Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe

Source: http://www.sioux.org/index.php/main/static

The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe is part of the Lakota Nation, spread across the West in South Dakota, including the Missouri River, the Cheyenne River and the Moreau River. The website outlines 'Our beginnings', the life of the tribe to where it first started. This drew me in specifically due to the realistic depiction of their history and ancestry. The website states they 'began with living a life of peacefulness, having respect for Mother Earth and understood that all things are related and alive in spirit. This signifies the sense of spiritual living that they inhibit due to the emphasis of belonging to the earth and living off the land which indicates the notion of the Indian's culture and environment. The website also explains how the representation of the buffalo is significant to this tribe, since it was their source of food. They highlight how 'it was asked to sacrifice its life for our survival', and how every part of the buffalo was used to help the tribe. Examples such as using the horns for utensils, the hides for robes and blankets, the hair used in pillows and the sinew and bones for needle and thread. This shows how valuable the buffalo was in terms of helping them to survive and was part of their livelihood since they performed ceremonies before hunting them and done before eating the buffalo as a sign of respect.

In terms of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe's history, the website explains the impact of the Battle of Little Big Horn, since within a year of the battle, the Sioux nation was defeated and broken. During the Wounded Knee Massacre (1890), the U.S. Army were given orders to move the Sioux tribe to the railroads to transport them to Omaha, Nebraska. Prior to this, the Lakota (Sioux) had given up their flight from the troops and willingly agreed to turn themselves in at the Pine Ridge Agency in South Dakota. They were then met by the 7th Cavalry who used force with negotiations to gain compliance with them.

The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe's mantra is they are 'not just a community, but a way of life'. To associate the tribe with the idea of a community signifies the uplifted sense of spirit they have due to the unity they encompass including their people, land, nature and environment. They pride themselves on their sense of community by acknowledging everyone together as a whole, stating 'we are all one'. This emphasizes their strength as a tribe since the connotations of a tribe, to me, exude this quality of acting and working together as a community. They also explain that this way of life they lead, they must continue since 'the future depends upon our decisions now' since they 'look to our ancestors for guidance' in order to live a good future, built on the focus of community.