearly one third (104 out ol 346 respondents)

"spontaneously said there would be no good changes from coal development."

The respondents

cited

many

negative effects

non-Indians were also concerned

and

social

The

most

of the

same

issues

with which

crime, 'people pollution," loss of friendships

ties.'''

prospect of a reservation overrun by white energy and construction

workers was particularly disturbing. With only 600 families on the reservation,
it

was obvious that outsiders would

coming
to

in,

the

fill

Cheyenne way of life

an interviewer. "There

will

most of the new

will

jobs.

"With more whites

soon be forgotten," a young

woman

said

be nothing but half breeds and Indians thinking

white, walking around."'*^'

The

tribal

reservation,

members

benefited from the perspective of a

Nancy Owens, who had

construction

boom

Southwest.'

She

jtist

in reservation border

said,

"The

social

finished a dissertation

towns

in the

newcomer

to the

on the energy and

Four Corners region of the

problems ordinary boomtowns experience are

bad enough, but Cheyennes carry over a hundred years of negative experience
with the very people

who might come

to the reservation for jobs...

The continuing

discrimination in nearby white-dominated border towns reaffirms their belief that

only where they are

Ted

became

136

in the majority

Risingsun, cultural leader

popular spokesman for

can their

lives

be led in relative

and occasional member of the

tribal

members. In response

dignity."'**

tribal council,

to the

Consol

offer,

"One

might do

he

said,

to

buy myself the most expensive elkskin

thing

how our ancestors

coal

on mine.

the country

I'd

serious,

my own

where

used to

buy the

and dance

Turning
with

tions, the

scalps

tie

in all the

he

the reservation were leased to coal companies

on

scalp shirt

said, "I

people, with our

could find.

would

tie

pieces of

drive

I'd

around

Indian powwows."
think

would

own way of

rather be poor in

than be rich

life

to their constituents

and doing

Northern Cheyenne Tribal Council voted

all

Then

my own

in a

country,

torn-up land

lo to one by strangers."'''

months of listening

seek cancellation ol

is

anybody ever had. You know

their scalp shirts. Well,

biggest pink Cadillac

am outnumbered

After

it

the permits

and

The new

leases.

their

own

o on March

to

ii

investiga5,

tribal attorneys,

1973, to

Alvin

J.

Ziontz and Steven H. Chestnut, petitioned the Secretary of Interior saying the
permits and leases violated 36 federal regulations.^" According to the

tribe's attor-

ney Steven H. Chestnut,

Affairs

it

was "apparent that the Bureau of Indian

whose advice and counsel the

tribe relied

had been

inept,

on

uninformed, and sadly

overmatched. "''

The BIA

is

part of the

Department of

regulations governing environmental issues

and

Northern Cheyenne coal

third

of the land

in question.

late

which had improved

The new

its

prior to the second

regulations required study

"However," Chestnut charged, "the BIA proved

either unable or unwilling to

The

sales.

Interior,

on Indian lands

implement the admirable intent of this

itself

regulation."*-

1960s and early 1970s were a period ol dramatic changes in the nation's

environmental laws, and the Bureau ol Indian

Affairs' lar-flung offices

apparently

couldn't keep up."

Secretary of the Interior Rogers C. B. Morton, reluctant to undermine his

own

field staff, refused to

on June

tion,

4, 1974,

victory for the tribe

The

tribe

companies

and

cancel the leases outright. Instead, a year after the peti-

Morton placed
a face-saving

the leases

measure

lor

on

indefinite hold, a de facto

bureau employees.

had taken on some of the most powerful multinational energy

in the

world and won. The Cheyennes knew they had defeated BIA

bureaucrats in Billings as well.

"We

were bad Indians," recalled

Risingsun, "and they've been punishing us for

it

tribal elder

Ted

ever since. "'"^ Tribes across the

Northern Plains learned from the Cheyennes' example. Both the neighboring

Crow

Tribe and the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation in

North Dakota
tribes

also challenged coal leases

ied their situation.'^ In 1980,

leases

and permits on

their reservations.

Other

imposed temporary moratoriums on energy development while they studan act of Congress

and gave the Northern Cheyennes

finally cancelled the

Cheyenne

clear title to their land.*^'

In the process of fighting the coal leases, the Northern

a clear position in regard to strip mining.

It

also

Cheyenne Tribe formed

developed a variety of programs

Energy Development on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation

137

and

The Northern Cheyenne

from the

in 1973 with a grant

NCRP

dependent on the

less

federal trustee

(NCRP) was founded

American Programs. The

Research Project

federal Office of Native

quickly acquired a wide array of personnel and consultants, ranging from

scientists recruited to live

ing

make them

institutions designed to

for guidance.

community and

The

NCRP

and work on the reservation

to tribal

members

research-

cultural attitudes.^''

continued

work throughout

its

the 1970s

and

early '80s, includ-

ing natural resource inventories of the reservation and anthropologists' papers that

Cheyenne worldview.

tried to translate the

In addition to providing the crucial

information needed by the tribe to maintain a credible Tribal Natural Resources

Office, the

NCRP

also

documented the

both positive and negative, of

attitudes,

reservation residents toward energy development. In the subsequent battle over

clean

air,

the

Clean Air

v.

NCRP

studies fortified the tribe's position.

Jobs

The Northern Cheyennes had good reason

They had watched as the tiny coal camp at
ary had exploded in the early 1970s

new energy

construction of a

Vilified as little

Colstrip on their northern bound-

the

Montana Power Company began

Construction workers, miners, and plant

more than an extended

trailer

court by

many

people in the

engineers and blue-collar workers went there because they wanted

to earn a living to

tion

center.

of a boomtown.

Rosebud County.

technicians potired into

state, Colstrip's

when

to fear the effects

support their families in a decade

had seriously eroded employment

labeled "people pollution," a term

rates.

Once

promoted by

when

interest rates

there, they

and

infla-

found themselves

a sociologist researching the social

impacts ol development on the region.'^

When

the

Montana Power Company

ditional generators

on

its

coal-fired

war

strip issue into a full-fledged

its

growing

in

later

proposed construction of two ad-

plant,

it

drove the already volatile Col-

which the Northern Cheyenne Tribe

political muscle. In 1976, the

Montana Power Company's

members discovered

had

to

power plant by 1,400

several other coal-fired

that they

flexed

Northern Cheyenne Tribe objected

plans to expand the Colstrip

megawatts and by the prospect of

area. Tribal

power

power plants

in the

new weapon: The Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA) had adopted regulations under the Clean Air Act that

allowed states and local governments to protect their

air.

Prevention of Significant Deterioration regulations classified most areas of

the United States as Class

pollution was allowable.

Class

138

I.

States

and

local

II,

EPA

where the

air

was reasonably

clean, but

some new

designated national parks and wilderness areas as

governments had the option of choosing the Class

desig-

nation (which would keep their

or the Class

air relatively pristine)

designation

III

(which would allow the most pollution).

The Northern Cheyenne Tribe convinced

that tribes

The

had authority under the law

the

EPA and

to redesignate

The
Units

new
to

game

work within

the Class

II

designation, not Class

filed a lawsuit against the agency.

the federal government that

tell

every 30 minutes without being challenged,"

it

can't

The Cheyenne
Patrick Stands
ervation.^-

Over

Coal was a very

tribal

members supported

of the

Crow Coal

told a reporter.

EPA

to play

met with heavy

games

resistance not only

staunch supporter of coal development on his

divisive issue

the

from

own

res-

on the Crow Reservation, and some other

Cheyenne

clear air effort, including

two members

Authority, Dale Kindness and Ellis "Rabbit" Knowshisgun.*'

For several years, the Crows had negotiated coal leases with a

mining companies, including

Shell,

Amax,

number

ol

Gulf, Westmoreland, and Peabody,

although only Westmoreland was actually mining coal

a

"It's

from the chairman of the neighboring Crow Tribe,

also

Bull, a

Montana

lives."*'

petition for clean air

companies but

I.

"Somebody,

change the name of the

McElwain

too costly lor the people and businesses ol this nation lor the

with peoples' pocketbooks and

energ)'

On

standard would be

Montana Power Company. Engineers had designed

Power President Joseph McElwain

sometime, has to

that the tribe's Class

generators.^"

decision infuriated

and 4

Project,

environmental, and economic impacts.^'

EPA announced

Sept. i6, 1976, the

applied to the

social,

their air shed.

Cheyenne Research

courts said that the tribe, through the Northern

had adequately studied the

eventually the courts

and protect

in 1977. "Tribal leaders,"

Washington Post reporter observed, "have hired a dozen public relations men'

Crow

fluent both in

and English

dialect

members and convince them

to circulate

among

the far-flung tribal

of the virtues of coal exploitation."^^

The Crow

dis-

pute spilled over the border to the Northern Cheyenne Reservation and to the

EPA

offices in

Washington,

In August, the

EPA

DC.

temporarily shut

down

the construction site in Colstrip.

The construction contractor Bechtel immediately

demonstrators angrily took to the
ing.

Their signs

streets

pipefitters, laborers,

and

and union

of Billings in front of the federal build-

said, "Starvation Kills Faster

and Hungry? Eat an Environmentalist!"

laid off 107 workers,

than Bad Air" and "Out of

Electricians,

Work

heavy equipment operators,

their families broadcast their message:

This was not sim-

ply a battle between the faceless capitalist exploiters of nature versus the protectors

of the earth. This was also a fight over

who would

be allowed to make a living for

their families.''^

The Environmental

Protection

Agency held

a series

of public meetings in

southeastern Montana. As expected, the Colstrip meeting consisted mostly of a

Energy Development on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation

I39

pep

rally for construction.

advocacy group called Montana People for

local

Progress accused the agency of acquiescing to "extremists."'*^

The agency heard different opinions

speakers

Ted

Lame

hearing in

at its

Deer. Three of the

Risingsun, Joe Bear, and Sylvester Knowshisgun

w^ere

councilmen. All three were about the same age and had grown up

Each had become prominent

deacon

But

churches on the reservation, Risingsun a

in different

White River Cheyenne Mennonite Church, Knowshisgun

in the

and Bear

costal pastor,

Mormon

their divergent spiritual paths

of his pride in the label "obstructionist"

called the

same

"we want

it."

much

were not so

the Cheyennes of a century before were

Knowshisgun argued

was

all

Cheyenne Native

was

that

the tribe;

left to

government seemed more

that the

human

interested in protecting trophy fishing than in protecting

speakers, including

dillerences as prefer-

Risingsun told the agency

as well as any.

thing. Bear pointed out that the air

keep

to

a Pente-

bishop.

and they knew the Cheyenne heart

ences,

all tribal

as friends.

rights activist Gail Small

rights.

Other

and medicine man

Charles Whitedirt, said that the construction in Colstrip would do violence to the
tribe,

from destroying medicinal plants

The

tribe held

undermining

to

up construction on the

tribal sovereignty.^^

$i billion Colstrip project for three

years, forcing the utilities to install better pollution-control devices.

17, 1979,

the

Montana Supreme Court

ruled that construction

Then on

on Units

Sept.

and 4

could continue. While some viewed the construction of the power plants
defeat for the tribe, the Class
ally.

As

a result of the

battle

had

significant benefits locally

Northern Cheyennes' Class

I air,

the

had

to

pay for

the plant
air.

met

monitoring stations so the

air
its

tribe

to

meet

Cheyenne

contractors.'"^

Edwin Dahl,

administrator for the agreement and a primary

tribal

force behind the redesignation decision, said

the 3,000 resident tribal

monitor the

to

quota for the number of Northern Cheyenne

employees and had to give preference for Cheyenne

the Northern

required

Montana Power

could keep track of whether

commitments. Cheyenne people were trained

The company had

and nation-

company was

to use the best pollution-control technology available at the time.

as a

members and had

it

had resulted

200 of

in jobs for

increased the standard of living

on the

reservation tenfold.^'

Nationally, the Northern

Cheyenne

Tribe's action

that tribes looked at federal environmental

ment

state, local,

or tribal

in the

laws.

