The Cheyenne

Thanks to cowboy-and-Indian movies of the 1950s and 1960s, the Cheyenne are among the best known of all Indian tribes. The moviegoer can readily picture the fast-moving Cheyenne, mounted on handsome horses, battling the U.S. Cavalry. While that image is indeed part of the story, the Cheyenne tribe is about much more than 19th-century warfare. The Cheyenne have persevered through strange and difficult times to emerge as one of the best adapted of all Great Plains peoples. They fought the U.S. Army with considerable success, but after the eventual defeat, the Cheyenne changed to a life of cattle herding and Plains farming, with tractors and harvesters as much a part of their lives as horses and war bonnets. The Cheyenne covers the storied history of this highly recognizable tribe, from its origins to its interactions with Europeans and later the U.S. government, to its place in the United States today.