{{Short description|Federally recognized indigenous tribe and reservation in Montana, U.S.}} {{Use American English|date=February 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Infobox settlement |official_name = Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation |native_name = {{native name|chy|Tsėhéstáno|paren=omit}} |settlement_type = [[Indian reservation|Indian Reservation]] |image_skyline = Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation.jpg |imagesize = |image_caption = Welcome sign |image_flag = Flag of Northern Cheyenne.svg |flag_size = 140px |image_map = 2490R Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation Locator Map.svg |mapsize = |map_caption = Location of Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation |subdivision_type = Country |subdivision_name = United States |subdivision_type1 = States |subdivision_name1 = [[Montana]] | seat_type = Headquarters | seat = [[Lame Deer, Montana|Lame Deer]] |leader_title = Governing body |leader_name = Tribal council |leader_title1 = Tribal president |leader_name1 = Serena Wetherelt ''(acting)'' |established_title = Established |established_date = 1884 |population_as_of = 2013 |population_total = 4,939 |timezone = [[North American Mountain Time Zone|MST]] |utc_offset = -7 |timezone_DST = [[Mountain Daylight Time|MDT]] |utc_offset_DST = -6 }} The '''Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation''' ({{langx|chy|Tsėhéstáno}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lookingbill |first1=Brad D. |title=A Companion to Custer and the Little Bighorn Campaign |date=2019 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |location=Hoboken, NJ |isbn=9781119129738 |page=36 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Companion_to_Custer_and_the_Little_Big/14qbCgAAQBAJ |access-date=16 November 2024}}</ref>) is the [[List of federally recognized tribes|federally recognized]] Northern [[Cheyenne]] tribe and a [[Plains tribe]].
The '''Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation''' is [[Indian reservation|reservation]] located in southeastern [[Montana]], that is approximately {{convert|690|sqmi}} large. It is home to approximately 6,000 Cheyenne people. The reservation is bounded on the east by the [[Tongue River (Montana)|Tongue River]] and on the west by the [[Crow Indian Reservation|Crow Reservation]]. There are small parcels of non-contiguous off-reservation trust lands in [[Meade County, South Dakota]], northeast of the city of [[Sturgis, South Dakota|Sturgis]]. Its timbered ridges that extend into northwestern [[South Dakota]] are part of [[Custer National Forest]] and it is approximately {{convert|40|mi}} east of the site of the 1876 [[Battle of the Little Bighorn]].
In March 2013, the Northern Cheyenne Tribe had 12,266 people enrolled citizens, of which about 6,012 resided on the reservation,<ref name ="Cheyenne Tribe website">{{Cite web |url=http://www.cheyennenation.com/ |title=Northern Cheyenne Tribe website |access-date=2009-08-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110202173827/http://cheyennenation.com/ |archive-date=2011-02-02 |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{full short|date=April 2019}} with approximately 91% of the population Native American (full or part [[blood quantum]]) and 72.8% identifying as Cheyenne. Slightly more than a quarter of the population five years or older spoke a language other than English.<ref name ="Cheyenne Tribe website" /> Members of the [[Crow Tribe]] also live on the reservation.
The tribal and government headquarters are located in [[Lame Deer, Montana|Lame Deer]], where they host the annual Northern Cheyenne [[powwow]].
== Demographics{{anchor|People}} == Traditional [[Cheyenne]] spiritual culture, like most traditional [[Indigenous peoples|Indigenous]] spiritual ways, values the peoples' connection to their landbase, and sees the land itself, as well as special sites like [[Bear Butte]], as sacred. Numerous Cheyenne work as foresters and fire fighters. This spiritual perspective is evident in traditional communities like Lame Deer and Birney and when the 2006 vote on development coal and [[coalbed methane]] on the reservation split along modernist vs traditional lines.<ref>{{cite news|title=Northern Cheyenne voters split on resource development |url=http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/northern-cheyenne-voters-split-on-resource-development/article_c165f28d-7f1a-593a-8a8d-9e52f25c94e1.html |access-date=17 January 2011|newspaper=billingsgazette.com|date=7 November 2006}}</ref>{{full short|date=April 2019}}
A historical buffalo jump, burial sites of Cheyenne chiefs and spiritual leaders, the site of [[Custer]]'s last camp before the [[Battle of the Little Bighorn]], the Cheyenne Indian Museum, Ten Bears Gallery, [[St. Labre Indian Catholic High School|St. Labre Indian School]], and the Ashland [[Powwow]] are sites of special interest in the Ashland area.
