The Collapse of Cheyenne Supremacy on the Central Plains by John H. Monnett, Nebraska History Magazine, Volume 104 No. 3 Fall, History Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska, pp. 128-145.
The Cheyene of South Central Nebraska and North Central Kansas followed the buffalo. The claimed territory as far south as the Arkansas River and as far north as the Platte River. There were two types of chiefs, war chiefs and peace chiefs. Those two had different philosophies. Eventually those who wanted war began to win out. These were joined by the Dog Men.
Eventually even the Dog Men agreed to a treaty. They felt they were assured the could hunt freely between the Arkansas and Platte rivers "until the buffalo became extinct." The Cheyenne felt the treaty of Medicine Lodge Creek assured this; but the ratified version passed by congress did not mention this. After the treaty in 1867 there were nine months of peace. However after the ratified version was made known, feelings were different. Add to this the encroachment of white settlers, who plowed the land and killed the grass the buffalo needed, the Cheyenne went to war. Buffalo lands were already fragile and diminishing due to the overland trails and the advancement of the rails. They were also over hunted, sometimes just for sport. This activity was encouraged by the military generals, William Tecumseh Sherman and Phil Sheridan. But the settlers with their fences and plows is what put the Indians over the top.
The fighting was fierce in late 1868. Many settlers were attacked and killed. The federal military had a no holes barred policy in retribution even attacking non combatants. However over time, due to attrition and poor food supplies, the Cheyenne were defeated and had to go to the reservations by 1890. By then the buffalo were about gone.
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