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The Cheyennes: Indians of the Great Plains
This case study traces the Cheyenne Indians from their first contact with the French explorer LaSalle in 1680. The book then follows their exodus from Minnesota under pressure from the Sioux, Cel, and Ojibwa; their attempt to gain a foothold in eastern South Dakota and the middle Missouri River; and their final movement into the high western plains in the first half of the 19th century.
144 pages, Paperback
Published March 6, 1978
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June 29, 2020
The Cheyennes are a western Great Plains (USA, east of Rocky Mountains) tribe who had likely migrated from the western Great Lakes. This study is of the Cheyennes during the 1840-60 period. This was their heyday as a nomadic horse culture (central to the buffalo hunts on the great plains), and just prior to their forced removal by the U.S. military. (1)
The Cheyennes lived in a closely-knit groups (families), collections of families (kindreds), and ten bands (a camp). A tribal council of 44 peace chiefs oversaw the collective governance of the tribe. “The keystone of the Cheyenne social structure,” the author writes, “is the tribal council of forty-four peace chiefs. War may be a major concern of the Cheyennes and defense against the hostile Crow and Pawnee a major problem of survival, yet clearly the Cheyennes sense that a more fundamental problem is the danger of disintegration through internal dissension and aggressive impulses of Cheyenne against Cheyenne. Hence, the supreme authority of the tribe lies not in the hands of aggressive war leaders but under the control of even-tempered peace chiefs. All the peace chiefs are proven warriors, but when a chief of a military association is raised to the rank of peace chief, he must resign his post in the military society.” (2)
The Cheyennes have their distinct culture that guides how they conduct themselves. There are many subgroups and subcultures within it, and children are molded to fit what culture requires. Culture is huge, but this study also shows some of the barrenness of the nurture-nature debate. (3) That debate frames the discussion as either/or when it is really hierarchical. Underneath culture is biological structure, the “nature” part,” which is the cultural expression of biological imperatives. For example, the author states that for the Cheyennes “goodness is to be sought as rightness for its own sake and for the appreciative approval of one’s fellow man.” But isn’t the author really saying that goodness is defined as conforming to the approval of the others in the tribe? Each tribe needs solidarity to survive. And this comes from a conformity to the group rules and expectations, and a good part of tribal life is to find the way to manage the peace. For the Cheyennes, this is the role of peace chiefs. For other tribes, it could be done in a wholly different manner or not at all.
The author also spends a good amount of time on the supernatural world. For the Cheyennes, he says that there is “no problem of salvation,” yet he goes on to say that upon death “the Cheyenne soul wafts free…to dwell thereafter in benign proximity to the Great Wise One and the long-lost loved ones.” Isn’t this another form of salvation? Non-corporeal life is eternal life. This extends the biological imperative of survival. The author states “that there is no appeasement of whimsical spirit beings and gods,” but he elsewhere writes that the Cheyennes depend on “the beneficial help of the supernatural world.” Hence, the importance of “the norm of right conduct in individual and group life.” Isn’t this another way of saying there is appeasement? It’s not begging per se, but it is doing things in the right way. This also illustrates another phenomenon – how to deal with need and fear. Need and fear are not cultural manifestations and they are not just any emotions. They are the twin drivers of our biology – needing food, needing the group, and fearing enemies and extermination and each tribe. Each culture has its own way of addressing them. (4)
The need for survival and well-being is usually dismissed as a given, so these anthropological studies focus on the cultural variable patterns. But understanding the deeper motive forces that are at work – the biological imperatives – is the key to managing them, especially the ill-effects that come from religious and tribal zealotry, and the fears that emanate from xenophobia that see cultural differences as a threat.
1. From 1857 – 1878, the Cheyennes were “embroiled in almost continuous fighting” with the military and they played “a large part” in the Custer defeat at the Little Big Horn (1876). After their own defeat, the northern Cheyennes were “herded south with the southern Cheyennes in what is now Oklahoma.” Prior to their nomadic horse culture period, the Cheyennes were “sedate and settled” in village life, and grew corn, beans and squash. With the introduction of the horse (c. 1760), they hunted bison and “abandoned village life of gardeners for the nomadic life of hunters, and, later added “guns to their hunting and fighting equipage.” It’s interesting that this description of a major tribal grouping reverses the standard progression theory that nomadic hunter-gatherers evolved to become farmers, or “gardeners” settled in villages.
2. “The chief retains his membership, but not his position as war chief. The fundamental separation of civil and military powers with the supremacy of the civil, which is characteristic of so many American Indian tribes and is written into the Constitution of the United States, is most explicit in the unwritten constitution of the Cheyenne nation.” The author goes on to say that the chief must have “an even-tempered good nature, energy, wisdom, kindliness concern for the well-being of others, courage, generosity, and altruism.” On the whole, the author sees Cheyenne government as “highly democratic and representative of the people’s concerns.” For each chief, “the office is always looked upon as a grave responsibility and not as a political plum. It brings respect and honor, but nothing else.”
