Cold Open

It’s around 10 PM, on January 9th, 1879, at Fort Robinson, a US military fort in Nebraska.

North Cheyenne Chief Morning Star, also known as Dull Knife, leads his tribe across the Fort grounds. Here and there surreptitiously, some Cheyenne warriors stop to retrieve the weapons they hid for tonight’s escape.

For months, Morning Star and his people have been kept here by the United States Army. Recently, the tribe has been deprived of food, water, and heat for four days, and many Cheyenne have died in the terrible conditions. So, tonight, Morning Star and his people are going to break out of Fort Robinson once and for all.

The plan is to make a bold return to their ancestral lands in Montana. This is in defiance of the U.S. government, which has been trying to force the Cheyenne to move to Oklahoma. But Morning Star and his tribe refuse to be bullied any further.

As the Cheyenne move through the Fort grounds, a group of soldiers take notice. The escape attempt is discovered, and the quiet prairie night immediately explodes into violence as the US Army opens fire.

The tribe breaks into a sprint, heading north toward the hills. The armed Cheyenne warriors stay and fight, trying to give the rest of the group more time to escape. But after days of starvation, the tribe is weakened, and it’s difficult to flee quickly. Cheyenne men, women, and children are all struck down as they attempt their escape. 

Chief Morning Star is heartbroken as dozens of his people are dying all around him, while other Cheyenne are grabbed by soldiers and dragged back toward the barracks of the Fort.

But the Chief knows that he and the remaining members of the tribe have no choice but to keep running. To stop for a second could risk recapture, or death.

Chief Morning Star raises his voice and urges all that can to keep moving. As bullets continue to ricochet around him, he leaps over the bodies of soldiers—and his own tribespeople. Escape is all that matters now, though when Morning Star reaches the safety of the wooded hills outside the fort, he looks back, knowing he’s lost too many already, and the road ahead promises to take even more.

For years, the U.S. Army has been trying to remove the Cheyenne people from their land, resorting often to violent and deadly means. But under Morning Star’s leadership, the Cheyenne are determined to return to their ancestral territories. Eventually, this dream will become a reality, but it’ll be a long, deadly journey – and many will never make it back to their homeland.

Most of the nearly 150 Cheyenne at Fort Robinson will be killed or recaptured by the US Army. 60 will escape, but not for long. They’re captured just two weeks later on January 22nd, 1879.

Introduction

From Noiser and Airship, I’m Lindsay Graham and this is History Daily.

History is made every day. On this podcast—every day—we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world.

Today is January 22nd, 1879: The Northern Cheyenne Face Off Against the US Army.

Act One: Retaliation

It’s November 25th, 1878, at the Northern Cheyenne camp on the Powder River in Montana.

It’s a normal day for the roughly 1,000 Cheyenne who live and work here. Some tend to their domestic chores, brushing horses and feeding the various farm animals that live on the land. Others are cooking, tanning hides, and doing other daily tasks that keep the camp running smoothly.

But the calm of the day is suddenly shattered by the sound of horses approaching. Hundreds, maybe even thousands of U.S. soldiers, descend on the camp with weapons drawn.

Immediately, the Cheyenne spring into action. Warriors rush to grab whatever weapons they can find, ready to protect themselves against this sudden assault. Women and children begin to flee, hoping to make it to safety before the worst of the battle begins. But many are not quick enough.

As the U.S. army descends on the camp, they shoot indiscriminately. Cheyenne warriors confront the soldiers, striking some down and injuring others. But they don’t have time to properly defend themselves.

The U.S. cavalry rips through the camp, destroying anything they can find. The soldiers raze homes, destroy tools, and stores of food. And in a matter of mere moments, the entire village has been burned to the ground. The remaining members of the tribe are left homeless and without resources.

With this surprise attack, the U.S. Army hopes to send a pointed message to the native population across Montana: they are not welcome here, and all tribes must leave or face death.

For at least a year, the U.S. Government has been trying to forcibly move natives from Montana to Oklahoma. The reason is simple: Lieutenant Colonel George Custer and his men found gold in the region, making the land vastly more valuable. But after the Montana tribes refused to leave, tensions reached a fever pitch in June, when Custer was defeated at Little Bighorn by the Lakota Sioux, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes.