The Northern Cheyenne are related to the [[Southern Cheyenne]], who are located in [[Oklahoma]]. Following the [[Black Hills War]] and earlier conflicts in [[Colorado]] (see [[Sand Creek Massacre]] and [[Battle of Washita River|Washita Massacre]]), the Northern Cheyenne were forcibly moved to Oklahoma and restricted to lands of their southern relatives. Unable to acclimate swiftly to the heat of western Oklahoma ([[Indian Territory]] at the time), having to grow their food instead of hunting or gathering as were their ways, and the brutal conditions in the barracks where they were held, the northerners quickly began dying. In desperation, a small band left the reservation and headed north in 1878, an odyssey that came to be known as the [[Northern Cheyenne Exodus]].
The Northern Cheyenne briefly settled around [[Fort Keogh]] ([[Miles City, Montana]]). In the early 1880s, many families began to migrate south to the [[Tongue River (Montana)|Tongue River]] watershed area and established homesteads in the northern edge of the [[Powder River Basin]], which they considered their natural home. The Northern Cheyenne were allies of the [[Lakota people|Lakota]] in the [[Black Hills War]] of 1876–1877.
The United States government established the Tongue River Indian Reservation, which consisted of {{convert|371200|acre|km2}} of land, under the executive order given by President [[Chester A. Arthur]] on November 16, 1884. The boundaries originally did not include the Cheyenne who had homesteaded further east near the Tongue River, therefore those people who had were helped by the St. Labre Catholic Mission. This changed though when on March 19, 1900, [[William McKinley|President William McKinley]] extended the reservation to the west bank of the Tongue River, for a total of {{convert|444157|acre|km2}}. Those Cheyenne who had homesteaded east of the Tongue River were relocated to reservation lands west of the river.<ref>Page 30, ''We, the Northern Cheyenne People'', accessed September 20, 2009</ref>
== Flag == The Northern Cheyenne flag is blue with a white symbol in the center.
== Communities and neighborhoods == [[Image:CheyenneReservationPhilKonstantin.jpg|right|thumb|Northern Cheyenne headquarters]] [[Lame Deer, Montana]], with about 4,000 residents, of which 92% are American Indian, is the capital of the Northern Cheyenne nation. [[Chief Dull Knife College]] is located there. To the west is [[Muddy, Montana]], with about 600 residents, 94% American Indian, and further west [[Busby, Montana]], with about 700 residents, 90% American Indian. Busby was the site of the Tongue River Boarding School, opened in 1904. The school would later become quite active in [[basketball]], with their team playing a winning game against the [[Harlem Globetrotters]] and winning a state championship in the 1950s. The Busby White River Cheyenne Mennonite Church is located in Busby.<ref>[http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/W506.html "Busby White River Cheyenne Mennonite Church"], ''Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online'', accessed September 20, 2009</ref>{{full short|date=April 2019}} In 1976 the reservation had 2400 people and [[Marie Sanchez]] was the Chief Judge.<ref name="macneil">{{cite web |website=American Archive |title=The MacNeil/Lehrer Report; Sterilization |url=https://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip_507-j38kd1rb4h |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220501210243/https://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip_507-j38kd1rb4h |archive-date=May 1, 2022}}</ref>