The

changed forever the way

was the

tribe

country to choose Class

I.

first

govern-

Congress adopted

regulations in 1977 that formalized the tribal authority for redesignation, thus

adding weight

Once

the

to the earlier

EPA

to protect reservation air sheds.

and Flathead

140

administrative decision.

Cheyenne breached

obtained

Class

the

Two

dam, there was

a flood of tribal initiatives

other reservations in

redesignations.

Those

Montana

tribes also

Fort Peck

decided to pro-

tect their air quality despite the constraints that

it

imposed upon

their

own

plans.

Fort Peck's Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes were most concerned about coal-fired

power

plants,

and the

worried about
Tribal
tribe

own

Salish

and Kootenai Tribe of the Flathead Reservation were

sawmills.'"'^ Later,

Water Standards under

was one ot only

Cheyenne Tribe developed

the Northern

a different law, the

its

own

Clean Water Act. In 2007, the

handful of tribes in the country that had established

its

water quality standards.'''

Surface

v.

Mineral Ownership

Given the mineral wealth that

lay just

below the surface of Cheyenne country,

the challenges continued.

One

American West so

the "split estate:" In

owns the

When

bitter

is

of the factors that makes the energy wars of the

rights to the land's surface

much

of the West, one landowner

and another, the minerals

that lay underneath.

the minerals are strip mined, the landowner completely loses the use of

the surface, and other mineral development

methods have

on the

serious impacts

surface, too.

Congress had long recognized the potential value of the Northern Cheyenne
coal.'- In 1926,

Congress formally allotted the Northern Cheyenne Reservation.

This was part of a national policy that opposed communal land ownership and
divided reservation lands up amongst individual tribal members, often opening
the "surplus

"

reservation land to homesteading.

The Cheyenne
to the tribe,

allotment law specified that the subsurface minerals belonged

but they would belong to the allottees in 50 years. Congress appar-

ently believed that by then, the

into mainstream

American

Cheyennes would have been completely integrated

society,

and

their

commitment

to tribal or

communal

ownership of resources would have disappeared. Congress's belief turned out

to

be a complete misreading of Native cultures generally and Cheyenne culture in

particular,

where land

simply where a person

is

more than

real estate

and symbolizes who

to shift

1976, the tribe brought the matter to the U.S.

as the

Hollowbreast Case.

Native community

tribal

The

has a vested right to

tion of those resources

person

is,

not

lives.

WTien the mineral ownership was about

known

''^

from

tribe to individuals in

Supreme Court

nation's highest court

its

own

in

what became

confirmed that

natural resources, and the disposi-

would be the decision not of individual landowners but

the

government. ^''The FioUowbreast decision meant that Native communities

nationwide could be secure in their ownership of their

own

natural resources.

Fiowever, the F^ollowbreast decision also opened the door to

between the

tribal

more

conflict

government and individual landowners. In 1980, the Northern

Cheyenne Tribal Council approved

a contract with the energy giant Atlantic Rich-

Energy Development on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation

H^

Company (ARCO)

field

created a constitutional

powers to protect

its

to explore the reservation for oil

crisis

on the reservation

as the tribe

proprietary interests in the

entire reservation, not just specifically tribal lands.

oil.

and

gas.

used

its

The

when

landowners, she was fired by

Rowland, a

fierce

Landowners, alarmed that their

court to

tribal

the tribal judge decided the case in favor of the

^^
chairman Allen Rowland.

tribal

opponent of coal development, understood

development generally was much

also

conflict

contract covered the

property could be overrun by corporate prospectors, sued in the

stop the exploration, and

The

governmental

less

that oil

motivated by the same argument that had moved BIA

and gas

He was

destructive than coal strip mining.

1970s

officials in the

reservation

demanded some

sort oi response,

the only resources available to the Northern

Cheyennes were

their minerals.

the extraordinary poverty

on the

The ARCO agreement also won support by a wide margin

when members voted at two

ervation voters

swung

who would

receive benefits

to the

members. The

constitutional revision was passed

of powers between the tribal courts

truly

at the polling place

on the matter. Opponents

said off-res-

without suffering the impacts

the vote, heavily influenced by the council's promise to distribute

$6 million bonus

local referenda

bitterness of the

many

and

ARCO

had

ARCO's

deal struck deep:

years later to provide for a separation

and the council, although whether the court

independent of the council continued to be an open

question.^''

The

is

feelings

of the traditional community were made clear by the holding of the Sacred Arrow

Worship ceremony
country's

and direction

to pray for assistance

of one of the

in the face

most powerful corporations.^

In the end,

ARCO

drilled seven holes,

gas. It left the reservation in 1984.

some landowners and

The

all

of

them

and found no

dry,

or

rift

between

Hollowbreast

case, the

controversy created a deep

their elected leaders. Yet, as in the

oil

control of reservation resources remained a question for the tribal government,

not individual members, to

decide.^**

Conclusion
American Indian activism since the 1960s
licized national milestones,

Trail

such

is

often defined in terms of well-pub-

takeover of Alcatraz Island in 1969, the

as the

of Broken Treaties and the American Indian

of the Bureau of Indian Affairs

standoff at

Wounded

offices in

Movement

Washington,

DC,

(AIM)'s occupation

in 1972,

Knee, SD. While these events received

much

and the 1973

attention, the

Northern Cheyennes were working behind the scenes toward nationhood, achieving milestones, not headlines.

They
air,

142

and

utilized

modern

tools to exercise their sovereignty over their land, their

their minerals. Fighting against

some

of the

most powerful companies

in

the world, they saved their reservation from being strip

When

industrial center.

on

research

sociologist Joane

book on Indian

rather unenthusiastic view of

AIM

own

words and provided them

W.

Decision
pit

in

Cheyenne

Knife's

(personal

B.,

Peterson, R. L. (1970, July).

The Northern

at Colstrip:

mining operation.

Pacifies

open-

Pacific Nortlnvcst Quarterly

Inc., Foley Brothers. Inc.,

an

eighty

of extremes

Northern Cheyenne Tribe,

Northern Cheyenne Tribe

Secretary

of the

Interior,

to

Rogers

Norman: University of
Howard, J. K. (1943). Montana,

Press.

high, wide,

and handsome

(84).

New

Haven: Yale

University Press.

permits on their reservation. Seattle: Ziontz,

& Ernstoff,
al..

20 Chestnut,

Commission on
Development

(1979).

November

7 Wolcott, V. A. (12

equipment

is

1925). Colstrip's

unusual. Coal Age 28(10).

663.

21

Coal development

communication)

23

Ambler. Breaking the iron bonds,

65, Series III.

Papers, University of

Box

Montana.

24, folder 16: Beeler

and

J.,

(1977),

J.

Boggs,

Vol.

Economic

Lame

25

Investigations.

dian control of energy development

(p. 20).

Lawrence:

University Press of Kansas.

J.

Mari Sandoz Correspondence (microfilm

1953,
reel

MS00020), Lincoln: University of Nebraska.

12

Drinnon, R.

camps: Dillon

of the concentration
Myer and American racism (p. 237).

(1987). Keeper

S.

Berkeley: University of California Press.

13

W. McRae

i:

14 A.
15

Spang (personal communication)

16 Toole, K. R. (1976).

ment,

Tribe, 158-159, Tables IV-5

and coal (pp.

Brown and Company.

Boston:

Little,

and

MT: Northern
and IV-6.

1:

and energy

develop-

164.

Owens, N.

(1979).

The

effects

of reservation

bordertowns and energy exploitation on American

Indian economic development. Research in
2,

303-337.

28 The Northern Cheyenne Tribe

ment,

i:

and energy

develop-

167.

29 Ashabranner, B. (1982). Morning

star,

black sun:

The Northern Cheyenne Indians and America's energy

crisis, (pp. 92-93). New York: Dodd, Mead, and

31

T. Risingsun (personal

communication)

Chestnut, Coal development on the Northern

Cheyenne Reservation,

The rape of the Great

cattle

Social, Cultural,

Deer,

30 Toole, The rape of the Great Plains, 56-66.

A. Spang (personal communication)

Northwest America,

&

164-165.

Company.

(personal communication)

J.,

The Northern Cheyenne Tribe and energy develop-

Economic Anthropology

Sandoz, M., 9 September

to

i.

26 The Northern Cheyenne Tribe

27

65.

Owens, N.

The Northern Cheyenne Tribe

Naddy.
(1990). Breaking the iron bonds: In-

J. P.,

and energy development:

ment,

Mike Mansfield

M.

DC: Govern-

Washington,

Office.

Toole, The rape of the Great Plains, 51-52.

Cheyenne
Northern Cheyenne elder (personal

8 B. Tall Bull,

Hunter,

Cheyenne

Civil Rights, Energy Resource

(p. 173).

ment Printing

Sooktis,

11

and

Pirtle,

1974, II-4.

Petition of the Northern

H.

S.

24 Nordstrom,

History 38U), 28.

10 Ambler,

Morton,
leases

22 Ambler, Breaking the iron bonds, 62-90.

6 Johnson, C. (1988). Electric power, copper, and

MS

B.

concerning coal

John D. Ryan. Montana: The Magazine ofWestern

Petition of the

(loi).

Oklahoma

electrical

Plains, 66-67.

Ernstott, Attorneys

on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. In U.S.

8.

Toole, K. R. (1972). Twentieth-century Montana:

state

&

Ziontz, Pirtle, Morisset

18

Tribe: II-4.

4 Foley Brothers,

The rape of the Great

17 Toole,

19 Ziontz, et

Colstrip resident (personal

communication)

resources to create

Morisset

M. Holswarth,

year story,

For his people had

own

for the

&

(5/(3), 130-131.

activist groups.''''

terms and with their

communication).
2 Evans,

in 1993 for

road to sovereignty.

Ted Risingsun often quoted Chief Dull

and other

own

an

ttirned into

Ted Risingsun take

activism, she heard tribal elder

mobilized themselves on their

their

mined and

Nagel visited the reservation

Plains:

50-68).

?2

165-166.

Chestnut, Coal development on the Northern

Chevenne Reservation,

165.

Energy Developmoit on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation

143

We

Home Forever

Will Keep our Cheyenne

Lame Deer,

Busby, Birney, Ashland, and

INCheyenne people remember

is

Muddy Creek, MT,

not just a subject that people study in school and then forget.

became

that their people nearly

powwows

from

board meetings - opens with a prayer and a reference to the

to school

with pictures of Chiefs Dull Knile and

and

exile they led us

will

keep forever."

However, there

is

less

20th century.

Wolf on

Little

back to Montana and

tional precedents that the

won

law,

this

tribal stationery,

the top, says,

"Out of defeat

our Cheyenne home, which we

awareness on the reservation and elsewhere of the na-

Some

chapter provides

its

people have

in social justice for

both In-

of these milestones are described

more

earlier

recent examples.

In July 1972, the Northern Cheyenne Tribe became one of the

in the

set in the

for tribal sovereignty in education

and they have been pioneers

dian and non-Indian communities.

book, and

The official

Northern Cheyenne Tribe and

They have broken new ground

and environmental

They know

extinct in the i88os. Nearly every gathering

long journey from Indian Territory back to Montana.

in this

the Northern

the heroism of their ancestors. For them, history

first tribes

country to transform a Bureau of Indian Affairs school into a tribally-con-

trolled school

new

during the

Indian-controlled school movement.

