Northern Cheyenne Runners at Crazy Horse Memorial. Photo © Native Sun News.
RAPID CITY, SOUTH DAKOTA — A group of about 130 young runners from the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation made a 400 mile trek last week which took them through the “sand hills of Nebraska, the sacred Black Hills of South Dakota, and the plains and mountains of Montana” retracing the footsteps of their ancestors. The Annual Fort Robinson Spiritual Outbreak Run, which began in 1996, was organized by Northern Cheyenne Tribal member Phillip Whiteman Jr. to honor ancestors of the Northern Cheyenne who broke out of a Fort Robinson prison camp in the dead of winter on Jan. 9, 1879. The annual event originally started out as a 76 mile run around the reservation. Then in 1999, the participants began running the 400 mile trek from Fort Robinson, Nebraska to Busby, Montana. The relay fashioned run begins with two runners, usually a boy and a girl, one carrying the tribal flag of the Northern Cheyenne Nation and the other an eagle staff. The runners hand off the symbolic tokens of their heritage to the next runners who carry them in remembrance of the sacrifice made by their ancestors. According to organizers, the annual run has become a rite of passage for the young runners who make a commitment to complete the five day journey from Nebraska to their homeland in Montana. “They run day and night enduring January temperatures and physical hardships, much like their ancestors of 131 years ago. They learn valuable lessons of unity, responsibility to self and others, and how to overcome adversities. They gain a strong connection to the sacrifice of their ancestors. The run instills in them a sense of pride, greater self-esteem, a deeper respect for their identity and sincere appreciation for their homeland,” Whiteman wrote at www.yellowbirdinc.org, the official website for the run. Northern Cheyenne history
In 1877 the Northern Cheyenne, whose name for themselves is Tsitsistas and So’taeo ‘o were relocated from Montana to Indian Territory in Oklahoma. Up until that time they were one nation with their kinsmen the Southern Cheyenne. After one year, the Northern Cheyenne, suffering depredations from lack of food and disease, wished to return to their tribal homeland in Montana. After being denied permission, under the leadership of Chiefs Dull Knife and Little Wolf, more than 350 Cheyenne secretly departed for the Dakota Territory. Dull Knife, whose Indian name is “Tah-me-la-pash-me,” was one of the principle signers of 1868 Ft Laramie Treaty made between the Northern Cheyenne, the Northern Arapaho, the Lakota and the United States Government. In 1876 “Tah-me-la-pash-me’s” band united with the Hunkpapa leader “Tatanka Iyotanka” (Sitting Bull’s) band and was instrumental in the defeat Custer’s Seventh Cavalry at the Battle of the Little Big Horn. According to the historical record kept at Fort Robinson, during their escape from Oklahoma territory, the Cheyenne were able to elude recapture by slipping through a cordon along the Union Pacific rail line in Nebraska and resume their northerly trek. Somewhere in Nebraska the group broke up. Little Wolf and his followers wanted to continue moving north and join the Lakota leader Sitting Bull in Canada. For the time being, they went into hiding in the vast Sand Hills. The second group decided to try to obtain refuge with the Lakota Chief Red Cloud, who was a friend of Dull Knife. With this in mind, they set out for the Red Cloud Agency. Unknown to Dull Knife, however, Red Cloud and his people had been moved into Dakota Territory, and only soldiers remained near the old agency. South of present-day Chadron, Nebraska, an army patrol intercepted Dull Knife and his people, and on October 24, 1878, escorted them into Fort Robinson. A total of 149 men, women, and children were taken into custody and confined in the cavalry barracks. Initially the Cheyenne’s were free to leave the barracks as long as all were present for evening roll call. Several of the women were even employed at the fort, and this arrangement continued into December 1878. During this period Dull Knife requested that the Cheyenne’s be allowed either to join Red Cloud at his agency or to remain in their former northern Plains homeland. Attempts were also being made by Kansas officials to extradite certain members of the group to stand trial for alleged crimes committed during their flight through that state. Washington officials insisted on the return of the Cheyenne’s to Oklahoma. By late December the Cheyenne were prisoners in the barracks, no longer allowed to come and go. The army was under orders to pressure them into returning south, and the Cheyenne were equally determined never to go back to the southern reservation. By the night of January 9, 1879, the impasse had come to a point of crisis, and the Cheyenne broke out of the barracks. Weapons they had hidden earlier were used to shoot the guards, and while some of the men held off the soldiers, the remaining Cheyenne’s fled in the dark. A running fight ensued along the White River valley between the fleeing Cheyenne and the pursuing soldiers. At least twenty-six Cheyenne warriors were killed that night and some eighty women and children were recaptured. Those still free eluded the soldiers until January 22, when most were killed or taken prisoner at a camp on Antelope Creek northwest of Fort Robinson. In all, sixty-four Native Americans and eleven soldiers lost their lives during the protracted escape attempt. Dull Knife and part of his family were among the few that managed to get away, and they eventually made their way to refuge with Red Cloud. Most of them were killed at this time, but a few survived and made it to their homeland, the Powder River country in Southeastern Montana. Because of this sacrifice, they now have the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. Following in the footsteps
Much like their ancestors the young runners battled the elements, enduring frigid temperatures which often dipped below zero, during the week of Jan. 10-14. Their journey, which gave them the opportunity to tread the same ground their ancestors walked on, began with prayer at Bear Butte where the Northern Cheyenne have historical connections. They went on to Fort Robinson where they would spend the night in the officers’ quarters similar to the ones their ancestors broke out of on Jan. 9, 1879. They spent a day at the Crawford Community Center learning the details of the epic journey made by their ancestors more than a century ago that led to where the Northern Cheyenne live today. They also visited some of the historical sites, including the “Last Hole” where many of their ancestors had sought cover after they broke out of Fort Robinson where they were slaughtered and buried by the Cavalry. That evening the runners broke out of the rebuilt barracks at the approximate time and on the exact location that their ancestors broke out of 131 years ago and ran for 20 miles to Chadron. The next morning the runners departed from Chadron and ran the back roads to Slim Buttes on Hwy 18, through Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. They stopped at Cheyenne Creek where they listened to Wilmer Mesteth retell the oral history of Cheyenne Creek where the remains of their Cheyenne ancestors, who had been given blankets infected with small pox by Calvary soldiers, were discovered. They spent the night at Hot Springs and the next morning would continue their journey into the Black Hills and visited Crazy Horse Monument in Custer. That evening they were welcomed by the Rapid City Indian Community at the Mother Butler Center where they enjoyed a meal hosted by Marilyn Pourier. On Wednesday the runners departed from Deadwood on Hwy 85 to I-90 and journeyed on into Belle Fourche via hwy 34 where they spent the night and enjoyed supper sponsored by Butte County Historical Society and Center of the Nation Business Association. Stronger runners run into the evening Hwy 212 to Hammond, Mont. On Thursday evening the runners reached the outer edges of their reservation at Ashland, Mont. where their families met them and provided a meal at St Labre Indian School in Ashland. On Friday for the last leg of their journey the runners departed from Ashland to Lame Deer and at 2 p.m. reached their destination at Busby. A dinner, honoring and presentations followed at Allen Rowland Gym in Lame Deer. Contact Ernestine Chasing Hawk at managingeditor@nsweekly.com
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