[[Ashland, Montana]], is to the east. In 1884 a Catholic boarding school, the [[St. Labre Indian School]], was established there.<ref name="ReferenceA">Page 91, ''We, the Northern Cheyenne People'', accessed September 20, 2009</ref> The 460 residents of Ashland are about 75% American Indian. They are also very active in basketball. When [[Busby, Montana|Busby]] became part of their district, they had notable rivalry basketball games in the late 1940s and on. [[Birney, Montana]], population about 100, 86% Indian, is south of Lame Deer and Ashland. Part of Birney, "White Birney", lies south of the reservation.<ref>Page 48, ''We, the Northern Cheyenne People'', accessed September 20, 2009</ref>
[[Colstrip, Montana]], is a neighboring industrial city devoted to coal mining and electrical generation. Located 20 miles north of the reservation, it has a population of about 2,300 residents, of which approximately 240, or 11%, are American Indians. It is also where some Cheyenne attend public school or live for work.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>
Major employers within the community that contribute to the economy on the reserve include St. Labre Indian School, power and construction companies, the federal and tribal governments, farming and ranching, small businesses, and the education system.<ref>{{cite web |title=Northern Cheyenne Tribe |url=https://tribalnations.mt.gov/northerncheyenne |website=Governors Office of Indian Affairs |access-date=7 December 2020}}</ref>
===Historic Northern Cheyenne bands=== Known in Cheyenne either as Notameohmésêhese or ''Notameohmésėhétaneo'o'' meaning "Northern Eaters" or simply as ''Ohmésêhese / Ôhmésêheseo'o'' meaning "Eaters".<ref name=mooney>{{cite book |last1=Mooney |first1=James |title=The Cheyenne Indians |date=1964 |publisher=Kraus Reprint |location=New York |pages=402–408 |isbn=9780527005054 |url=https://archive.org/details/cheyenneindians0001moon_6 |access-date=24 November 2022}}</ref> * '''''Notameohmésêhese / Notameohmésėhétaneo'o proper'' ("Northern Eaters", also simply known as ''Ȯhmésėhese / Ôhmésêheseo'o'' or ''Omísis'' – "Eaters"''' - They go by these names because they were known as great hunters and therefore had a good supply of meat to feed their people. They were the most populous Cheyenne group, inhabiting land from the northern and western [[Black Hills]] (Mo'ȯhtávo'honáéva – ″black-rock-Location″) toward the [[Powder River Country]] (Páeo'hé'e – ″gunpowder river″ or ″coal river″). Often they were accompanied by their Totoemanaho and Northern Só'taeo'o kin and had through intermarriages close ties to Lakota. Today they, along with the Northern Só'taeo'o, are the most influential among the Northern Cheyenne. * '''''Northern Oévemanaho / Oivimána'' (''Northern Oévemana'' – "Northern Scabby", "Northern Scalpers"''' - They now live in and around [[Birney, Montana]] (Oévemanâhéno – ″scabby-band-place″) near the confluence of the [[Tongue River (Montana)|Tongue River]] and [[Hanging Woman Creek]] in the southeastern corner of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation) * '''''Northern Só'taeo'o / Só'taétaneo'o'' (''Suhtai'' or ''Sutaio''''' - They married only other Só'taeo'o (Northern or Southern alike) and camped separate from the other Cheyenne camps. They maintained closest ties to the Notameohmésêhese band and lived in the northern and western [[Black Hills]] (Mo'ȯhtávo'honáéva – ″black-rock-Location″). They also roamed together with their Notameohmésêhese and Totoemanaho kin in the [[Powder River Country]] (Páeo'hé'e), remaining north of the Platte River. They gained higher band numbers than their southern kin because of better Northern hunting and grass. They now live in and around Birney, Montana (Oévemanâhéno – ″scabby-band-place″). Today they, along with the Notameohmésêhese, are the most influential among the Northern Cheyenne.
