The name Cheyenne is thought to have either derived from the Sioux Indian term Sha’h’ye’na meaning red talker’s(a language they do not understand) or it can be traced back to the French word Chien meaning dog in reference to the dog soldiers(military society) The Cheyenne refer to themselves as “Tsistsistas” meaning people. They were known as the beautiful people.
Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the Cheyenne land comprised of 500,000 square miles from Montana to Colorado and Kansas. Firstly, they were farmers and hunters and lived in earth lodges in the Mississippi valley. Around the 1680’s they met with French traders with the idea of obtaining items from them. This did not sit well with their neighbours the Sioux and the Chippewa who warred with them and pushed them west into the Minnesota Valley and then into the north east plains. They allied with the Mandan and Arikara but their enemies were the Sioux, Chippewa and the Assiniboine.
The years of 1742 to 1770, horses became a part of their life therefore allowing them to be nomadic, some positioned themselves near the Black Hills, South Dakota while others expanded in a southwest direction, Central Colorado, near the Platte River. They separated into two divisions the Northern and Southern Cheyenne. Around this time they eventually became allies with the Sioux and the Arapaho.
During the 1840’s, immigration through their lands started causing environment damage, bison numbers declining and diseases such as small pox, cholera and influenza infecting the tribe. Their low resistance to these diseases caused them to perish in large numbers.
They spoke from the Algonquian language group called Tse’he’sene’stsesto’tse.
FOOD/DIET
Of course, they had to rely on what mother earth provided for them. The bison was a major part of their livelihood. They celebrated the bison in prayers and dances. They organised their bison hunts and rode their swiftest ponies. It was a dangerous task. Accidents could happen. The women would bring many horses to bring back the fresh meat and hides back to camp. They used pretty much everything of the bison nothing was wasted and only slaughtered what was needed at the time.
The intestines, liver, tongue, nose was considered as a delicacy. The lungs were often cut in half and put on hot coals to cook. They even ate the blood which they cooked in the stomach lining and tied it at both ends and covered it with hot ashes. The heat would then cook the blood and it would turn out like jelly which they ate. The intestines were usually cooked with protein or wild vegetables. The marrow of the bone was also eaten. The hides of the animals were also eaten but cooked in a special way to make them tender and palatable. A pivot in the ground was made then leaves and grass were placed on the bottom, the hide was placed on top then more leaves and grass and a layer of clay. A fire was lit on top and usually burnt up to four hours. After this time the hide was taken out, the hair easily came off during the cooking process. The hide was edible and soft.
To store bison meat, The Cheyenne would often dry strips of meat on wooden constructions to dry in the sun. This dried bison meat would often make Pemmican. This meat was ground and would be mixed with wild berries and tallow and moulded into strips and let to dry and stored.
Other animals they relied on were deer, elk, mountain sheep/goats, wild turkey, rabbits. They occasionally caught fish where they derived a pen from willow saplings and once the fish made it to the pen they attached a basket to this pen and removed some of the willow saplings so the fish would swim into basket.
To complement the protein in the diet, they relied on wild fruits, roots, plants and wild vegetables. They often ate roots/bulbs of various plants such as lily and milkweed. The roots they would often dry them or used them fresh and place in stews. Fruit such as plums, sarvisberries, choke cherries, sand cherries, bull berries and currants. Wild mint and licorice. There were over 30 plants including fruits that gave them nourishment. Corn was also planted.
The leaves of the red leaf wood would make a tea being red in colour. The sap of The box elder tree would be used to sweeten food. Acorns were roasted, removing the hard skins and then boiled and mashed with animal fat and then dried.
Water was collected daily from nearby river. They collected what they thought they needed for the day. If there was any water left from overnight, they would not use it they termed it “dead water.”
Utensils were made from either wood, bone, horns and stone. There were handmade pots made from clay that were used for cooking. The paunch of the bison was used for boiling water. Buckets could be made this way but with a wooden ring in the bottom.
