Nearly 400 years ago, the Cheyenne Indians lived in what is now central Minnesota where they farmed, gathered wild rice, hunted, and made pottery. Like made tribes, westward expansion would push them towards the Rocky Mountains. For a time, they occupied a village of earth lodges on the Sheyenne River in North Dakota where they acquired horses and became more dependent on the buffalo for food. After their village was destroyed by the Ojibwa, they pushed further west and settled along the Missouri River near the Mandan and Arikara tribes. Toward the end of the 18th century, smallpox and the aggression of the Dakota Sioux had decimated the village tribes. The Cheyenne, shattered but resilient, relocated again, this time to the Black Hills, where they developed a unique version of nomadic Plains culture.

During the early 19th century, the Cheyenne migrated to the headwaters of the Platte River in present-day Colorado. In 1832, a large portion of the tribe established itself along the Arkansas River, thus dividing the tribe into northern and southern branches. Times were turbulent for tribes across the Great Plains and, before long, the Northern Cheyenne were forced to relocate to the Southern Cheyenne reservation by the United States Government.

The forced relocation was trying to say the least. The Northern Cheyenne quickly began dying. They were unable to acclimate to the heat of western Oklahoma and struggled growing their own food instead of hunting and gathering. Not to mention, the living conditions in the barracks were brutal. In desperation, a small band headed north in 1878, an odyssey that came to be known as the Northern Cheyenne Exodus. Many of them were captured and imprisoned at Fort Robinson and subsequently killed when they tried to escape.

The United States Government established the Tongue River Indian Reservation in November of 1884. Now known as the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, it’s sandwiched between the Tongue River to the east and the Crow Reservation on the west. Historically, the Cheyenne people possessed an extensive knowledge of botany and harvested plants for food, medicine, ceremony, and other uses. At the heart of their economy though, was the bison. A buffalo cow could easily yield 500 pounds as food, as well as provide resources for robes, tipi covers, and other necessities. Buffalo are also spiritually important to the Cheyenne Nation and are believed to have helped Cheyenne warriors during battle.