The Northern Cheyenne

Tribal Council in 1974 started a revolution in

American Indian energy policy, preventing some of the largest multinational energy companies in the world from strip mining the reservation and turning
into an industrial complex.

example and challenged

Other

tribes

their coal leases

on the same

In 1976, the tribe brought one of the

its

it

subsequently followed the Cheyennes'

state's

basis.

most powerful corporations

to

knees for several years by utilizing federal environmental law to protect the

reservation airshed.

The Environmental

Protection Agency stopped construction

of the Colstrip coal-fired power plant expansion and forced the

utilities to install

145

costly air pollution control technology.

utilize this provision oi national

other tribes

manage

leaders

own

their

In 1986, Northern

who demanded

The

tribe

was the

first

in the nation to

environmental laws, and today more than a dozen

air quality

Cheyenne

programs.

elder William Tall Bull

was one of the Indian

protection for American Indian graves and the return

of "spiritual beings" housed in

museum

storerooms.

He

helped U.S. Sen. John

Melcher write the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
1990 and

was appointed by the Secretary of Interior

later

American Indian on the committee

in

to serve as the only

that wrote the regulations for the law. His

passing was noted in the Congressional record by U.S. Sen. Ben Nighthorse

Campbell March

19, 1996.

In 1991, the Federal Reserve Board sent a shock wave through the banking

world when

it

Bank merger.

ruled in favor of Native Actions challenge of the First Interstate

It

forced bankers nationwide to look at

how

they could better serve

communities.

The Land

the

in

As THEY enter THE

victories

2ist

Century

2ist century, the

and the strength of

and people. They must

land, culture,

opment companies,
about what

Northern Cheyenne people draw upon these

their ancestors to face contintiing threats to their

it

battle constant pressure

internal strife about development,

means

to be

when

of Ted Risingsun

they turned

(a

down

favorite Indians for a period

millions of dollars for their coal.

respected elder, Korean

War

hero,

and

Chief DtiU Knife) were cited widely by environmentalists:

be poor in

my own

country, with

be rich in a torn-up land where

my own

am outnumbered

With

all

the

think

"I

people, with our

money

offered to the

Cheyenne

money and move?

The words

would

rather

own way of life

ten to one by strangers.

many at

image of the Cheyenne that haunted them

didn't they just take the

The

of time

a direct descendant of

Cheyenne's courageous battle to protect their land mystified

led to a romanticized

from energy devel-

outsiders' ignorance

an American Indian in the United States today.

Northern Cheyenne Tribe became everyone's

in the 1970s

and

than

"'

the time

The
and

later.

for their coal in the 1970s,

why

Outsiders often misunderstand the

importance of reservations to American Indian people, seeing

it

as a

form of apart-

heid where Indian people are segregated from others. As a result of this misunderstanding, misguided "friends" of the Indians have tried for
to integrate

them

into the

these attempts have been

combined with

While many have been motivated by

efforts to take their lands

years

and

resources.

greed, others have sincerely misunderstood

the Indians' attachment to their land. People

146

more than 500

American system of individual land ownership. Often

who

considered themselves friends

championed

of the Indians have

we ought
So
all

of
if

"We ought

saying

zeal,

to give

why do

them

the cause ot assimihition with missionary-Uke

them freedom, we ought

to give

the Northern Cheyennes choose to hve

do

about one-third

all

enrolled Northern Cheyennes live

more

there were

They

their land.

jobs.

of

all

and

tribal

American Indians

Those who

They

get

elders.

returning to work.

It is

live

on

and

on

their reservation.

Not

and one-half

reservations

their reservation."

More might

and

who

and often

the only place

rettirn

They

love

so their children can benefit

and

participate in tribal traditional

more medical and economic

to serve their people

their language

on

They

governments than members

they want

Hberty,

stay or return have various reasons.

stay to be with their families

from time spent with family

ligious activities.

them

to give

their rights."

benefits

live elsewhere.

from the

Many feel

re-

federal

strongly that

leave to complete their education, later

where they can expect

and be surrounded by people of their

culture.

to hear

Many of

and speak

their ances-

tors are buried there.

Culture

may wear

may not materialize in

silk suits

the form that outsiders expect. Tribal

members

with their beads and braids and have degrees from Harvard

or Boston Universit)'. Their culture often thrives within them, invisible to outsiders,

not necessarily hanging across their chests in a medicine bag. All cultures

face pressure

magazines,

toward mainstream values from

etc.

Nintendo, glossy fashion

But the land gives American Indian people a better chance of

retaining important aspects of their culture

Within

television,

their boundaries, the

and language.

Northern Cheyenne have been able

to retain

nearly complete ownership, unlike most other tribes in the West. Elsewhere, non-

Indians acquired large percentages of the land ownership as a result of homestead

laws and allotment laws passed by Congress in the late i8oos and early 1900s. For

example, the Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation in Montana
lost

over half of their reservation, mostly the rich agricultural land of the Flathead

Valley.^ Fortunately for the

ture.

Then

in the 1950s,

Cheyenne,

their land

was not

as desirable for agricul-

under the far-sighted leadership of John Woodenlegs, the

Northern Cheyenne Tribe developed an unallotment program

to prevent allot-

ments (owned by individual Indians) from being sold outside the

was
tion

by the Association on American Indian Affairs

assisted

formed

in the 1920s dedicated to

(a

tribe.

The

tribe

nonprofit organiza-

working with Indians).^ As a

result of the

Hollowbreast U.S. Supreme Court decision discussed in the energy chapter

in this

book, the tribe also controls the minerals under the reservation.

However,

tribal

cultural resources,

members must continue

and

air

to

worry about

threats to

its

land,

from development on the boundary and outside,

pecially in the area of the Tongue River Valley. In 2004, Fidelity Exploration

Production

Company

filed a lawsuit in federal

court to determine

We

Home Forever

Will Keep our Cheyejine

if

es-

&

the Northern

^47

Cheyenne Tribe owned

of the Tongue River Bed.

half

and gas

leases

in 2002. Fidelity

wanted

to prove that if the state

land beneath the

leases applied to that

Tongue River has

was

The energy

and

historical

owned

river.

unique cultural

grove along the Tongue River floodplain was used as a

until 1930. Religious ceremonies, including the

Bundles, took place at this camp.

the land, then Fidelity's

camp from

at least the

i8oos

annual renewal of the Medicine

The Northern Cheyenne

recognize the spiritual

They make

cloth

offerings to the river. Important ceremonial events, such as fasts,

and the Sun Dance, Sacred Hat, and Ghost Dance ceremonies have been

Tongue River

valley. Spirits live in

Tall Bull in 1991 testified that as

development occurs

performed

in the

the Northern

go to

area

A cottonwood

identity.

nature of water in general and of the Tongue River in particular.

sweats,

The

spiritual significance to the tribe.

their last sanctuary for retaining their

and tobacco

firm had ob-

along the Tongue River from the state of Montana

oil

tained several

Cheyenne people

will

the springs

William

there."'

Powder River

in the

region,

have fewer and fewer undisturbed places to

collect ceremonially significant

pigments and plants.

He

them

told

that off

from the Colstrip power plants was making some medicinal

reservation pollution

plants unsafe.^'

In

November 2007,

the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ended the Fidelity riv-

erbed dispute by dismissing the company's case because the statute of limitations

had expired.
However,

That

Once

Fidelity's

again, the tribe

was successful

area continued to be threatened in

and by the Montco

in retaining

development plans continued on the other

coal-strip

mine and

2007 by

coal

its

land rights.

side of the river.

bed methane development

railroad.'*

South of the reservation, coal bed methane development had begun. Skyrocketing
the

electric

that

fossil fuel prices

new century

in

and new technologies made methane the boom

Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado.

power generation. To produce methane involves

pump

so

ammonia, and other

many

Lame Deer

resources for over 20 years.

tribe,

little is

full

It

for

of wells

drains

ir-

of salts, min-

known about how

groundwater system, according

a grassroots organization based in

The

and discharges water

substances. Very

aquifers will affect the

Cheyenne

drilling a grid

of

fuel

was replacing coal

the water out of the coal beds and discharge the methane.

replaceable aquifers in an already arid land

erals,

It

draining

to Native Action,

involved in protecting Northern

'^

Native Action, and the Northern Plains Resource Council sued

the federal government over coalbed

methane development

in the

Tongue River

Valley and the Power River Basin areas outside the reservation, and as of 2007,

they had prevented

has used

its

it.

Gail Small of Native Action said, "Over the years, the tribe

limited dollars to protect the region from massive exploitation. This

has given us time to get our

148

young people educated. The

elders are ready to pass

on the land

to the next generation

So kr, the
vation,

and the

oil

and hope they

government has turned

tribal

its

are ready to

manage

it."'

back on coal mining on the

reser-

and gas exploration has been unsuccessful. However, there

guarantee that the tribe can

In a referendum election in

resist forever.

The

2006, a majority of people actually voted for coal development (664 to 572).
topic of coalbed

twice as

many

methane was more hotly discussed

no

is

November

and more than

at the time,

people voted against developing coalbed methane on the reserva-

tion (841 to 365)."

The Economy and Health

Some

say that the

FOR THEIR IAND

Northern Cheyenne peopie continue to pay a horkbie price

AND THAT CuSTER DID

hundfed years of

lESS

ChEYENNE PEOPIE THAN A

VIOLENCE TO THE

poveriy. Hltngeris a daiiy feautv THERE.

A SURVEY

IN 200I

third experienced persistent hunger.'- Nearly

the poverty level.

ways high;

With few

between

fluctuates

it

businesses

60%

50%

on the

of Cheyenne families

reservation,

found

and one-

that over two-thirds of the households experienced occasional hunger,

live

unemployment

under
al-

is

because of the number of seasonal

and 85%

jobs.'^

Even amongst Indian people, twice

and they
try

are four times as likely to be

as

many Northern Cheyennes

poor compared with

(26% of all American Indians and Alaska Natives

compared with 12% of all the people

vary. Millions

this

are poor,

people in the coun-

below the poverty

live

line

in the country). '^The reasons for the poverty

of dollars flow into the reservations each year in the form of con-

and

tracts, grants, loans,

most of

all

money

as grocery stores

salaries. If

the local

economy

has not been developed,

flows out again, spent at non-Indian

and

car dealers, paid in federal taxes,

owned

businesses such

and invested

in

banks

far

from the community.

Poverty correlates with poor health nationwide.
in

report

on

federal

funding

Indian Country published by the U.S. Civil Rights Commission in 2003 said

that

American Indian people

other Americans, 318%

more

are

likely to die

from alcoholism, and 204% more

with other groups.

and lack of

It

650% more

from diabetes,

from tuberculosis than

670% more

likely to suffer accidental

blamed such health

access to health care.

likely to die

The

disparities

on

death

poverty, poor education,

Indian Health Service spent

person ($1,600 per year) for comprehensive health services in

health clinics

compared with public and

to the report. In fact, the federal

ers than for

American

likely to die

when compared

its

50%

less

hospitals

per

and

private health insurance plans, according

government spent more on health

care for prison-

Indians.'^

Lesser people might be daunted by these problems, but the Northern

We

Will Keep our Cheyenne

Home Forever

Chey-

H9

ennes have never complacenrly accepted their

care facility, they

most communities take

services

own

bank.

whole

now

demanded and

When

received a

demanded and

received their

they were the only area of their size to lack a high school in the

won

their

part of an educational system that

reservation,

clinic.

for granted, they

they fought for and

state,

When left without any health

When denied the banking

fate.

new

one graduate

own

The high

high school.

school

is

attempting to change the future of the

is

at a time.

