Cheyenne

Introduction - (SLL-AndreaN)
The Cheyenne called themselves ‘Dzitsistas’, which in their language, the language the Algonquian tribes speak, means ‘our people’. Their history is that they used to live in the eastern part of the United States, and that they were driven out of the plains once by the Sioux(Lakota). Before they separated into two parts, the Cheyenne tribe lived in ten bands. They also had a strong impression on the history of the plains. Did you know that they also had medicine arrows?



Habitat/Homes -(OSL-Adrienne)
The Native Americans of t he Cheyenne tribe lived in the great plains of the United States that was stretched from the Rocky Mountains to the Mississippi River Valley. They lived in an area that was mostly treeless grassland that had cold winters and hot summers. The Great Plains had many animals and it included antelope, deer, and bears. The most important of all was the buffalo. Did you know that the Cheyenne Indians shared their land with the Pawnee and Comanche?



Dress - (OSL-Adrienne)
Native American Cheyenne tribe men wore breechcloth with leggings made out of leather and men usually did not wear shirts. Native American Cheyenne woman usually wore deerskin dresses and sometimes wore shirts optional. Both men and woman would wear head pieces made out of porcupine quills, shells, and elk teeth. Cheyenne men and woman both wore moccasins and sometimes wore mukluks in the winter but woman usually would wear high-fringed boots. After that they adapted to European clothes such as cloth dresses and vest they decorated with fancy beading and quillwork.

Cheyenne Indians spoke Algonquin. It was most like Arapaho but more complex. And is more difficult to learn.

The Native Americans had a religious dance called the Sundance it included dancing, singing, and drumming. It was the experience of visions, fating, and in a way self-torture.

The Cheyenne’s believed that a chief created man out of his left rib and woman out of right. He sent woman to north and man to south and both battled twice a year for control over the earth’s weather.



Food - (SLL-AndreaN)
Cheyenne meals took place usually around a fire. The food on the menu was(besides buffalo meat): fish, corn, and fruit and berries, which were bought from other tribes. In the morning, the women would start up the fire and get the food ready for the men after they came back from herding the buffalo.

Customs- (SLL-AlexL)
The Cheyenne spoke a very commplex language of alongin, and their was only 14 letters in the alfhabet. I will tell you some words in alongin and then in english-maahe is arrow,mahpe is water, and man is hetane. The Cheyenne language is becoming exstinc the Govermant is forcing them to stop their old ways and language of life. The Cheyenne tribe had several dances or ceremonies the sun dance is one and th buffalo ceremoni is another. What they would do in the sun dance was they would have to extinguish the fire with their bear feet wich today to us is self torture but to them it was a a great honnor.A sacred place to the Cheyenne Indians is the Black Hills.

The Cheyenne tribe were very big in legends they had a lot of legends like the little fly. I will tell you the story. One day their was a river and the water was very cold and sweet and all the animals in the woods came to drink their. Their was also a big moose who also drank and he was so big that he drank so much of the water it started to go down, so the beavers were scared that the water would go to low and their dams would be broken and the fish were scared that they would die.But they were all scared of the moose even the bear. Their was also a little fly who wanted to help so he said i will do it and all the animals laughfed at him, but he tried and so when the moose came to drink the little fly bit and bit and bit him until the moose was in a frenzy and he ran away and never came back. and that was to teach that even little things in life can do things just the same as poeple bigger.

Tool and Weapons - (SLL-AlexL)
Hear are some of the weapons and tools used by the Cheyenne tribe.- A powerful bow and flint head arrow were made using eagle,turkey,or hawk feathers. Slingshots, javilins, and tomahakes used wood handles made from cherry, ash, ceder, or oak. They also used bone, metal or flint head. Throwing stones were used by skilled Indians and could knock somebody out. Indians also other weapons like rope to choke poeple, war clubs, spears, and riffles that they got from trappers. Riffles consisted of 44.-calibers, ancient muzzelloaders, and breechloaders.



Also Here are some of the tools that they used- for needles they used small bones for sowing. Wood handled knifes or sometimes bone handled knifes with usuall ,bone or metal blades .They made string by taking buffalo hide and thining and let it dry in the sun tada string.They also used small pointy flint heads for hunting and more fancy painted arrows with bigger arrowheads and they were used for war.

Miscellaneous Facts - (all group members)

Cheyenne Dog soldiers were most important of the Cheyenne tribe.