Five Interesting Facts about the Cheyenne

The Cheyenne are one of the Native American tribes that live in the Great Plains region. They are divided into two groups: the Northern Cheyenne and the Southern Cheyenne. Today, the Northern Cheyenne live in the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, located in modern-day southeast Montana. Meanwhile, the Southern Cheyenne live with the Arapaho in Oklahoma.
This nation with a proud and rich heritage has a long and colorful history, fighting foreigners for the right to live in their ancestral domains at the time when the Gold Rush was in full swing. This history was also marked by a malaria outbreak and violent conflicts and wars with opposing tribes, such as the Lakota, who were, curiously enough, sometimes their allies.
To know more about the Cheyenne, take a look at some of these unique details about them.
Their Ancestors Didn’t Always Live in Tepees
Originally, the ancestors of the modern-day Cheyenne resided in earth lodges, which were wooden structures covered with soil. These people used to live in the Great Lakes area and subsisted on fishing and agriculture.
That changed when Sweet Medicine, a prophet, had a vision that convinced them to become nomads. The wars with the Lakota and other groups also drove the Cheyenne away from their homes, forcing them to live in tepees, cone-shaped dwellings made from animal hide and propped up with long wooden poles.
Their Government Is a Council of Forty-Four The Council of Forty-Four is a central institution that governs the daily living of the Cheyenne, and this traditional leadership also draws on religious beliefs for the tribe’s laws. Four headsmen from each of the ten bands are chosen to join four principal leaders (called “old man” chiefs) in the council. People also turn to them for moral guidance.
Aside from the council, military societies existed to serve as warriors who protected the tribe and enforced discipline within the tribe, and they led tribal ceremonies and hunting expeditions. Four groups comprise the military societies: Red Shields, Bowstrings, Swift Foxes, and Elks.
They Have a Peace Pipe
This tobacco-filled pipe is called a calumet. During sacred ceremonies, it was passed around among participants to guarantee a guarantee a peace pact. The calumet is also used during prayers.
They Have a Sun Dance
This ceremony is important to the Cheyenne and takes as long as a year to prepare. The Sun Dance is a ritual performed during the summer solstice, and the tribe members make individual and communal sacrifices for healing and to look for spiritual insight. People gather around a dance area, where there is a pole that reaches out to the sky, and the participating dancers will dance nonstop for days and nights, not even taking the time to eat or drink.
They Have Their Own Sign Language
This sign language was created for hearing Cheyenne. The spoken Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquin language family, but a pidgin sign language was used before to communicate with other tribes that lived in the Great Plains.