Northern Cheyenne Health Clinic

Headh care

is

one of the mostessentlal services

GOVERNM ENT SIGNED A

1868,

it

TSEATY

in

kjralAm erica.

When the U.S.

WITH THE NORIHERN ChEYENNE AND Ar\PAHOE TrIBES IN

agreed to provide health care,

"'

but health services in the community have

never been adequate for the needs. Health care was a function of the Department

when

oi Interior until 1955

the Indian Health

program was transferred

to the

Public Health Service.'

In

Lame

Deer, a hospital had been built in 1926 at a time

had reached epidemic proportions on the reservation,

diseases

when

various

as described in

The

the education history chapter. In 1955, the hospital was reduced to a clinic.

poor

by the hospital and

services provided

the Cheyennes,

who

the

way

downgraded

status as a clinic forced

continued to be ravaged by tuberculosis even in the 1950s,

Crow Agency

all

in the area researching her novel

to

lelt

compelled

Author Mari Sandoz,

to seek treatment.

to travel

who was

Cheyenne Autunuh

its

about the Cheyennes'

to write President

Harry

flight

from

exile,

Truman about

S.

the

conditions.'**

In 1975, the Indian Health Service

and received lunds

burned

to the

to build a

ground

in

the Northern

crisis for

May

and the Northern Cheyenne Tribe sought

new

clinic.

1996.

The

Twenty

years later, however, this clinic

destruction of the clinic created a health

Cheyenne people.

Initially, services

out the community and were housed in temporary

services

were scattered through

trailers

and buildings. Some

were transferred to the Crow/Northern Cheyenne Hospital

in

Crow

Agency, 45 miles away.

Out

of the ashes of the old clinic,

cause of the
receive a

fire,

new

the Northern

facility.

hope sprang

Cheyenne

for a new, larger facility. Be-

Service was given higher priority to

Planning began immediately.

Board of Health contracted

The Northern Cheyenne

to build a new, $14.4 million clinic

under federal

self-

determination statutes. Three years after the old clinic burned, the new, 62,000
square-feet Northern

Cheyenne Health Clinic was completed

ber of staff was doubled, and

new

services

The num-

were added.

Donita Sioux, the project coordinator

150

in 1999.

for the

Northern Cheyenne Health

Clinic, told Indian Country Today,

and

"The

health services are

now under one

root,

patients are treated in a sparkling btiilding that rivals medical clinics in the

The

state's largest cities.

facility also

designed like a sweat lodge.

The

or otherwise find solace.

includes a rock-floored healing

a place

It's

design

where

families

more

is

and

room

that's

patients can go to pray

culturally relevant to the tribe, to

the people."''^ In 2007, the clinic continued to serve the needs of the Northern

Cheyenne people.

Bank

First Interstate

In the iate 1980s, Native Action recognized the need for the tribe to be able to
control

and

own money and

its

leverage

it

to build

an economy. They hired a banker

conduct an economic survey, which discovered that 90

local researchers to

people on the reservation were either in business or wanted to open their

businesses

stylists, fur

if

they could obtain financing.

buyers,

their ranches,

and

and

Some of the

tax accountants; they

start

wanted

own

entrepreneurs were hair

to start video stores,

expand

construction companies. "There was a fascinating array

of talent that we never realized we had," Native Action Executive Director Gail
Small

said.-"

The

survey looked at

all

the

explored what could be done with that

money coming

money

if it

into the reservation

and

were not spent or invested

outside the boundaries.

First Interstate

Bank, a family-owned corporation based

MT,

in Billings,

claimed to serve the reservation. However, the reservation lacked even an Automatic Teller Machine (ATM).
ers believed

Few people could

get loans, partially because lend-

they could not collect collateral in case of default on the reservation.

Native Action researched a

little

known

provision of federal banking law, the 1977

Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), which

meet the

requires banks to

needs of low- and moderate-income people in local communities.

time,

it

was

just a piece

Bank applied

of paper that had never been used. After

to federal regulators to

ever. Native Action charged the

merge with

a sister

bank

bank with redlining the

in

Up

until that

First Interstate

Wyoming, how-

reservation. In January

1990, the organization formally accused the bank's branch in Colstrip,

tion.

MT,

of

from Northern Cheyenne transactions without providing enough loans

profiting
to tribal

credit

members.

The

First Interstate officials

were infuriated

Federal Reserve Board sent a mediator to

could be reached.

So on Oct.

It

at the

Montana

uppity organiza-

to see if

agreement

could not.

7, 1991,

the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve for the

time in history rejected a merger application solely on the bank's failure to

requirements of the

CRA.

the credit needs of the

It

said the Colstrip

bank was not adequately serving

Northern Cheyenne Reservation. The vote was

We

Will Keep our Cheyenne

first

satisfy

Home Forever

three to

^S'

The
first

often ask to deal directly with Barbara Braided Hair, branch manager of First

tribe's elders

Interstate

Bank

in

Lame

Deer,

who

them

has helped

feel

more comfortable about using

two with Alan Gteenspan casting the

banking world.

A front-page

tie

breaking vote.

The

story in American Banker, the

magazine, said the decision was a warning to

to

bank

for the

time. (Photo bv Kathleen Beartusk)

all

monitor the community-lending records of its

decision rocked the

New York

City-based

holding companies nationwide

subsidiaries."^

The

front page of

the Billings Gazette proclaimed, "Fed Sides with Native Action." First Interstate,
the third largest commercial

bank

in

Montana with $629

meet the demands of the Northern Cheyennes.

It

was the

million in assets, had to

first

time that teeth had

been put into the CRA.

By

then, the tribal

members had organized

the lead in the negotiations with the bank.

and eventually
wanted

their

own

bank.

bank training program

The

Chamber of Commerce

tribal

They wanted $10

to take

members wanted an

million in

so that local people could

fill

new

loans,

ATM

and they

the jobs at the bank.

After holding up the merger for nearly two years, the agreement was signed Sept.
18,

1992,

by representatives of the diverse groups that eventually got involved

the process

152

the bank, Native Action, the Northern Cheyenne Area

in

Chamber of

Commerce,

the Northern

Cheyenne Tribal Council, and

the Northern

Cheyenne

Livestock Association."

To make

the

bank

possible, the

Northern Cheyenne Tribe had

important governmental changes. By referendum, the

attractive

code. Each state has a

and protect property

on the

reservation, the tribe

Uniform Commercial Code

adopted

commercial

to guarantee legal obligations

uniform manner. As separate

interests in a

some

and executive branches.-' To

a reorganization that separated legislative, judicial,

make lending more

to enact

membership passed

tribal

jurisdictions, In-

dian reservations must provide a similar guarantee in order to attract business investments. Native Action drafted a Tribal Uniform Commercial Code, which after

much

comment, was adopted by

public review and

Council

in 1998.

relationships

unique

on the

it

Cheyenne Tribal

reservation, while recognizing the tribal courts

and the

allies.

made

Bank and

started out as adversaries. First Interstate

Within three and

a half years. First Interstate

The

agreed open lending goal of $10 million.

that

the Northern

provides consistency and fairness to debtor/creditor

ATM

Bank reached

developed a manager trainee program

draw

amongst

tribal

to

Today. Valandra

members. The bank

helped

also

loans.-'* "If (the

is

an enrolled

member of

served as the company's vice president for

is

tribal colleges.

tribal

tribal

members both on and

Lame Deer) community

not

is

branch won't be successful," Maria Valandra told Indian Country

successful, the

to

from

and was

became the branch manager, and she helped build

Hair,

off reservations obtain housing

CRA

recruits

Bank

there. First Interstate

working on an internship program

member, Barbara Braided

the

machine had so much use

bank would work

First Interstate realize a

the tribe

that's targeting Native Americans

trust

tribe's

cultural heritage.-''

While they

became

The code

not something we

just

comply with.

who

the Chippewa-Cree Tribe

community development.
It's

another way that

also

"I believe

we can

the

give back

our communities."
involved in several programs on the Northern Cheyenne

The bank became

Reservation to provide financial education, including going to housing

promote home

ownership programs and teaching kids

hosted a "minibank" in

Lame Deer

own

and handled

set their

counts

policies

at First Interstate

bank invested
managers

in

Bank

schools,
cash.

how

to save.

lairs to

The branch

which was operated by students who

The money went

that could only be accessed

by

into individual acstudents.-''

Thus

the

tomorrow's entrepreneurs, business owners, and family financial

who may

continue to transform the local economy. Asked about what

led to Native Action's success with this project. Small said,

everybody to achieve anything." The process involved

Indian and non-Indian,

Montana

the tribal chairman at the time,

We

"You have

to include

local business people,

both

Legal Services, the school superintendent, and

Edwin Dahl.

Will Keep our Cheyenne

Home

Forever

^53

Conclusion

The Northern Cheyenne people do not spend much time congratulating themSED/ES on the MIIESTONES THEY HAVE ACHIEVED IN THE NATIONAL ARENA. ThEY E\CE TOO
MANY PROBLEMS IN THEIR COM M UNITIES EVERYDAY TO DO THAT. NeVERIHEIESS, KNOWLEDGE OF THESE VICIDRiES CAN PORHFY THEM

BuiLUSED TO

SAY,

"We ARE THE ANCESTORS

century Cheyenne people are

IF

making

still

riors are lawyers, doctors, nurses, teachers, professors,

and

leaders, activists, students,

dedication and creativity

stead, they are quietly

may

janitors.

not be

NoW IN THE

2ISt

odds

for

history, fighting against

and they have many non-Indian friends by

their people,

WlULAM TaLL

EVER THEY FEEL DAUNTED.

OF THOSE YET TO BE BORN."

Many

all

their sides. Today's war-

language scholars, religious

and

are invisible to outsiders,

known by

their

their

community members.

doing their jobs with an eye to not only the past

In-

btit also

the future of their people.

Ashabranner, B. (1982). Morning star, black mn:

The Northern Cheyenne Indians and America's

energy

crisis

(pp. 92-93).

and Company and

New York: Dodd,

8 Native Action 20th Anniversary Report, 1984-2007

(2008).

Mead,

Lame

Deer,

MT,

Native Action.

9 Native Action 20th Anniversary Report.

T. Rjsingsun (personal

communication),

10 Small, G. (personal

communication)

)an.

15,

2008.
2

The

number of enrolled was 8,500 and

number on the reservation was 4,200.

total

the total

Tobacco/ gas

tax

11

Retrieved Jan.

15,

2008 from http://www.cheyen-

nenation.com/newso6.html

reimbursement. (June 2006).

The Nation: Tribal Report of the Northern Cheyenne

12 Davis, J, Hiwalker, R.,

Nation

Youngstrom,

/(y), 4.

William, B. (1996). Montana's Indians Yesterday

and Today. Helena, MT: Farcountry

Press, p. 120.

History of the Cheyenne People

(pp. 196-197). Billings:

Montana Council

for Indian

Education.
5

tion to nutritional

The

participa-

status, diabetes risk

among the Northern Cheyenne

USDA). Ambler, M. (Summer 2002).
and

March 2007,

the Colstrip coal-fired power

14

cut greenhouse gases, based

equipment

to

upon the demands of

March 24). EPA,

the tribe. (Johnson, C. (2007,

tribe, plants settle dispute.

The

(SF

3).

Ogunwole,

S.

U., (2006).

We

the People:

American Indians and Alaska Natives

States.

DC:

Wishington,

in the

United

U.S. Census Bureau,

pp. 11-12.
15

Bull arguments are contained in the

and Proposed Amendment of the Powder

and Billings Resource Management PLtns.
Washington, DC: Department of Interior, January
Statement
River

11,

Billings Gazette.)

