Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation Tsėhéstáno | |
|---|---|
 Welcome sign | |
 Flag | |
 Location of Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation | |
| Country | United States |
| States | Montana |
| Established | 1884 |
| Headquarters | Lame Deer |
| Government | |
| • Governing body | Tribal council |
| • Tribal president | Serena Wetherelt(acting) |
| Population (2013) | |
• Total | 4,939 |
| Time zone | UTC-7 (MST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-6 (MDT) |
TheNorthern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation (Cheyenne:Tsėhéstáno[1]) is thefederally recognized NorthernCheyenne tribe and aPlains tribe.
TheNorthern Cheyenne Indian Reservation isreservation located in southeasternMontana, that is approximately 690 square miles (1,800 km2) large. It is home to approximately 6,000 Cheyenne people. The reservation is bounded on the east by theTongue River and on the west by theCrow Reservation. There are small parcels of non-contiguous off-reservation trust lands inMeade County, South Dakota, northeast of the city ofSturgis. Its timbered ridges that extend into northwesternSouth Dakota are part ofCuster National Forest and it is approximately 40 miles (64 km) east of the site of the 1876Battle 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,[2][incomplete short citation] with approximately 91% of the population Native American (full or partblood 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.[2] Members of theCrow Tribe also live on the reservation.
The tribal and government headquarters are located inLame Deer, where they host the annual Northern Cheyennepowwow.
TraditionalCheyenne spiritual culture, like most traditionalIndigenous spiritual ways, values the peoples' connection to their landbase, and sees the land itself, as well as special sites likeBear 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 andcoalbed methane on the reservation split along modernist vs traditional lines.[3][incomplete short citation]
A historical buffalo jump, burial sites of Cheyenne chiefs and spiritual leaders, the site ofCuster's last camp before theBattle of the Little Bighorn, the Cheyenne Indian Museum, Ten Bears Gallery,St. Labre Indian School, and the AshlandPowwow are sites of special interest in the Ashland area.
The Northern Cheyenne are related to theSouthern Cheyenne, who are located inOklahoma. Following theBlack Hills War and earlier conflicts inColorado (seeSand Creek Massacre andWashita 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 theNorthern Cheyenne Exodus.
The Northern Cheyenne briefly settled aroundFort Keogh (Miles City, Montana). In the early 1880s, many families began to migrate south to theTongue River watershed area and established homesteads in the northern edge of thePowder River Basin, which they considered their natural home. The Northern Cheyenne were allies of theLakota in theBlack Hills War of 1876–1877.
The United States government established the Tongue River Indian Reservation, which consisted of 371,200 acres (1,502 km2) of land, under the executive order given by PresidentChester 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,President William McKinley extended the reservation to the west bank of the Tongue River, for a total of 444,157 acres (1,797.44 km2). Those Cheyenne who had homesteaded east of the Tongue River were relocated to reservation lands west of the river.[4]
The Northern Cheyenne flag is blue with a white symbol in the center.
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 isMuddy, Montana, with about 600 residents, 94% American Indian, and further westBusby, 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 inbasketball, with their team playing a winning game against theHarlem Globetrotters and winning a state championship in the 1950s. The Busby White River Cheyenne Mennonite Church is located in Busby.[5][incomplete short citation] In 1976 the reservation had 2400 people andMarie Sanchez was the Chief Judge.[6]
Ashland, Montana, is to the east. In 1884 a Catholic boarding school, theSt. Labre Indian School, was established there.[7] The 460 residents of Ashland are about 75% American Indian. They are also very active in basketball. WhenBusby 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.[8]
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.[7]
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.[9]
Known in Cheyenne either as Notameohmésêhese orNotameohmésėhétaneo'o meaning "Northern Eaters" or simply asOhmésêhese / Ôhmésêheseo'o meaning "Eaters".[10]
Lesser northern bands (not represented in the Council of Forty-Four):
Chief Dull Knife College, originally namedDull Knife Memorial College, is an open admissionNative American tribalcommunity college andland 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 theNorthwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. It is member of theAmerican Indian Higher Education Consortium andAmerican Association of Community Colleges.[11][incomplete short citation]
Northern Cheyenne Tribal School is the reservation's tribal school located in Busby, MT.
The reservation is the recipient of a 2010Promise Neighborhoods grant from theUnited States Department of Education, through the localBoys & Girls Clubs of America.[12][incomplete short citation]
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.[13]
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