The battle was an embarrassment for the U.S. Army, and they don’t want it to embolden the native tribes. So, today’s assault is a cruel reminder that the Cheyenne — and other tribes in the region — will never be safe here.

After this attack, the Cheyenne struggled to live off the land. Many die of starvation, and Northern Cheyenne Chief Morning Star is forced to decide how to save the remaining members of his tribe. Left with no food or shelter, he has little choice but to surrender to the U.S. military becoming wards of the state.

The Army does provide food and shelter but at a terrible cost. With the fate of the group in the government’s hands, Morning Star and his people are moved from place to place, slowly being dragged farther away from their ancestral homeland. Until, the military completes its original mission, and forces the Northern Cheyenne onto a reservation in Indian Territory in Oklahoma.

But here, the tribe only faces further miseries. The land on the reservation is poor, and the Oklahoma landscape provides none of the familiar resources and game that the Cheyenne would normally have in their Montana home. The skill set of the tribe’s hunters is rendered irrelevant, and the tribe begins to starve once again.

Desperate to find relief for his people, Morning Star tries to reason with the Army, requesting that the Cheyenne be returned to Montana. But the military is unmoved. It’s clear to Morning Star that the U.S. government has no plans to allow for the safe return of the Cheyenne to Montana, and his tribe is meant to remain in Oklahoma indefinitely.

But Morning Star refuses to accept this. The longer the tribe stays here, the more endangered it becomes. For him something must be done, and quickly. So, with the help of another Cheyenne Chief named Little Wolf, Morning Star begins forming a plan to take their people back home.

Act Two: The Long Trek

It’s September 9th, 1878, on the Cheyenne reservation in Oklahoma.

Led by Chiefs Little Wolf and Morning Star, a group of over 300 Cheyenne prepare to travel from this reservation in Oklahoma, back to their ancestral lands in Montana, determined to see through their dream of returning to their rightful home.

But it’s unlikely the U.S. Army will respond well to a mass exodus to the north. The two Chiefs know the risks, as do their respective tribes. But continuing to live on this reservation is far worse than any perilous journey ahead.

The trip is over 400 miles, and everyone is trying to plan for the challenges they might face along the way. Cheyenne warriors pack up their weapons, while other members of the tribe gather what little food stores they can to help sustain them on the trip.

Then for weeks, the larger group makes their steadfast trek across the Great Plains, headed north. But while their initial departure was not met by much resistance by the Army, it doesn’t take long for the U.S. government to figure out what the Cheyenne are trying to do. Throughout September and into October, the military deploys over 10,000 soldiers to stop them.

But the Cheyenne are not going to allow the threat of the military to stop their plans. Repeatedly, the group manages to evade or fight off the troops searching for them.

And in October, the group moves far enough North to reach the South Platte River in Nebraska. It’s here where the Cheyenne separate into their two tribes: the Northern and Southern Cheyenne.

Little Wolf and the Southern Cheyenne plan to continue their journey northwest, toward Yellowstone River country. Their voyage will be relatively uneventful. The following spring, the tribe will peacefully surrender to the U.S. Army that pursues them, but be allowed to remain in the territory.

Morning Star and the Northern Cheyenne are not so lucky. From the South Platte River, they set their sights on the Red Cloud Agency, hoping to join Lakota Chief Red Cloud and his people.

But the Lakota tribe had been moved to the Dakota Territory, and the Red Cloud Agency is now full of U.S. soldiers. Making matters worse, winter is swiftly approaching, which makes the Cheyenne trek even more taxing. The tribe grows weakened from the journey. And they’re unprepared when they suddenly run into U.S. cavalry troops, seven weeks after leaving the reservation.

The tribe tries to fight off the soldiers, but the U.S. Army quickly gets the upper hand. Eventually, the Northern Cheyenne surrender, and all 149 of them are taken to Fort Robinson.

After this terrible loss, Morning Star tries diplomacy, hoping that the Army will allow his tribe to join Red Cloud in the Dakota Territory or, ideally, return to their land in Montana. And while Morning Star negotiates with the Army, the Cheyenne are kept in barracks at Fort Robinson. And for the first few months, they are given some liberties, allowed to leave the Fort so long as they return by evening.

But as the months pass, the Army grows tired of Morning Star’s continued pleading and insists that he and his tribe must return to the Oklahoma reservation. Cheyenne are also no longer allowed to leave the barracks, kept in their quarters like prisoners.