Final Statewide Oil and Gas Environmental Impact

2003. Retrieved Dec.

Summary

Bureau of the Census. Census 2000

File

plant owners were forced to install

2007, from http://w\vw.

8,

8).

The

2007. from

(2003).

and Unmet Needs

Quiet

in Indian

DC:

Country (No. 005-907-00596-1.) Washington,

16 Kappler,

C. (1972). Indian

Washington,

DC:

Treaties, 1778-188}.

Interland Publishing, Inc.

Remarks by Commissioner of Indian

Glenn

7 Tongue River ruling upheld (2007, Nov.

Commission

Federal Funding

U.S. Civil Rights Commission.

17

Retrieved Nov.

U.S. Civil Rights

Crisis:

mt.blm.gov/mcto/cbm/eis/NCheyenneNarrati-

veReport/Chap7.pdf

L.

Emmons.

(1957,

October

30).

Affairs

Depart-

ment of the

Interior Information Service, p.i.

NARA: RG

75 Records of the Bureau of Indian

Northern Cheyenne Agency, Lame Deer,

http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2007/11/08/

Affairs,

news/state/25-tongueriver.txt

MT, Decimal

Subject

Files,

From 10NS-075-97-013.

154

program

Rita Hiwalker: Confronting the reality of food

13

Billings Gazette.

E.,

(Oct. 2001).

security

(Report to

Final Statewide Oil and Gas Environmental Impact

The Tall

and health

M.

hunger. Tribal College journal i^i^^, 30-31.

Statement.

6 In

Ward, C, Feinauer,

Lemperle,

relationship of food assistance

and food
4 Weist, T. (1977).

C&

1926-1952,

Box

Trans.

i8

Mari Sandoz

1949,

MS00016,
19

to

Harry

S.

Truman,

lo

October

Mari Sandoz Correspondence (microfilm

reel

The

University of Nebraska, Lincoln).

Northern Cheyenne Health Clinic Completed.

(1999, Nov.

15).

India}!

Country

21,

Braitman,

merger

16).

Billings Gazette.

in

E., (1991,

Oct.

10).

CRA report

Montana. American Banker

Banking on

own

gets

Retrieved Dec.

7,

tradition:

bank.

2007 from

http://billingsgazette.net/articles/2003/03/16/busi-

24 Native Action 20th Antiiversary Report.

25 Selden, R. (2002, Jan. 31).

2007.
21

March

ness/export99468.txt

Todiiy,. 2.

20 G. Small (personal communication), Dec.

23 Shay, B. (2003,

Northern Cheyenne Reservation

trips

156(197),

law,

bank

finds

Prodded by

good business on

federal

reservation.

Indian Country Today. Retrieved Dec.

7,

2007,

1.

from http://www.indiancountry.com/content.
22

Community Reinvestment Proram Mutual

cfm?id=ioi223i275

Agreement of Cooperation and Understanding

26 Shay, Banking on tradition.

(1992, Sept. 18).

We

Will Keep our Cheyenne

Home

Forever

155

Contributors

rx

MARJANE Ambler wrote

visited the

Coming Home

the

chapter and the conclud-

(We Will Keep our Cheyenne Home

ing chapter

Northern Cheyenne Reservation

She

Forever).

first

in 1974 as a journalist

covering the Northern Cheyenne coal lease controversy. Since then she has specialized in

American Indian natural resource and education

From

issues.

1995 until

2006, she was the editor and publisher of the Tribal College JouniaL a quarterly

magazine covering the

35 tribal colleges in the

American Indian Higher Education

Consortium. In 1990, the University Press of Kansas published her book, Breaking
the Iron Bonds: Indian Control

ofEnergy Development.

many of the photographs

Kathleen B. Beartusk took

prepare other graphic images.

A member

(CDKC)

has worked for Chief Dull Knife College

associate degree

CDKC

from

lishing for the college.

five children ages 19

She does a

in 1993.

A fifth generation

through

34.

in this

book and helped

of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, she

for 26 years.

lot of

She received her

design and desktop pub-

descendant of Chiel Dull Knile, she has

She raised them

as a single

mom. Four

of her

children got degrees from or are beginning their educational journeys at Chief
is now working on his Master's in Business
Two Two, 28, is doing his third tour in Iraq.

Dull Knife College. Her oldest, Adam,

Administration. Her other son, Uriah

He went

into the

Army

right out of high school.

Joan Hantz wrote the chapters on

Brother,

and Balloon

Coming Home

Bomb

chapter.

in

Lame

A Montana

She has

Early Education,

six

The

grandchildren.
Girl

Who

Saved her

Deer; and she contributed research to the

native, she

is

a graduate of the University of

Montana. She received her Library Science Degree from the University of Arizona.
She has worked
at the Dr.

in the library profession for 25 years

John Woodenlegs Library

in

Lame Deer

and has been

for nearly

her husband while attending the University of Montana.

for 25 years

and have two

sons.

Hantz

first

library director

six years.

She met

They have been married

this project when

became involved with

157

Dr. Richard E. Little Bear asked her to

Records Administration

and

places that she recognized.

was

also satisfying to her.

Making

Richard E.

Little

15

this

with names

contacts and interviewing folks in the area

will gain a sense

book.

Bear wrote the Preface and the Language chapter and edited

He was born in Lame Deer and was raised in Busby until he

He was primarily raised by his Grandma Rosa Little Bear. He

of the chapters.

was

National Archives and

at the

many documents

She hopes that the children of Montana

of the Cheyenne community from

all

do research

Denver. She came across

in

years of age.

known

attended Northern Cheyenne Tribal Schools (then

Boarding School)

until the eighth grade.

WA, where he was

the only

He

as the

Tongue River

then attended high school in Lind,

American Indian student

for three years.

He gradtiated

from Lind High, attended Centralia Community College, Wenatchee Valley College in

Washington

and Bethel College

State,

in Kansas,

from which he earned a

He earned a Master's in Educational Administration

from Montana State University in Bozeman, MT, and a Doctorate in Educational
Administration from Boston University in Boston, MA. Since 1996 he has been
Bachelor's Degree in English.

employed

at

Chief Dull Knife College,

first as

the acting president, then as the president,

and the

president.

He

is

married to Jan

the dean of cultural affairs, then as

and now

Little Bear,

Regional Educational Laboratory in Portland,

as the

dean of cultural

who works

for the

OR. Between them,

affairs

Northwest

they share

five

children and five grandchildren.

Patti

Means wrote

the article about Joseph

Whitewolf She

also contributed

research for several chapters, including the concluding chapter ("We Will

Cheyenne
list

Home

Forever),

in the appendix,

Chief Dull Knife College chapter, the

and the Early Education

chapter.

Knife College, she has worked there for 10 years,

the student support services coordinator.

has lived on the reservation most of her

three sons (Jarrad, Chauncey,

enjoyed working on

Objects.
the

Cheyenne Peace

Coming Home

life.

first at

graduate of Chief Dull

the library

the chapters

Pipe,

chapter. She

and
is

doing the research.

District

an enrolled

more appreciative of the ancestors'

Cheyenne people can continue. Although she has

sacrifices so that

left

ties

her back home. She comes from a family of 12 children, and she

158

went

this project,

generations of

the reservation for short pe-

and employment opportunities, her family

years, she

and

member of the Northern Cheyenne

in her youth, she heard many

from her parents and grandparents. Through her research on

During her high school

Sites

Names. She contributed research on

stories

est.

said she has

on Northern Cheyenne Sacred

She enjoyed working on the project because

riods for education

as

She and her husband, David, have

Tribe.

she became even

and then

enrolled Northern Cheyenne, she

and Kale) and four grandchildren. She

this project, especially

Mina Seminole wrote

An

Keep our

tribal presidents

is

always brought
the second old-

to a boarding school in Flandreau,

SD.

Aher graduation her

and adventure took her

desire tor education

to Cleveland,

OH, where she attended business school. She met her husband there; he is from
the Omaha Tribe in Nebraska. They have 3 children, 13 grandchildren, and 2 great
grandchildren. When she started work at Chief Dull Knife College in 2005, her
desire to take college classes became a reality. In May 2008, she planned to receive
her Associate of Arts degree in Native American Studies.

Linwood Tall

He

Bull wrote the Native Plants chapter.

is

an enrolled

member

of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe and a descendent of Tall Bull, the leader of the

Dog
a

who was

Soldiers

Summit

killed at

Vietnam Era veteran

Springs in 1869.

Headsman

as well as a

for the

Linwood

Dog

Tall Bull

is

Soldiers Society, an

ancient society that has always protected and preserved the ways of the people.

He

(WiUiam

follows in the footsteps of his father

Tall Bull), teaching the heal-

ing qualities of plants and teaching Ethnobotany at Chief Dull Knife College.

He

believes that Indian

Montana

Education for All

schools today. Every tribe in

is

one ol the best things happening

Montana and throughout

in

the United States

has a colorful, interesting history; strong stories and legends; knowledge about
plants

and healing; and

survival skills.

non-Indian and Indian children

more about Indian

start to learn

will

to

Knowing more about each

history

and

culture,

all

children in

be getting an education about the best of both worlds. That

work on
Carol

other will help

learn to live together well, he believes.

is

When they
our schools

why he

is

proud

this Tribal Histories Project.

Ward wrote

Contemporary Education and co-wrote

the

the Chief Dull

Knife College chapters. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Chicago
in 1992.

Her

interest in

specialist for the

five years. In

American Indian education

led to her

work

as a research

Administration for Native Americans in Washington,

the early 1980s, she

worked

College and then as a staff and faculty

DC,

for

consultant to Chief Dull Knife

as a

member from

1987-1990. As a result of this

work, she completed a dropout study on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation,

which was published

by AltaMira
University in

as a

Press in 2005.

monograph, Native Americans

She joined the sociology faculty

1990 and teaches

classes in racial

and ethnic

in the School System

Brigham Young

at

relations, sociology

of

education, community, and qualitative and survey methods. She has continued
to

work with

the Northern

Cheyenne over the

last 17 years

on

K-12 and higher education, substance abuse recovery, and the

issues related to
effects

of welfare

reform on food insecurity and health conditions. These projects have involved

community surveys
community. She

is

as well as interviews

currently conducting research concerning the effectiveness of

recent innovations in the

services at
Bill

with members of the Northern Cheyenne

math and

science curriculum

and expansion

of student

Chief Dull Knife College.

Wertman co-wrote

the Chief Dull Knife College

Contributors

(CDKC)

chapter and

'59

contributed research to the

Coming Home

where he has been employed

CDKC,

he was the director of student development

years.

He

He

chapter.

college,

is

vice president ot the

employment

for 28 years. Prior to his

at

Busby Schools

earned his bachelor's degree from Eastern Montana College and

master's degree

from Montana

southeastern Montana,

son (Devin),

all

oi

Wertman

whom

at

his

life-long resident of

has two daughters (Jodean and Lindsey) and a

have completed studies

pursuing a bachelor's degree

State University-Bozeman.

at

for seven

CDKC.

at

Devin

is

currently

Rocky Mountain College. Wertman enjoys work-

ing at the college because he likes assisting students as they explore and ultimately
realize their
ties for

educational dreams. Each day brings

new

challenges and opportuni-

both personal and institutional growth.

Dave Wilson wrote

and the Energy chapters and helped

the Agriculture

research several of the other chapters.

He

has a Bachelor's of Arts in History, a

Master's of Arts in Classics from the University of Kansas,

from Brigham Young

in 1985,

was on the

University.

He began working

staff of the tribal college

considered Rosebud

County

home.

as his

at

from 1986

He

is

and

to 1990,

now an

Ph.D.

