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On January 9, 123 years ago, a group of Northern Cheyenne Indians made a last, bold dash for freedom. Cold, hungry and desperate, the imprisoned band fought its way out of Fort Robinson, an army post in Nebraska's Panhandle. Thirty-two of those who survived the frantic outbreak dodged cavalry pursuit through rugged, frozen terrain for 13 days. Their struggle and the events that led to it is a story that has been told many times, by many people. Separating fact from fiction is not easy, yet many of the events are well established. Indian leaders Dull Knife - known as Morning Star to the Northern Cheyenne - Little Wolf, and Wild Hog have become cultural icons and accorded greatness by some historians. But this is not a static history; it remains open to interpretation from many perspectives.
Fight at Little Bighorn
In late 1875, Lakota Sioux and Cheyenne Indians left their reservations, outraged over the continued intrusions by whites searching for gold in the Black Hills. They gathered in what is now Montana under Sitting Bull to fight for their sacred lands.
On June 25, 1876, a combined force of Sioux and Northern Cheyenne Indians killed 264 men who were with the U.S. Army's 7th Cavalry under the command of Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer. It was the Indians' greatest victory against the U.S. Army but, in the months that followed, federal troops chased Indians across the West. After one especially brutal attack, dwindling Northern Cheyenne bands and their old allies the Oglala Sioux joined to share resources for the long, cold winter of 1876-77. In April, driven by hunger and cold, a group of about a thousand Indians was forced to surrender at Fort Robinson, now a Nebraska state park.
The Northern Cheyenne expected to stay with the Oglala Sioux led by Red Cloud, at the Indian agency near Fort Robinson. But the government had other plans. The U.S. government had long tried to create an inclusive Indian Territory in what is now Oklahoma, where all Cheyenne, Arapaho and other Native Americans would live. It was the government's attempt to contain what was referred to as "the Indian problem" and to further federal policy to assimilate Native Americans into Euroamerican culture. Because the Northern Cheyenne were related to Southern Cheyenne bands culturally, politically and through extended families, the government expected the Northern Cheyenne would readily agree to move south into Indian Territory. Nothing, however, could have been further from the truth.
Separated for more than two generations, the Northern and Southern Cheyenne had developed distinct traditions and political connections. For example, the Southern Cheyenne made peace with the U.S. in 1875, while the Northern Cheyenne continued to skirmish with troops. During visits to the south, some Northern Cheyenne found they disliked the hot, arid climate. The Black Hills, Pine Ridge and Yellowstone River areas that the Northern Cheyenne considered home were dotted with their significant religious and cultural sites.
Government officials used many arguments, bribes and tricks to convince the reluctant Northeren Cheyenne to move South. U.S. agents reminded tribal elders that they had signed an agreement in 1874 at Red Cloud Agency that the Cheyenne would go to Indian Territory when the President said to move.
Some historians assert that General George Crook persuaded the tribe to go by reassuring the Cheyenne that they could return north if they did not like the south. With no direct translation of these negotiations available, historians can only speculate as to what Crook actually told Morning Star, Little Wolf and their followers. Regardless, Morning Star's later insistence that they were entitled to return home surely contributed to the disastrous events of January 1879 - events that came to be called "The Cheyenne Outbreak."
To Indian Territory and Back
On May 28, 1877, 937 Northern Cheyenne left the Red Cloud Agency near Fort Robinson. Led by Lieutenant Henry W. Lawton, "Tall White Man" to his Indian friends, troops of the 4th Cavalry escorted the Indians on a peaceful journey south. When buffalo were sighted, warriors who had rifles hunted for food. The cavalry shared provisions and encouraged the old and sick to ride in wagons. Despite such favorable conditions, after three months of hard travel, many Northern Cheyenne reached Indian Territory depressed and longing to return home.
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