'''Lesser northern bands (not represented in the Council of Forty-Four):''' * '''Anskówînîs / Anskowinis ("Narrow Nose", "narrow-nose-bridge"''' - They are named after their first chief, properly named Broken Dish, but nicknamed ''Anskówǐnǐs''. They separated from the Ôhmésêheseo'o because of a quarrel. * '''Moktavhetaneo / Mo'ȯhtávėhetaneo'o (''Mo'ôhtávêhetane'' – "Black ''skinned'' Men", "[[Ute people|Ute]]-like Men"''' They are named this because they had darker skin than other Cheyenne and looked more like the Utes. Their name also means ″Mountain Men″, maybe descended from Ute (Mo'ȯhtávėhetaneo'o) captives.<ref name=mooney/> They live today in the [[Lame Deer, Montana]] (Mo'ȯhtávȯheomenéno – ″black-lodge-place″) district on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation. Lame Deer, the tribal and government agency headquarters, was also the place where rations were given out and is known as Meaveʼhoʼeno – ″the giving place″ or ″giving-whiteman-place″. * '''Ononeo'o / Ononeo ("[[Arikara]] People" or ″Ree Band″)''' - This band is of mixed Cheyenne-Arikara and Mandan heritage. They were formerly associated with the mixed Cheyenne-Lakota Masikota band and sometimes considered a Masikota subband. today they live in the nonofficial Rosebud/Ree district (Ónoneo'o), politically part of the Muddy Creek district, between Busby and Muddy Creek, some are also present in the Lame Deer district) * Totoemanaho / Totoimana (''Totoemana, Tútoimanáh'' – "Backward Clan", "Shy Clan" or "Bashful Clan", also translated as ″Reticent Band″, and ″Unwilling Band″, so named because they prefer to camp by themselves, lived in the northern and western [[Black Hills]] (Mo'ȯhtávo'honáéva – ″black-rock-Location″) and along the [[Tongue River (Montana)|Tongue River]] (Vétanovéo'hé'e – ″Tongue River″), roamed together with their Notameohmésêhese and Northern Só'taeo'o kin also in the [[Powder River Country]] (Páeo'hé'e), had through intermarriages close ties to Lakota, now centered in and around [[Ashland, Montana]] (Vóhkoohémâhoéve'ho'éno, formerly called Totoemanáheno) immediately east of the boundary of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation) * '''Vóhpoométaneo'o / Woxpometaneo (''Voxpometaneo'' – "White River People", ″White River Cheyenne″)''' Named for the White River (Vóhpoome) near Pine Ridge in South Dakota and also named after a large extended family as ''Wóopotsît'' or ''Wóhkpotsit'' – "White Wolf", ″White Crafty People″. The majority joined their Cheyenne kin and settled in 1891 south of [[Kirby, Montana]] near the headwaters of the Rosebud Creek. They are now centered in and around [[Busby, Montana]] (Vóhpoométanéno) on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation. Some stayed on the [[Pine Ridge Indian Reservation]] with their [[Oglala Lakota]] kin and are known as Tsėhésė-ho'óhomo'eo'o – ″Cheyenne-Sioux″.
== Education == [[Chief Dull Knife College]], originally named [[Dull Knife Memorial College]], is an open admission [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] tribal [[community college]] and [[land grant institution]]. It is located on the reservation, in Lame Deer, and has a current enrollment of 141 students. On average, more than half of the graduates move on to four-year colleges. The college is accredited by the [[Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities]]. It is member of the [[American Indian Higher Education Consortium]] and [[American Association of Community Colleges]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20020605041051/http://www.cdkc.edu/ |name=Chief Dull Knife College website]</ref>{{full short|date=April 2019}}
[[Northern Cheyenne Tribal School]] is the reservation's tribal school located in Busby, MT.