"

assistant professor

of His-

Orem. He

says

Ph.D. came from the Northern Cheyenne Reservation, where

"committee" consisted of William

Tall Bull,

these chapters was based mostly

on

his

Ted Risingsun, Florence Whiteman,

Lee and Juanita Lonebear, Alonzo Spang, and Richard Tall

160

History

and since then has

tory and American Indian Studies at Utah Valley State College in

that his "real

in

Chief Dull Knife College

archival sources, with a

Bull.

The

research for

few interviews.

APPENDIX A
Northern Cheyenne Veterans List

THIS
on

LIST

WAS compiled primarily by Janet Mullin. The people who worked

this list tried to include everyone,

sions, especially in the

list

from the

but there are undoubtedly omis-

i88os. If

contact Janet Mullin at the Jessie Mullin Picture

477-6460.

Last

Name

someone has been omitted,

Museum

in

Lame Deer

{406)

Last

Name

Last

Name

Last

Name

Last

Name

Last

Name

Last

Name

Last

Name

Last

Name

Last

Name

Last

Name

Last

Name

APPENDIX B
Tribal Presidents

Rufus Wallowing

Eugene

December 1935-September

September 1952-March

1936

Fisher, Sr.

1955

Joseph White Bear

John Wooden Legs

September 1936-June 1938

March

Eugene Fisher

Allan Rowland

September 1938-May 1940

September 1968 - September 1984

William Red Cherries

Windy

June 1940-January 1943

September 1984 - December 1985

John Stands

March

in

Timber

1943-July 1943

Mark

1955

- September 1968

Shoulder Blade

Elk Shoulder

December

1985

August

1986 - August 30, 1986

18,

-January

30, 1986

William Red Cherries

July 1943- September 1944

John Buffalo Horn

January 1986 - August 1986

Eugene

Fisher, Sr.

September 1944-July 1947

Charles Yellow Fox

August 1986 - September 1986

John Russell
July 1947-September 1948

Robert Bailey

September 1986 - October 1986

Rufus Wallowing

October 1986 - September 1988

September 1948-September 1952

Edwin

Dalile

September 1988 - December 1989

173

John Wooden Legs,

Jr.

December 1989 January 1990

Edwin Dahle
January 1990 - November 1992

Llevando Fisher

September 1992 - December 1996

Wilham Walks Along

December 1996 - January 1998

Norma Gourneau
January 1998 - March 1998

Joe Walks Along,

March

1998

Sr.

- November 2000

Geri Small

November 2000 - 2004

Eugene

Little

Coyote

November 2004 - February 2008

Geri Small

February 2008 - Present

This

by Patti

list

was compiled by the Northern Cheyenne

Means on June i^, 20oy,from

ern_Cheyenne/NC_Presidents. htm

174

TeCH Project.

It

was retrieved

the website http:/btc. montana.edu/tech/North-

Indiex

rX
Note;

Ittilicized pa.ge

illustrations

numbers

indicate

and the accompanying captions.

Abram, David,

arrow

41

shafts,

66

Arthur, Chester A., 30, 47

acculturation, resistance to, 94

articulation agreements, 123

Achievement Day, 98

Ashland

adult education/literacy center, 128

Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, 84

47-48, 48 (map)

District,

assimilationist education, 90, 104, 106, 115

Assiniboine Tribe, 141

agriculture, 53-61

Association on American Indian Affairs, 147

air quality, 138-140, 145, 146

alcohol and alcoholism, 32, 41-42, 109, 120,

authors, background of, 157-160

Automatic

128, 149

Machine (ATM),

Teller

151, 152, 153

Alexander, Archie, 109

baJd eagle, in creation stories, 17

Alexander, Rowdy, 57

banking

Algonquian languages, 36
Algonquian-speaking peoples, j/ (map)
allotment laws, 6in20,

bank training program,

Battle of the

no

alnifolia (June berry/sarvisberry),

27 (map),

American Banker

(periodical), 152

American Horse,

55

American Indian

activism, 142-143

Bear Butte,

Initiative, 128

Bear

85,

Killer, 90,

American Indian Movement (AIM), 142-143

Anaconda Copper Mining Company,

Bear Shield, 90

Anderson, Robert,

53,

132

86

from Indian

Territory, 26-28,

83, 145

88

92

90

Beartusk, Kathleen B., 79

59-60

humans appearing

as,

Beartusk, Ronelle Renee, 122

28

Bechtel, 139

animals, in creation stories, 13-20

Beeler, A. E., 132

Antelope, 90

berry plants, 65-66

antelope, in creation stories, 17

BIA.

Antelope Creek, 50

and methane production, 148

Arapahoe Tribe, and Fort Laramie

and

spirit lite,

Ankara Tribe (Ree Tribe),

82

51

Arikarees, in creation stories, 20

Arrows, Sacred,

85, 87, 88

see

Bureau of Indian

Affairs (BIA)

Bia, Fred, 42

appetite stimulation remedies, 65

archaeologists,

25, 67, 68, 71,

bear, in creation stories, 17

Bear's Heart,

aquifers,

153

Horn,

Bear, Joe, 140

American Indian Housing

animals,

75-77, 76

Rosebud, 67, 68

battles in escape

64-65

II,

services, 146, 150, 151-153

Battle of the Litde Big

147

141,

alterNative high school,

Amelanchier

War

balloon bombs. World

Alford, Danny, 36

Treaty, 25

Bighead, Kate, 68, 70

Big Left Hand, Perry, 122, 123

Big Moccasin, 91
Big Nose, 90
birds, in creation stories, 17

Birney District, 48 (map), 49

175

Birney Ditch (Tongue River Irrigation Project),

Cannon, James,

135

Carlisle Indian School,

57. 59

Black Coyote, 67, 68-70

Gates,

Black Hairy Dog, 88

cattle

Black

cattle killing, 55-56, 57

Hills, 18

branding,

^4,

$7

Black Lodge people, 50

cattle ranching, 54, 55

Black Wolf, James, 23

CCC

Bluff Creek Battle, 27 (map)

CDKC.

boarding schools, 92-97,

bows and arrow

box elder

Chief Dull Knife College

Cheyenne language and,

to

25

remove

aftereffects

of war, 79

retention of x

Boys Clubs of America, 56

Sacred
sites

Arrow Worship,

of

Wolf

Woman

142

87, 148

Chamber of Commerce,

2in3

Braided Hair, Barbara,

Brave

45

Territory, 28

reburial, 82

55

boys identically dressed, in creation story, 19-20,

Brave

152

Chestnut, Steven H., 137

752, 153

Cheyenne Immersion Camps,

50
(Buffalo Calf

Road Woman),

jy,

40

Cheyenne language
animacy and inanimacy

67-70, 69
Brondel, John, 94

dictionaries

of

in,

37

36, 38

buffalo, in creation stories, 14-18, 19-20

forbidden in boarding schools, 106

buffalo berry {Shepherdia canadensis), 65

history

Buffalo Calf 90

in

Buffalo Calf

Road

Woman

(Brave

Woman),

of 36-38

Montana,

preservation

and

67-70, 6^

35
of, x,

38-40

spirituality, 45

Buffalo Gap, 18

teaching, 44, 121

Buffalo Hat, 88

website, 36

Buffalo Meat, 90, 92

Chief Comes

Buffalo People, 18

Chief Dull Knife College

Bull

Hump,

Cheyenne language preservation

Affairs (BIA)

and Busby Tribal School, 105-107

and Circle of Schools,

community needs

coal leases, 135-137

employees of

at Colstrip coal

camp,

133

Indian Technical Assistance Center, 127

St.

Labre Mission School and, 104

and

tribal colleges, 118

and

tribal control

burial

and

of school, 102

reburial, 23-25, 81-82, 84, 146

Busby, Sheridan

Busby

District,

69

(CDKC)

articulation agreements, 123

57, 58

Bureau of Indian

and

in Sight, Gj^

accreditation of, 103

30

Buntin, John,

(CDKC)

for healing, 53

on journey home,

GG

Boys and Girls Club of the Northern Cheyenne

Nation,

see

on escape from Indian

136, 138

shafts, G(>

tree, 64,

Hugh,

Boyle,

problems oh

social

(Civilian Conservation Corps), 59

ceremonies and ceremonialism

106

boarding schools

see alio specific

boomtowns,

loi,

90

Gwendolen, 78

L.,

49
48 (map), 49

cultural mission

curriculum of

at,

and, 121-123

of 120-121

119, 124,

126

enrollment of 127
facilities

of 127-128

goals of, 119-120

history of, 118-120

and Northern Cheyenne Head

program,
staffing

Buzzard, 90

student success, 123-126

Chief

Start

no

Busby Tribal School, 105-107, 108

of 127

Killer,

90, 92

Campbell, Ben Nighthorse, [46

chokecherry {Prunns virginiana), 65-66

Camp
Camp

Merritt, 56

Circle of Schools, 111-112

Sheridan, 27 (map)

Civilian Conservation

176

38-40

111-112

Corps (CCC), 59

Class

Dahl, Edwin, 140,

138-140

air qualin-,

Clean Water Act,

25,

2j (map)

Deafy, James, 96

141

deaths

Cleave, Francis, 97

Clinton, William

174

153, 173,

Darlington Agency,

Clean Air Act, 138-139

J.,

at Battle

84

of Little Big Horn,

causes of for

coal contracts, 135-136

ofChiefDuU

coal mining, 131-132, 135-136, 139-142, 149

on escape from Indian

collective agriculture projects,

60

at

The

college enrollments, no, 115-118

25,

Knife, 30
Territory, 28-30,

Fight "WTiere the Girl Saved

Keogh, 70

histor>' of, 131-132

at Fort

Robinson, 23-25, 29-30

public schools, 107-108, 133

in Indian Territory, 26

town

in,

from tuberculosis, 97

139-140

Deer Medicine Rocks, 85-86

of, i}4

townspeople of 133-135

depression remedies, 64

Women's Club,

diabetes remedies, 149

Colstrip coal-fired

135

power

plant, 138, 145-146,

Community' Education and Training Act

Divesbackwards, Nancy,
151,

domestic training

Downstream

of 157-160

and education,

iii,

120,

loi, 112, 115

escape from Indian Territory, 26-28, 2j

(map), 70, 145

Crazy Horse, 50

at Fort

"The Great Race," 14-18

"How the Earth was Made,"
"Old Woman's Water,"

harmony

name

13

18-21, 2ini,

2m3

origin,

portrait of, with Little

Wolf

j/

relocation to Indian Territory, 25-26

14

on

Crook, George, 67

tribal stationery, 145

Dull Knife Memorial College, 118-119

see also

139

Crow/Northern Cheyenne Hospital,

Crow Reservation, 104

Crow Tribe, ix-x, 67, 137,

Chief Dull Knife College

Eagle's

Head, 90

Early Childhood Learning Center, 128

139

economic

35

survey, 151

economy, agriculture and, 60

cultural heritage preservation, ix-x, 120-121

Eddy John

cultural identity, 41-42, 94, 147

education

teachers, 38,

(CDKC)

150

cultural exchanges, 126

and language

32n9

and peace pipe, 72

in, 83

Crow Agency, 150

Crow Coal Authority,

Robinson, 28-30

Fort Robinson breakout, 30

"The Thunder and the Winter Man,"

R., 56, 57

achievement

44

advocates

Gushing, Frank, 92

George

109-110, 126

41-42, 109,

32,

descendants of 79, 122

^4, jj

creation stories

Custer,

133

rates, 103, 107, 108,

Dull Knife

53

coyote, in creation stories, 17-18

culture

105

128, 149

corn, in creation stories, 19-21

David,

53

vocational training, 98

drugs and drug abuse,

Consolidation Coal (Consol), 136

contributors, background

36, 38

District, 51

Drinnon, Richard,
dropout

Montana)

Cr)'stal,

vs.

