Cheyenne Indian History Pt.3

The Cheyenne weren't a conquering tribe such as the Comanche or the Sioux, they were nonetheless well prepared for battle against their attackers. Over the years, rivalries and disagreements between the Cheyenne and other tribes such as the Pawnee had often escalated into warfare, causing the Cheyenne and their allies, the Kiowa, the Arapaho and the Crow to join forces in battle.

In 1853, the war between the Cheyenne and the Pawnee ended tragically, no matter how hard they fought, the allied tribes could not defeat the Pawnee, who had brought their allies, the Pottowatomi, who were armed with rifles, and showed superior tactical skills. The Cheyenne and their allies retreated from battle, having suffered many casualties. A year later, the Cheyenne and their allies retaliated by killing nearly the same number of Pawnee warriors in a surprise attack.

Although most conflicts had previously involved other invading tribes, it would soon be the whites who would become their greatest foe, as more and more settlers came to invade Cheyenne land during the Gold Rush of 1848, the whites had broken their promise to the Natives, taking over territory as they saw fit under the newly passed "Homestead Act", driving the tribes into relocation into less than hospitable lands. In 1862, the Cheyenne and the Arapaho, seeing that many of the white men were being called into battle because of the Civil War, decided it was time for retribution, so they conducted a series of raids on their settlements and wagon trains, which only escalated the violence in what would come to be known as the Sioux Wars. Battles raged for decades to follow, as the Sioux, Arapaho, Cheyenne, and other plains tribes fought against the invading whites.

One of the most tragic events the befall the Cheyenne was the Sand Creek massacre of 1864. While elsewhere peace negotiations between the Cheyenne and the whites were underway, Col. John M. Chivington and 700 U.S. volunteer soldiers attacked a Cheyenne and Arapaho Indian Village in Sand Creek, in southeastern Colorado, killing nearly two hundred men, women, and children in the process. The village leader, Black Kettle, had raised both the American flag, and a white flag above his tent, but this had no effect on Col. Chivington's resolve to take over the settlement. To make matters worse, some of the soldiers further mutilated the bodies of some of their victims, taking scalps and other grisly trophies.

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