The reservation is the recipient of a 2010 [[Promise Neighborhoods]] grant from the [[United States Department of Education]], through the local [[Boys & Girls Clubs of America]].<ref>[http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-department-education-awards-promise-neighborhoods-planning-grants US Department of Education Awards Promise Neighborhoods Planning Grants]</ref>{{full short|date=April 2019}}
The St. Labre Catholic boarding school is also on the reserve and educates children in pre-K-12. It serves nearly 450 students and embraces the North American culture while also celebrating catholic faith and educating children. They integrate North American culture within the school curriculum allowing for formal education to take place in addition to cultural education. Along with the school, this facility also runs a Shiloh Youth Group Home, Childcare Center, Community Outreach Services, Elderly Outreach Services, and a Work Incentive Program. These programs along with the school aim to educate the community members ad provide them with skills in order to become independent in any way they need. There is also a St. Labre museum which houses important Cheyenne artifacts and aims to display history of the culture and language in hopes people with learn from it.<ref>{{cite web |title=About us |url=https://www.stlabre.org/about-us/our-schools/ |website=St. Labre Indian School |access-date=7 December 2020}}</ref>
== Notable Northern Cheyenne people == * [[Joseph Fire Crow]] (1959-2017), Northern Cheyenne flutist and recording artist, Grammy nominee and [[Native American Music Awards|Nammy]] winner * [[Belle Highwalking]] (1892–1971), writer. She recorded her life and the life of the people on the reservation in 1970.<ref>{{Cite web |last=WHM |date=2014-07-08 |title=Gifts of Love and Gratitude: Belle Highwalking |url=https://montanawomenshistory.org/gifts-of-love-and-gratitude-belle-highwalking/ |access-date=2022-07-02 |website=Women's History Matters |language=en-US}}</ref>
* [[Little Wolf]] (c. 1820–1904) ({{langx|chy|Ó'kôhómôxháahketa}}, more correctly translated ''Little Coyote'', Northern ''Só'taeo'o'' chief and Sweet Medicine Chief, was one of the "Old Man" chiefs among the [[Council of Forty-four]], belonged to the Elk Horn Scrapers (''Hémo'eoxeso''), one of the four original [[Cheyenne military societies]]) * [[Rynalea Whiteman Pena]], chief<ref>{{cite news |last=Lutey |first=Tom |date=January 11, 2019 |title=Whiteman Pena wins Northern Cheyenne presidency |work=Billings Gazette |location=Billings, Montana |url=https://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/whiteman-pena-wins-northern-cheyenne-presidency/article_b694b6ca-a0f6-5eed-9882-fc176e01f6f9.html |access-date=June 17, 2019}}</ref> * [[Roman Nose]] (1823-1868), {{langx|chy|Woo-ka-nay}}, military leader and chief of the Elk Horn Scrapers (''Hémo'eoxeso''), one of the four original Cheyenne military societies * [[Michael Running Wolf]], software engineer<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mabie |first=Nora |date=16 January 2023 |title=Meet Michael Running Wolf, the man using AI to reclaim Native languages |url=https://missoulian.com/news/local/meet-michael-running-wolf-the-man-using-ai-to-reclaim-native-languages/article_9cdd8db4-4074-5edb-9fa4-74773cdb9464.html |access-date=16 November 2024 |website=The Missoulian |language=en}}</ref> * [[Marie Sanchez]] (1939-2019), chief Judge, human rights activist for Indigenous people, and linguist.<ref name="macneil" /> * [[Two Moons]] (1847–1917), chief, {{langx|chy|Éše'he Ȯhnéšesėstse}}, also known as [[Ónonevóo'xénéhe]] (Ree Roman Nose) or [[Mȧsėhávoo'xénéhe]] (Crazy Roman Nose) * [[Wooden Leg]] (1858–1940), warrior fought at [[Battle of the Little Bighorn|Little Bighorn]] * [[Ben Nighthorse Campbell]] (b. 1933), politician who represented [[Colorado]] in both the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]] and in the [[United States Senate|Senate]] * [[Eva Flying]], 6th president of [[Chief Dull Knife College]]
== References == {{reflist|30em}}
== Sources == * [https://archive.org/details/wenortherncheyen2008amblrich ''We, the Northern Cheyenne People''] * [https://www.census.gov Northern Cheyenne Reservation and Off-Reservation Trust Land, Montana/South Dakota] United States Census Bureau
==External links== {{commons category|Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation|Northern Cheyenne}} * {{official website|http://www.cheyennenation.com}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20110922173645/http://www.opi.mt.gov/pdf/IndianEd/Search/Social%20Studies/Bringing%20the%20Story%20of%20the%20Cheyenne%20People%20to%20the%20Children%20of%20Today.pdf "Bringing the Story of the Cheyenne People to the Children of Today"], Montana state curriculum, 218-page pdf
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[[Category:Northern Cheyenne Tribe]] [[Category:American Indian reservations in Montana]] [[Category:American Indian reservations in South Dakota]] [[Category:Buffalo jumps]] [[Category:Federally recognized tribes in the United States]] [[Category:Geography of Big Horn County, Montana]] [[Category:Geography of Meade County, South Dakota]] [[Category:Geography of Rosebud County, Montana]] [[Category:1884 establishments in Montana Territory]]