Donner Foundation,

15^. 153

Company, The, 132

see also Montana Power Company (PPL

spiritual

Cheyenne language,

disease, 70, 96, 97, 149

(CETA), 60

Communit)' Reinvestment Act (CRA),

cowboys,

diarrhea remedies, 64
dictionaries, of

I54n6

Corn Dance,

70

Her

Brother, 67
at Fort

Colstrip

support for coal mining

68

American Indians, 149

coalbed methane development, 148, 149

in, 102,

120

for, loi

alterNative high school,

A., 25, 71, 86

Index

no

177

education (continued)

Fort Robinson, 24, 25, 27 (map), 28-30

Out

assimiiationist, 42, 90, 104, 106, 115

Fort Robinson Break

boarding schools, 92-97

Fort Wallace, 27 (map)

in

4-H Clubs,

Cheyenne language, 44

European-based

vs. tribal,

Run,

98

Four Sacred Arrows,

89

Spiritual

85

families and, 95, 105

federal

funding

on the

Gathering His Medicine, 29

127

for,

painful connotations

of

GEAR UP

x, 41

reservation, 110-112

skepticism about, 109

vocational,

110 III

97-98

Who

Girl

see also specific schools

Saved Her Brother,

Giving Place,

of 1970s,

energy development,

Gonzaga

135

123, 131-132,

138-140,

145-146, I54n6

Great Depression, 59
(story), 14-18

Erect Horns, in creation stories, 20, 2in3

Great Sioux Reservation

escape from Indian Territory, 26-28, 27, 70, 145

Greenspan, Alan,

Extension program, 125

grief

students from, 95

oi"

government,

Hampton

Exploration

Where
ix,

&

151

Production Compan\',

Her

Brother, the,

Head

Chief,

Head

Start,

56

health remedies, 63-65, 149

Highwalker,

Roman,

120-121, 129

Flathead Reservation, 140,

Hill

141,

14^

Hollowbreast Case,
(Ailtiiral

Outer,

t20, 128

home economics,
homestead

Foley Brothers,

hoop game,

131, 132

George

Fort Keogh, 27 (map), 30,

(Weist),

14^

training in, 98

laws, 147

18-19, 2in4

horses, 19,

70

53,

60

Hostile Savage stereorv'pe, 43

Fort Laramie Treat}' (1851), 25

Howling Wolf 90

Fort Marion, 89-91, 9^

"How

Mead, 27 (map)

the Earth was

Made"

(story), 13

Hualapai people, 42

Fort Peck Reservation, 140, 141

Huffman,

Fort Reno, 2/ (map)

humans, appearing

178

141,

The, 85

Horse Roads, 50

A., 87

Fort Belknap College, 119

Fort

are Taught,

History of the Cheyenne People,

86

Whiteman

^4

Where People

Florida Boys, 90, gi

Forsyth,

55,

no

Heap of Birds, 90

Bank, 146, 151-153

Fisher, Allen, 57

Florence

91-92

health risks, 70, 96, 97, 149

67

flesh offerings,

Institute, Virginia,

health care, 149, 150

the Girl Saved

First Interstate

Fisher,

41

headache remedies, 64

U.S. entries

147. 148

Fight

Bird, 56

Harris, Bessie, ix

56, 109, 127

Federal Reserve Board, 146,

Fidelit)'

George

ground of coherence,

Hail Stone, 90, 92

Fat Horse Creek, 50-51

see also

25

56-60

fasting, 85

federal

trear\',

152

and mourning, 40-41

Grinnell,

53,

25

Gray Beard, 90

"Great Race, The"

138-140, 145-146

farming,

of

Universitv, 123

grazing permits, for white ranchers, 56

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),

families, separation

67

43-44

35,

gold. Black Hills discovery

51

the, ix,

the, 50

Glenmore, Rhoda,

102, 105

Elk Horn Scrappers,

131

Ghost Dance Ceremony, 148

Elementary and Secondar\- Education Act,

crisis

Rosebud country,

geological surveys of

educational institutions, 112

energy

(Gaining Early Awareness and

Readiness for Undergraduate Programs),

L. A.,

68
as buffalo, 28

viii, ix

humans, creation
hunger,

hunting

Lame Deer
Lame Deer

of, 14

149

25, 48, 50, 56,

hunting season, 65-66

languages,

language and, 41-42

41,

38,

44

languages

91

Indian Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), 59

Hand, 90
Leman, Wayne, 36

Indian Compulsory Attendance Law, 94

Lily Foundation, 128

Indian-controlled school movement, 145

Limpy, 90

Left

Richard

Indian Education Act, 102

Little Bear,

Indian Health Service, 149, 150

Little

Indian Reorganization Act, 132

Litde Bird, Steve, 23

E.,

105-107

Bear Hart, Delores, ii3ni9

Indian Technical Assistance Center, 127

Litde Chief, 90

Indian Territory

Little

Finger Nail, 28, 29-30

escape from, 26-28, 27, 70, 145

Little

Medicine, 90

relocation to, 25-26

Little

Wolf

escape from Indian Territory, 26-28, 2/

68-70

resistance to relocation to,

(map), 70, 145

44-45

35, 36,

portrait of, with Dull Knife, ji

see also specific languages

individual ownership

126

Lawrence, Jason, S7

Lean Bear,

89-91

Indian Action Program, 118

indigenous languages,

iii,

60, 6in20,

41-42, 44-45

35, 36,

see also specific

imprisonment of Northern Cheyenne, 23-24,

28-30,

58,

141-142, 147

language and culture teachers,

hysterica] deafness, 106

identity,

48 (map), 49-50

public schools, io8-no,

land allotment and ownership,

70

rights,

District, 30,

and production,

relocation to Indian Territory, 25-26

58

internship programs, 126, 153

self-exile of, 51

of Lake DeSmet, 87

Iron Shield, 50

in story

Iron Teeth, 68, 70

surrender at Fort Keogh, 30

on

Iron Teeth, Susan, 28-30

tribal stationery, 145

Lohmiller, C. B., 96

bombs (Wind Ship

Japanese balloon

Weapons), 75-77, 76
Jimtown,

Bear, James,

Bear, Juanita,

75-76
75-77

Lonefight, William Harjo, 42

51

Long Back, 90

Johnson-O'Malley program, 107

Jumping

Lone

Lone

Lookingbill, 92

Bull, 86

June Berry {Amelanchier

alnifolia),

64-65

Lujan, Manual,

Jr.,

84

Lyford, Carrie A., 98

Kassel,

H.

W,

97
magpie, in creation

Kee (Navajo student), 42

Keeper of the Sacred Hat,

man, creation

Kennedy, Edward M., 105

Kill Eagle,

Kills

Mandan

68

Mann,

Kindness, Dale, 139

Marquis,

Kirby,

Match

51

Ellis

Knowshisgun,

Sylvester, 140

Kootenai Tribe,

141,

"Rabbit,

of,

Tribe,

14

51

manly-hearted women, 28

Night, Mabel, 38

Killsnight, Merlin, 57

Knowshisgun,

'

147

139

Henrietta, 89

Thomas

D., 28-29

(prisoner at Fort Marion),

St.

Benedict Joseph, 94

90

Maxwell, Mariah, 116

McElwain, Joseph, 138-139

McKenzie, (General), 88
McKinley, William,

Labre,

stories, 17-18

Making Medicine, 90

23

McLaughlin, John,

30,

47

48, 54

Lake DeSmet, 87-88

McRae, Wally,

Lakota Tribe, 25

medicinal plants, 63-66, 148

Index

133

179

Medicine Arrow,

Northern Cheyenne Educational Census,

71

Medicine Rocks, 86

102,

103

no

Medicine Water, 90

Northern Cheyenne Head

Medicine Wheel Alliance, 84

Northern Cheyenne Health

Melcher, John, 84, 146

Northern Cheyenne Indian Action Program,

memorial

Mentha

services, 23,

abuse,

methane production,

METHSmart
Miles,

Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, 48

(map)

iii

acreage increased by William McKinley, 47

148, 149

and boarding school education, 92

program, in

John D., 25-26

Community

Miller, George,
Mills,

fossil fuel

resources

land allotment,

College, 118-119

58,

153

of

132

60,

6m20,

141-142, 147

in late 19th century, 54

96

Madison,

Bank and,

First Interstate

Miles, Nelson A., 30, 32, 50

Miles

program,

Clinic, 150

Inc., 118

24

arvenis (Wild Mint), 6^-64^

methamphetamine

Start

Tongue River Indian Reservation

see also

23

mineral ownership, 132-133, 135-137,

139, 141,

Northern Cheyenne Livestock Association,

153

Northern Cheyenne Research Project (NCRP),

147

mint, wild (Mentha arvenis), 63-64

138-139

Modified Petter Alphabet, 36

Northern Cheyenne Steer Enterprise, 58-59

Monnett, John,

Northern Cheyenne Tribal Council

26, 2j, 28

Montana, 2/ (map),

and American Indian energy

127, 145

Montana Boys' State, 135

Montana Legal Services, 153
Montana Office of Public Instruction, 109
Montana Power Company (PPL Montana),
123, 131-132,

Montana

Star, see

motorcycle

mud,

rally at Sturgis,

Creek

District,

contract with Atlantic Richfield

(ARCO),

termination request by, 132-133

vote to cancel coal permits and

Northern Cheyenne Tribal School, 107, no, 126

SD,

13,

and Busby Tribal School, 105-107

85

control of tribal school, 102

14

and

48 (map), 50-51

federal

environmental laws, 140

clinic, 150

precedents set by, 145-146

132

separation of powers in government of 142

Nagel, Joane, 143

National Science Foundation, 124-125, 126

and

Native Action, 109, 146, 148,

and Tribal Uniform Commercial Code,

151

Native American Graves Protection and

53,

Nez

Northern Plains Resource Council, 148

Universities, 119

North Woman,

59-61

Brains,

55,

27 (map), 28

Office ol the Governors Tribal Histories and

stereotype, 43

Equipment

56

Oldman,

nonlingual people, 42

Northern Cheyenne Area Chamber of Com-

"Old Woman's Water"

(story), 18-21, 2ini

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Coun-

Northern Cheyenne Board of Health, 150

Northern Cheyenne Boys and Girls Club,

Initiative, 121

Patty, S9

on-line degree completion programs, 123

merce, 152

180

ix,

Perce, 26

Noble Savage

No

153

Pacific Railroad, 131

Northwest Commission on Colleges and

63-66, 148

nausea remedies, 64

New Deal,

Labre Mission, 105

St.

