Dog Soldiers

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the Cheyenne warrior society. For other uses, see Dog Soldiers (disambiguation).
pow wow

The Dog Soldiers or Dog Men (Cheyenne: Hotamétaneo'o) are historically one of six Cheyenne military societies. Beginning in the late 1830s, this society evolved into a separate, militaristic band that played a dominant role in Cheyenne resistance to the westward expansion of the United States in the area of present-day Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, and Wyoming, where the Cheyenne had settled in the early nineteenth century.[1]

After nearly half the Southern Cheyenne died in the

Southern Cheyenne. Its members often opposed policies of peace chiefs such as Black Kettle. In 1869 United States Army forces killed most of the band in the Battle of Summit Springs in Colorado Territory
. The surviving Cheyenne societies became much smaller and more secretive in their operations.

The twenty-first century has seen a revival of the Dog Soldiers society in such areas as the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation in Montana and among the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes in Oklahoma.[citation needed]

Cheyenne tribal governance

Main articles: Council of Forty-four and Cheyenne military societies

The two central institutions of traditional Cheyenne tribal governance are the

Council of Forty-Four[2] and the military societies, the Dog Soldiers. The Council of Forty-Four is the council of chiefs, comprising four chiefs from each of the ten Cheyenne bands, plus four principal[3] or "Old Man" chiefs, known to have had previously served with distinction on the council.[2] While chiefs are responsible for overall governance of individual bands and the tribe as a whole, the headmen of warrior societies are charged with maintaining discipline within the tribe, overseeing tribal hunts and ceremonies, and providing military leadership.[2]

Dog Soldiers

Historically, Dog Soldiers have been regarded as both highly aggressive and effective combatants. One tradition recalls that in battle, they would "pin" themselves to a "chosen" piece of ground, through an unusually long breech-clout "rear-apron", by use of one of three "Sacred Arrows" that they traditionally carried into battle.

Emergence as a separate band

Porcupine Bear

Prior to the peace council held at

Fort Laramie
.

Porcupine Bear joined in the drinking. He sat and sang Dog Soldier war songs. Two of his cousins, Little Creek and Around, became caught up in a drunken fight. Little Creek got on top of Around and held up a knife, ready to stab Around; at that point, Porcupine Bear, aroused by Around's calls for help, tore the knife away from Little Creek, and stabbed him with it several times. He forced Around to finish off Little Creek.[5][6]

By the rules governing military societies, a man who murdered or accidentally killed another member of his tribe had blood on his hands and was prohibited from joining a society. A society's member who committed such a crime was expelled and outlawed.[7] Porcupine Bear was expelled from the Dog Soldiers, and he and his relatives had to camp apart from the rest of the Cheyenne.[7][8] The Dog Soldiers were disgraced by Porcupine Bear's act. The other chiefs forbade them from leading war against the Kiowa.

Wolf reformed the Bowstring Society, which had been nearly annihilated in the fight with the Kiowa. It took over leading warfare against the Kiowa.[8][9] Although outlawed by the main body of the Cheyenne, Porcupine Bear led the Dog Soldiers into battle against the Kiowa and Comanche at Wolf Creek. He and his warriors were reportedly the first to strike the enemy, considered an honor,[8][10] but due to their status as outlaws, their feat was not celebrated.[8]

Dog Soldier band

The outlawing of Porcupine Bear, his relatives, and his followers led to the transformation of the Dog Soldiers from a warrior society into a separate division of the tribe.[8][11] In the wake of the cholera epidemic in 1849, which greatly reduced the Masikota band of Cheyenne,[12] the remaining Masikota joined the Dog Soldiers.[11]

When the Cheyenne bands camped together, the Dog Soldier band took the position in the camp circle formerly occupied by the Masikota.[13] Prominent or ambitious warriors from other bands also gradually joined the Dog Soldier band. Over time, the Dog Soldiers took a prominent leadership role in the wars against the whites. The rest of the tribe began to regard them with respect and no longer as outlaws.[11]

The Dog Soldiers contributed to the breakdown of the traditional

Third Colorado Cavalry caused heavy casualties among the Wutapai (Black Kettle's band); and killed perhaps half of the Hevhaitaniu under Yellow Wolf and Big Man, and half the Oivimana under War Bonnet. They also killed many among the Hisiometanio (Ridge Men) under White Antelope. The Dog Soldiers and the Masikota, who by that time operated as a band, were not at Sand Creek during the massacre.[15]

The Dog Soldiers band took as its territory the headwaters country of the

Roman Nose, a Crooked Lance society member, to lead Dog Soldier strikes against white civilian and military assets. He led an attack on Fort Wallace
in June 1867.

Due to an increasing division between the Dog Soldiers and the council chiefs with respect to policy toward the whites, the Dog Soldiers became separated from the other Southern Cheyenne bands.[17][18] They effectively became a third division of the Cheyenne people, between the Northern Cheyenne, who ranged north of the Platte River, and the Southern Cheyenne, who occupied the area north of the Arkansas River.[2][17]

A strong band numbering perhaps 100 lodges, the Dog Soldiers were hostile to the encroaching whites.[17] By the 1860s, as conflict between Indigenous people and whites intensified, the militaristic Dog Soldiers increased their influence, together with that of the warrior societies of other Cheyenne bands. The warriors became a significant counter-influence to the leadership of the traditional Council of Forty-Four chiefs, who were likely to favor working for peace with the whites.[16]

Indian wars

In the late 1860s, the Dog Soldiers were crucial in Cheyenne resistance to the expansion into their territory. Dog Soldiers refused to sign treaties that limited their hunting grounds and restricted them to a reservation south of the

Battle of Beecher's Island
, many Dog Soldiers were forced to retreat south of the Arkansas River.

In the spring of 1867 they returned north with the intention of joining

Eugene Carr, the Dog Soldiers began raiding settlements on Smoky Hill River in revenge. Eventually, Chief Tall Bull led them west into Colorado. After raiding sites in Kansas, they were attacked by a force composed of Pawnee Scouts led by Major Frank North, and United States cavalry, who killed 23 of an estimated 450 Cheyenne warriors (5%), including Tall Bull, in the Battle of Summit Springs
in June 1869.

See also

References

  1. ^ Campbell, W. S. (January 1921). "The Cheyenne Dog Soldiers". Chronicles of Oklahoma. 1 (1): 90–97. Archived from the original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d Greene 2004, p. 9.
  3. ^ Hoig 1980, p. 11.
  4. ^ Hoig 1980, p. 30.
  5. ^ Hyde 1968, p. 74.
  6. ^ Hoig 1980, pp. 48-49.
  7. ^ a b Hyde 1968, p. 335.
  8. ^ a b c d e Hoig 1980, p. 49.
  9. ^ Hyde 1968, p. 75.
  10. ^ Hyde 1968, p. 79.
  11. ^ a b c d Hyde 1968, p. 338.
  12. ^ a b Hyde 1968, p. 97.
  13. ^ a b c Hyde 1968, p. 339.
  14. ^ Hyde 1968, p. 96.
  15. ^ Hyde 1968, p. 159.
  16. ^ a b Greene 2004, p. 26.
  17. ^ a b c d Hoig 1980, p. 85.
  18. ^ Greene 2004, p. 27.

Bibliography

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dog_Soldiers&oldid=1218312731"