Amid these new restrictions, Morning Star is unwavering in his refusal to go back to Oklahoma. So, the military resorts to extreme measures to force the Cheyenne into submission. Starting on January 5th, the Army refuses to give the tribe any food, water, or heat. The Cheyenne are even forced to eat snow to avoid dehydration.

And after several days suffering under these horrible conditions, Morning Star recognizes that his people will not survive much longer. So, he prepares to break out from Fort Robinson, with plans to continue to lead the tribe back to Montana.

Despite having suffered from starvation for four days, the Cheyenne stage their escape on January 9th. Over half of the tribe is killed or recaptured on the first night. While the remaining 60 or so flee into the hills, with the Army close behind.

But the escape is only the beginning of the fight. For the next two weeks, the Cheyenne and the Army will continue to battle, with more and more casualties. Until the end of the bloodshed will only see the Cheyenne back under the control of the U.S. government. Yet still, even this will not mark the end of the tribe’s journey home.

Act Three: The Road Home

It’s January 22nd, 1879, atop a snowy bluff near Antelope Creek in Nebraska.

From their high position, Northern Cheyenne warriors shoot at the approaching battalion of U.S. soldiers. Battle has been going on like this for at least two hours, as the military slowly advances on the tribe hiding in the snow. The Army’s plan is to surround the tribe and force their surrender. But the Cheyenne are not interested in going peacefully.

For two weeks, the tribe has successfully evaded discovery by the army, hiding out in small groups along the hills. But though the Cheyenne are spread out across the wilderness, they have a united goal: arriving at the nearby Pine Ridge Agency, where the Sioux tribe will hopefully keep them safe from harm.

But today, the Army has gotten too close to this group of 32 Cheyenne. The warriors continue shooting, but the advancing army doesn’t slow down. The attackers continue pushing forward, approaching the tribe on all sides. In the fire fight U.S. soldiers injure and kill dozens of Cheyenne, and the casualties only increase as the minutes pass.

Finally, after three hours of fighting, the Army surrounds the bluff, making it virtually impossible for the remaining Cheyenne warriors to escape or fight their way out. What’s worse, the Cheyenne have used up all of their ammunition. But this doesn’t stop two warriors from charging the U.S. army with an unloaded gun and two knives. But the two men are immediately shot by U.S. soldiers, and fall dead to the ground.

Of the original 32 Cheyenne in the group, only six survive. With no weapons and no hope of escape, they surrender to the army and are shipped back to Fort Robinson. For the Cheyenne, trying to return to Montana, this is a devastating loss.

And for several years following this attack, the Cheyenne remain staggered throughout the region. Some are held at Fort Robinson and other bases, while others manage to safely arrive at the Pine Ridge Agency, and are kept safe. Chief Morning Star is one of the lucky few, who finds shelter there with the Sioux tribe.

And yet still the journey does not end. As national opinion shifts in favor of the Cheyenne, pressure builds on the U.S. government to retract their plan to move the tribe to Oklahoma. And the January 22nd Antelope Creek massacre is more evidence to the general public that the Cheyenne have suffered endlessly at the hands of the military and should be granted a safe return to their land.

But it takes five years for the Cheyenne to finally be reunited. In 1884, the U.S. Government will establish the Northern Cheyenne Reservation at the Tongue River in Montana, finally allowing the safe return of the Cheyenne to their ancestral homeland. But, tragically, Chief Morning Star will not be able to see this dream become a reality. He will pass away shortly before the creation of the reservation.

He might have been spared seeing his tribe suffer further humiliation because though the Cheyenne will return to Montana, this new chapter of their history will come with its own horrors. That same year, the U.S. government will establish the St. Labre Catholic Indian Boarding School in Montana, continuing the tradition of “civilizing” native children through often violent and abusive means. The path to liberation will remain a long and difficult process, even after the Cheyenne complete the return trip that was thwarted years earlier on January 22nd, 1879.

Outro

Next on History Daily. January 23rd, 1997. US Ambassador Madeleine Albright is sworn in as America’s first woman secretary of state.

From Noiser and Airship, this is History Daily, hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham.

Audio editing by Muhammad Shahzaib.

Sound design by Matthew Filler.

Music by Lindsay Graham.

This episode is written and researched by Georgia Hampton.

Executive Producers are Alexandra Currie-Buckner for Airship, and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.