Northern

Repatriation Act, 23, 84, 146

native plants,

153

leases, 137

Northern Cheyenne Tribe

and Indian Health Service

Naddy, Martin,

Company

141-142

and Tribal Uniform Commercial Code,

123

B., 137

in creation stories,

Muddy

Award, 84

Dull Knife

Morton, Rogers C.

and Chief Dull Knife College, 118-119

presidents of 173174

138-140

State Historic Preservation

Montana University System,

Montco coal-strip mine, 148
Morning

policy, 145

and Cheyenne language, 36

iii

tries

(OPEC),

135

orphans, in creation

Owens, Nancy,

stories,

20

reservations (continued)

importance of

136

ownership, individual

vs. tribal, 58,

poverty on,

P-20 movement,
paint, as

American Indian people,

loi, 121-122, 135, 142, 149

resources, control

iii

adornment

in creation stories, 18-19

Program

Parental Involvement

sale

Education

in

see also
stories,

Peabody Coal Company,

20

of 142

of surplus land,

58, 141

surplus land of, 141

project, 105

Pawnees, in creation

individual reservation names

Rising Bull, 90
Risingsun, Ted

135, 139

peace pipes, 7172, 72

and

pemmican,

and Colstrip

66

65,

to

146-147

147

battle to protect land, 146

project, 140

Pennsylvania State Universit)', 128

on Dull

people pollution, 138

and Indian-controlled school board, 106

Rodolphe,

Petter,

36,

Knife, 115

memory of Indian New Deal

47

Petter Alphabet, 36

as tribal

spokesman

Tommy

Pine Ridge Agency, 27 (map), 30, 49

Robinson,

pipes and pipe smoking, 71-72, 72

Rocky Mountain College,

Platero, Dillon, 42

Roman

pollution, 138, 148

Rosa arkansasa (Rose Bush), 64

poverty, loi, 121-122, 135, 137, 142, 149

Rosebud/Ree

Powell, Peter

rose hips,

Pratt,

85

J.,

Prevention of Significant Deterioration regula-

138

District, 51

64

Rowland, Allen,

136, 142, 173

Rowland, Franklin, 76

tions, 138-139

M.,

57,

Rural Systemic Initiative (RSI),

6ini2

prisoners held at Fort Marion, 90-91

prisoners of war,

123

Rosenfelt, Daniel M., 105

Richard Henry, 89-90

Pringle, Robert

B., ///

Nose, 87, 90, 92

Rosebud County,

see also air quality

programs, 59

to Consol, 136-137

World War

II,

73

Prunns virginiana (chokecherry), 6566

125,

126

Russell, John, 132, 173

Rustling

Corn

Leaf, 21

Ryan, John D., 132

public high schools, 102

Public

Law

Sacred

874, 107

Punished Woman's Fork, 2^ (map)

Arrow Keeper,

Sacred Arrows,

85, 87,

88

88

Sacred Arrow Worship ceremony, 142

Rabbit Town, 48

sacred ceremonies, 45,

Race Track,

Sacred Hat,

18

racism, 42-43,

115,

Woman,

Sacred

ranching

Salish Tribe, 141, 147

farming, 56-59

88

rations, 25, 50, 56

Sand Creek

reburials, 23-25, 80-84, 146

Sanders, Jeffrey, 105

Red Cloud Agency,

Sand

Red Lodge mine,

Red

28

of Nebraska, 70

Scabby People
Tribe),

27 (map), 83

Sarvisberry (Amelanchier alnifolia), 64-65

20

53

Ree Tribe (Arikara

Hills

Battle,

Sandoz, Mari, 132-133, 150

131

Tassel, in creation stories,

Ree Ceremony,

Place, 49

scalp shirts, 137

51

relocation projects, effects of, 41,

6870

schools, see education; specific schools

Reno, Janet, in

Seminole, Louie, 54

repatriation of American Indian remains,

sexism, 68

Shave Head, 90

23-25, 84, 146

Shepherdia canadensis (Buffalo Berry), 65

reservations

agriculture

142

Sacred Mountain, 18

133-135

rage, suppressed, 41
vs.

53,

88

23,

and economy

of,

60

Shoulderblade, Pius, 59-60

Index

181

students (continued)

Sioux, Donita, 150-151

Sioux Tribe,
see also

of 123-126

success

141

of Tongue River Boarding School, 9$

Lakota Tribe

SD,

Sitting Bull, 50, 85-86

Sturgis,

skull collection, 19th-century, 23

Sun Dance,

Slim Walking

Woman,

Small, Clinton,

St.,

Small, Geri,

surplus land,

in creation story, 17

88

58, 141

sweetbreads (thymus gland), 18

j/

Small, Gail, 108-109,

85
x, 18, 86,

HO'

Sweet Medicine,

148. i53

21,

2in3, 85, 88

Sweet Root Standing,

ix

21

Small, Vernon, j/

Smithsonian Institution, 92

Talent Search, no,

Soaring Eagle, 90

Tall Bull,

So'taahe language, 36, 45

Tall Bull, William, 53, 65, 8^, 146, 148, 154

Spang, Alonzo,

Tall Bull (warrior), 68

12^, 133

iii

Linwood,

53,

66

Spang, Bently, 43

teacher certification and teaching, 38, 94, 109

Spang, Kermit, 57

tea plants,

spiritual

harmony,

63-65

Them We Are Going Home (Monnett), 26

Thompson, Jerry N., 94
Tell

spirit life, 23-25, 81, 82, 132, 148

83

spirituality,

and Cheyenne language, 45

spirituality,

evolution in expression

of,

Three

Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold

Reservation, 137

"Thunder and

spiritual quests, 87
split estates, 141, 142,

Winter Man, The"

the

(story),

14

147

Tichkematse, John, 92

Spotted Elk, 91
Spotted Tail Agency, 2j (map)

tipi stakes,

Spotted Wolf- Yellow Nose, drawing

Title

by, 6g

I,

66

Elementary and Secondary Education

Act, 102, 105

Squint Eye, 90
St.

Labre Catholic Mission, 30, 48, 94, 103-105

Tongue River and

St.

Labre Indian School, 92-94, 104-105,

Tongue River Boarding School, 93-94,

121,
St.

110,

126

95-97.

Labre Indian School Association,

Wolf

Standing

Corps (CCC),

in creation story,

20

Stands in Timber, John,

see also

71, 173

Stands Over Bull, Patrick, 139

Star, 90,

mines and

of 42-43,

strip

Toole, K. Ross, 135

115

tourist attractions, 91

119

trachoma, 96, 97

mining, 44-45, 136-137,

Tribal College

Stubborn/Shy People, 47-48

and University Partnership

(TCUP),

students

boarding schools and

home

visit

limitations

at Colstrip public school,

107-108

and minibanks,

Tommy

at

Northern Cheyenne Tribal

tribal courts, 142

153

CDKC,

see also specific colleges

tribal council, see

Council

Mariah Maxwell, 116

of

124-125, 126

Tribal College or University Assistance Act, 127

tribal colleges, 118, 121, 127

on, 95
challenges of college, 115-118

182

trauma, historic, 32
treaties, 25, 150

145. 148

profile

Irrigation Project (Birney Ditch),

57. 59

straw-bale buildings, 128

strip

Northern Cheyenne Indian

Tongue River

92

Stone Child College,

47,

6inn, 97

Reservation

starvation, 48, 65, 68

stereotypes, effect

Civilian Conservation
59

Tongue River Indian Reservation, 30-32,

56, 59,

91

94,

1131119

Tongue River Indian

iii

Standing Elk, Henry, 59-60

Standing on the Ground,

Valley, 147-148

121-122

B. Robinson, ///

Tribal Histories

and Equipment

Initiative, 121

Tribal Natural Resources Office, 138

tribal politics,

60

Tom,

Weist,

tribal sovereignty, 141, 142, 145

Tribal

Uniform Commercial Code,

Tribal

Water Standards,

Wessells,

viii, ix, 25, 49

HenryW.,Jr., 29

Westmoreland mining company,

153

Tribes, joining of, iinj

WTiite Birney, 49

Tschergi, Matt, 58

White

tuberculosis, 97, 149

Whitedirt, Charles, 140

Bull, 50, 68, 87

White

Tully,

J., 94
Turkey Springs

Battle,

Two Moons, 50, 68

Two Two, Uriah, j8,

Dirt, Gilbert, 23

White Fox,

ij (map)

Elizabeth, ii3ni9

Whiteman, Milton, 59-60

white ranchers, resentment toward, 56

79

White

River,

49

White River people, 49

unallotment program ot Northern Cheyenne

white

Tribe, 147

unemployment,

28

settlers,

white soldiers, 67

loi, 122, 135, 149

University of Washington, 128

Whitewolf, Joseph,

University of Wisconsin, 128

Wild Hog,

S4

Upstream

Wild Hog

Basin,

District, 51

Upward Bound, no,

139

wheel game, 2in4

141

iii,

Wilson, Tim,

126

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA),

Wind

125,

St., 73,

75

51

118

Ship Weapons (Japanese balloon

bombs), 75-77, 76

128

Winter Man,

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban

Development (HUD),

in creation stories, 14

winter of 1877, 68

128

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),

WolfBlack,Jay, 109

Wolf Road, 87

138-140, 145-146

Wolf's Marrow, 90

U.S. Office of War, 75

wolves, in creation stories, 17

Valandra, Maria,

women

153

in creation stories, 14, 17, 18-21, 2ini

venereal disease, 97
veterans of armed forces,

ix,

manly-hearted, 28

73, 78, 79, 84, 122,

overlooked

161-172
Veteran's

Upward Bound program,

in history, viii-ix,

67-70, 6g

in stories, 88

73

visiting lecturer center, 128

Woodenlegs, John,

vocational education and training, 97-98, 102,

Wooden

Legs,

Woodenlegs

123-124, 128

loi, 112,

John

J.,

n2n2, 147

122, 173

(warrior), 68

words, coinage of new, 37

Walks Night,

Wallowing

55-

World War

56

II,

59. 73.

75-77- 76, 84

War Dance

Bull, Rufus, 132-133, 173

at

Yellow Painted Man, 132

Fort Marion, gj

Young Mule, John,

Watahomigie, Lucille Jackson, 42

water birds,

55

in creation stories, 13

weasel, at Lake

Ziontz, Alvin

DeSmet, 87

hide.

J.,

137

183

Dull Knife College's book begins,

C_^Stories. Then it transports the reader across
'hief

life

the land, the history,

The

and the present

past

Cheyenne

and the

life.

The Gid

Who

as

it

must, with the Cheyenne Creation

a broad spectrum of

ride side

by

side in the book, just as in everyday

Saved her Brother

is

Northern

the heroine of her ov/n chapter. Shortly

before the Battle of the Little Big Horn, she charged a group of

white soldiers to save her brother.

Northern Cheyenne

culture.

Crow

Indian scouts and

A ledger book drawing from the Smithsonian archives illus-

trates the text.

Two more modern heroes are also featured, Joseph Whitewolf, who earned a POW
Medal in World War II, and Uriah Two Two, who received a Purple Heart in Iraq. A photo
of Sgt. Uriah Two Two's victory dance shows him dressed in his Army uniform with ceremonial smudges on

his face.

Today, Northern Cheyenne warriors also win their victories in court rooms, classrooms,

and the

halls

of Congress. This book documents the nearly incredible number of national

precedents set by the Northern Cheyenne Tribe from the i8oos through 2007. Other sub-

covered include ethnobotany, the Northern Cheyennes' hard fought battle to

ject areas

return to their homeland, spirituality,

of the material, such

as the history

and the history of education on the

Some

reservation.

of Cheyenne District Names, never before has been

col-

lected in written form.

The

tribal college recruited

a variety of sources, including archives, interviews,

and

who drew their

material

from

traditional stories. Published

with

nine writers and researchers,

funding from the Montana Tribal Histories project, the book

riculum at schools throughout the
ers will find

state. It is also

is

designed to augment cur-

designed as a college

text. All levels

of read-

something of interest.

Rather than perpetuating romanticized images of Northern Cheyenne people, the book
strove for realism.

The

culture

in the late 1800s; 21st century

piercings,

and

i-Pods. Yet the

is

no longer centered on the

buffalo

and the horse

Northern Cheyennes have websites, body

Cheyennes

still

retain their

honoring

cer-

emonies, give-way ceremonies, dances, songs, and ways of worship and

interacting with each other.

They

preferably with the prospect of a

still

good

|
enjoy just getting together, w

traditional meal.

as

it

^^^siass:^.

was