Once the traders entered into their lives, metal dishes, brass kettles and tin cups made their way into camp. As well as flour, sugar, coffee and whiskey (which they called firewater)
WOMEN
Women of the Cheyenne tribe were held in high regard and were in equal partnership to the men. They were known for their skills in sewing, embroidery, tanning hides/ clothing. Their organisational skills and their daily life contributions enhanced tribal welfare and the smooth running of village life. They were also known for their athletic ability in running, swimming and horse riding skills. They were conservative women and chastity was valued. Relationships often developed from youth were the man would court the woman by showing interest by standing by her tepee.
When love developed, marriage was the next step. Often the marriage lasted a life time but divorce still happened this was done by throwing belongings out of the tepee. Women did have a lot of influence about camp even though they were not allowed to speak at councils. They cold talk to their husbands about various subjects to influence them in their decisions or bring forth their concerns.
It was known that a few women became warriors and went to war. In the Rosebud battle with General Crook, it was known the sister of Chief Comes In Sight rescued her brother in this fight.
Women were responsible for the tanning of the hides, it was an involved process. The hide was stretched out with wooden pegs pinned into the ground. Firstly a scraper was used to remove the flesh and fat leftover on the hide. The flesher to remove any flakes and to thin the hide getting it at the right thickness, making it more supple to work with. Bison bones were used such as the humerus which were rubbed over the entire hide to prepare for the tanning mixture so it would properly absorb into hide. The tanning mixture was often made of brains, liver, soap weed and pounded together with added fat and boiled.
To achieve a lighter colour tanning, a mixture of bones were often used, they were pounded up and boiled then the liquid was extracted and used to give a cream finish. Once the hide was tanned it was folded up and left for the tanning mixture to soak through overnight and then to dry the next day. Once that was done the hide needed to be softened which could be done. The rope usually made of bison sinew was tied to a tree and then attached into the ground then the hide was pulled across the rope to allow it to soften.
CLOTHING
The hides that they had collected were mostly made into clothing, tepees, and for use as blankets(bison hides). Clothing was mainly made of deer/elk hides they were more flexible to deal with. Clothing items consisted of leggings, breechclouts, shirts, moccasins and dresses. They could be decorated with beads and trinkets(obtained by traders) as well as animal teeth(such as elk teeth.)
Sinew from the bison’s dorsal spine was dried and used as thread. If this was not available the milkweed plant contained pods similar to cotton which was used. An awl(needle) were pieces of sharp bone or even thorns. Moccasins were made out of deerskin (decorated with porcupine quills, beads). There were two types of moccasins that were made one for the summer months and one for the winter months. The winter moccasins had an ankle flap that was wrapped around the ankle to keep the foot dry and prevent snow from getting in. The hair of the animal hide was also left on to keep the feet warm. Leggings were comprised of two separate pieces, the outside being cut higher with a strip tied to a belt over the hips.
The breechclout was similar to a loin cloth, a length of material was passed between the thighs and tied with a string above the waist or a belt could be used, there would also be excess material that fell in front and behind. Shirts would be made of deerskin, antelope or from mountain sheep. Shirts were made for everyday wear and also for ceremonies and war shirts. They often reached to thigh level and could be decorated and dyed. War shirts were often decorated with scalps. Fringes were also common place.
Women’s dresses were usually made of deer, elk, antelope and mountain sheep. The length of the dresses were below the knee. Leggings could also be worn. The sleeves could be fringed and the length was usually to the elbow. The dress could also be belted. Elk teeth could be used for decoration as well as beads and porcupine quills.
Different coloured pigments could be found from various plants/trees and fruits to dye clothes. The Mountain Alder tree’s outer bark was used to create a red dye and the inner bark was said to give a yellow dye. The Butternut, a native tree was used to gain a brown, black dye. Green dyes were made from algae. The various wild berries and leaves were also used to create dyes. Other plants that came in handy were the Red Alder, Blood Rot, Rubber Rabbitbrush, Eastern Cottonwood and Black Walnut tree.