3. Many anthropological studies also suggest the fundamental equality of nomadic tribal life, but this study adds some nuance to this notion. “Families and kindred differ in social prestige,” the author writes. Quoting from another study: "‘A good family was one that produced brave men and good sensible women, and that possessed more or less property. A brave and successful man has raised his family from low to very high rank; or a generation of inefficient men might cause a family to retrograde.’ The Cheyennes with whom I worked gave the following characteristics of a good family: 1) it has plenty of good riding horses…2) the wife is a good housekeeper who keeps everything about the tipi neat and clean, is always good natured, and gets up every morning in the same mood; 3) it has plenty of parfleches stocked with dried meat…4) it raises nice children, ‘those who act right, speak respectfully to elders, etc.’ A poor family is thought to be one in which the man is a poor rustler (that is, has no ability to take enemy horses), has only three or four horses, probably saddle worn and footsore from overuse. It has only a little food, a small tipi, and only enough clothes and robes to keep them warm. ‘Some poor men were hard workers but had no luck People sometimes blame the wife. He rustles well, but she is wasteful.’” Despite the difference in scale, this could be a description of American life. Nomadic – pre-contact cultures – are often said to be peaceful, but the need to manage intra-group dissension, and the existence of the warrior societies (to fight against enemy tribes), suggests that such broad-scale statements about humanity’s inherently peaceful nature are misleading.
4. Cheyenne rituals address “against their most besetting manifest anxieties: failure of the food supply and extermination by enemies.” The author also writes that the Cheyennes “faced three great threats: famine, enemies, and internal disruption.” Boiled down these are fears, but these fears are the flip side of the need to survive. Rituals are about doing things in the right way so that they will have food and so that they will be strong against enemies. Thus, the Cheyenne medicine man is consequently more of a priest than he is a shaman. The main road to supernatural power is through acquisition of ritual knowledge learned from one who is already a priest. Such knowledge is technical knowledge, effective when put to use as a ‘manual of procedures.’” This is not only the biological structures of need and fear, but also some notion of supernatural agency (and supernatural world) that is involved in their lives. At the end of the book, the author states his summary Postulate III thusly: “Man is subordinate to supernatural forces and spirit beings. These forces and beings have superior knowledge concerning the operation of the universe and are benevolently inclined toward man…Tribal well-being and individual success are abetted by the tutelage or blessing of the supernaturals….Prayer pledges, and self-sacrifice win the attention and help of the supernaturals.” If not appeasement, there is still “ritual.” These are cultural ways of dealing with the same underlying phenomena.
The Cheyennes lived in a closely-knit groups (families), collections of families (kindreds), and ten bands (a camp). A tribal council of 44 peace chiefs oversaw the collective governance of the tribe. “The keystone of the Cheyenne social structure,” the author writes, “is the tribal council of forty-four peace chiefs. War may be a major concern of the Cheyennes and defense against the hostile Crow and Pawnee a major problem of survival, yet clearly the Cheyennes sense that a more fundamental problem is the danger of disintegration through internal dissension and aggressive impulses of Cheyenne against Cheyenne. Hence, the supreme authority of the tribe lies not in the hands of aggressive war leaders but under the control of even-tempered peace chiefs. All the peace chiefs are proven warriors, but when a chief of a military association is raised to the rank of peace chief, he must resign his post in the military society.” (2)
The Cheyennes have their distinct culture that guides how they conduct themselves. There are many subgroups and subcultures within it, and children are molded to fit what culture requires. Culture is huge, but this study also shows some of the barrenness of the nurture-nature debate. (3) That debate frames the discussion as either/or when it is really hierarchical. Underneath culture is biological structure, the “nature” part,” which is the cultural expression of biological imperatives. For example, the author states that for the Cheyennes “goodness is to be sought as rightness for its own sake and for the appreciative approval of one’s fellow man.” But isn’t the author really saying that goodness is defined as conforming to the approval of the others in the tribe? Each tribe needs solidarity to survive. And this comes from a conformity to the group rules and expectations, and a good part of tribal life is to find the way to manage the peace. For the Cheyennes, this is the role of peace chiefs. For other tribes, it could be done in a wholly different manner or not at all.
The author also spends a good amount of time on the supernatural world. For the Cheyennes, he says that there is “no problem of salvation,” yet he goes on to say that upon death “the Cheyenne soul wafts free…to dwell thereafter in benign proximity to the Great Wise One and the long-lost loved ones.” Isn’t this another form of salvation? Non-corporeal life is eternal life. This extends the biological imperative of survival. The author states “that there is no appeasement of whimsical spirit beings and gods,” but he elsewhere writes that the Cheyennes depend on “the beneficial help of the supernatural world.” Hence, the importance of “the norm of right conduct in individual and group life.” Isn’t this another way of saying there is appeasement? It’s not begging per se, but it is doing things in the right way. This also illustrates another phenomenon – how to deal with need and fear. Need and fear are not cultural manifestations and they are not just any emotions. They are the twin drivers of our biology – needing food, needing the group, and fearing enemies and extermination and each tribe. Each culture has its own way of addressing them. (4)
The need for survival and well-being is usually dismissed as a given, so these anthropological studies focus on the cultural variable patterns. But understanding the deeper motive forces that are at work – the biological imperatives – is the key to managing them, especially the ill-effects that come from religious and tribal zealotry, and the fears that emanate from xenophobia that see cultural differences as a threat.
1. From 1857 – 1878, the Cheyennes were “embroiled in almost continuous fighting” with the military and they played “a large part” in the Custer defeat at the Little Big Horn (1876). After their own defeat, the northern Cheyennes were “herded south with the southern Cheyennes in what is now Oklahoma.” Prior to their nomadic horse culture period, the Cheyennes were “sedate and settled” in village life, and grew corn, beans and squash. With the introduction of the horse (c. 1760), they hunted bison and “abandoned village life of gardeners for the nomadic life of hunters, and, later added “guns to their hunting and fighting equipage.” It’s interesting that this description of a major tribal grouping reverses the standard progression theory that nomadic hunter-gatherers evolved to become farmers, or “gardeners” settled in villages.
2. “The chief retains his membership, but not his position as war chief. The fundamental separation of civil and military powers with the supremacy of the civil, which is characteristic of so many American Indian tribes and is written into the Constitution of the United States, is most explicit in the unwritten constitution of the Cheyenne nation.” The author goes on to say that the chief must have “an even-tempered good nature, energy, wisdom, kindliness concern for the well-being of others, courage, generosity, and altruism.” On the whole, the author sees Cheyenne government as “highly democratic and representative of the people’s concerns.” For each chief, “the office is always looked upon as a grave responsibility and not as a political plum. It brings respect and honor, but nothing else.”
3. Many anthropological studies also suggest the fundamental equality of nomadic tribal life, but this study adds some nuance to this notion. “Families and kindred differ in social prestige,” the author writes. Quoting from another study: "‘A good family was one that produced brave men and good sensible women, and that possessed more or less property. A brave and successful man has raised his family from low to very high rank; or a generation of inefficient men might cause a family to retrograde.’ The Cheyennes with whom I worked gave the following characteristics of a good family: 1) it has plenty of good riding horses…2) the wife is a good housekeeper who keeps everything about the tipi neat and clean, is always good natured, and gets up every morning in the same mood; 3) it has plenty of parfleches stocked with dried meat…4) it raises nice children, ‘those who act right, speak respectfully to elders, etc.’ A poor family is thought to be one in which the man is a poor rustler (that is, has no ability to take enemy horses), has only three or four horses, probably saddle worn and footsore from overuse. It has only a little food, a small tipi, and only enough clothes and robes to keep them warm. ‘Some poor men were hard workers but had no luck People sometimes blame the wife. He rustles well, but she is wasteful.’” Despite the difference in scale, this could be a description of American life. Nomadic – pre-contact cultures – are often said to be peaceful, but the need to manage intra-group dissension, and the existence of the warrior societies (to fight against enemy tribes), suggests that such broad-scale statements about humanity’s inherently peaceful nature are misleading.
4. Cheyenne rituals address “against their most besetting manifest anxieties: failure of the food supply and extermination by enemies.” The author also writes that the Cheyennes “faced three great threats: famine, enemies, and internal disruption.” Boiled down these are fears, but these fears are the flip side of the need to survive. Rituals are about doing things in the right way so that they will have food and so that they will be strong against enemies. Thus, the Cheyenne medicine man is consequently more of a priest than he is a shaman. The main road to supernatural power is through acquisition of ritual knowledge learned from one who is already a priest. Such knowledge is technical knowledge, effective when put to use as a ‘manual of procedures.’” This is not only the biological structures of need and fear, but also some notion of supernatural agency (and supernatural world) that is involved in their lives. At the end of the book, the author states his summary Postulate III thusly: “Man is subordinate to supernatural forces and spirit beings. These forces and beings have superior knowledge concerning the operation of the universe and are benevolently inclined toward man…Tribal well-being and individual success are abetted by the tutelage or blessing of the supernaturals….Prayer pledges, and self-sacrifice win the attention and help of the supernaturals.” If not appeasement, there is still “ritual.” These are cultural ways of dealing with the same underlying phenomena.
November 17, 2020
Great, but wanted more.
October 23, 2014
This is a brief history of the Cheyenne Indians is presented in a manner that covers all possible roles in the tribe. One drawback is the small size of the type used in printing the book which is smaller than normal.
December 30, 2009
Ethnography.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews