Northern Cheyenne: The Way of Life The Cheyenne are a 400 year old tribe. Their story has taken them over thousands of miles across the north central United States. There are two different Cheyenne tribes, a Northern tribe that lives in Montana and a Southern tribe that lives in Oklahoma. The Northern tribe started in Minnesota then moved along to Montana, where they stayed until the government demanded they move to Oklahoma. Most went, some stayed. They built their reservation by the Tongue River Valley in Montana. They had many resources like hunting, growing crops, schools, and medicine. Northern Cheyenne culture also involved religion. The Northern Cheyenne have gone through many hard times but they still have a reservation in Montana.…show more content… They believed in only one God. He was called Maheo which translated into English is the Great One. The Cheyenne believed that Maheo created everything. The Cheyenne were told by the Maheo that the animals were put her for the benefit of mankind. Maheo had four different spirits. Each spirt was a direction. North, where the cold wind was coming from; South, where the cold wind went; West, where sun sets; East, where the sun rises. Like many other tribes, the Cheyenne believed in the powers of natural elements. They believed in the powers of lightning, thunder, rain, wind, sunshine, and moonlight. Animals, such as the coyote, deer, buffalo, wolves, elk, hawk, and eagle were thought to have power too. Coyotes were very powerful creatures, they were sacred and respected by the Cheyenne. It is to believe that some Cheyenne men had powers to talk to the coyotes. The Cheyenne believe that bald eagle to be the best fighter of all the animals. Arrows made from the feathers of bald eagles were supposed to have a special magic and strength. They believed that the bald eagle would come back to life after they died and the Bald Eagle was not scared of being killed. “The Cheyenne religion included a teacher and prophet called Sweet Medicine.” (Campbell) This man knew many things that the chiefs did not know, however, the chiefs did not like that so Sweet Medicine left. When he left so did all their animals and food. The Cheyenne went…show more content… Many still live on the reservation. They have a tribe administrative center, this holds the Northern Cheyenne tribal office and the U.S. Government Bureau of Indian Affairs. They also have a community college for the people of the reservations, a health center, and a senior citizen center. Satellite TV is available but they do have a movie theatre. They have tried to keep many of the old traditions alive but they have given into technology. The reservation is now a town called Lame Deer, Montana. They still hunt elk and deer. They also still have powwows and other traditional dances many times a year. Most dances are only for fun now. “They play traditional Cheyenne games like hand games, where contestants try to figure out which hand the opponent has the bone.” (Ashabranner, Conklin) They also have horse races. They also have a giveaways in which the Cheyenne would give away food, clothing, and extra horses to less fortunate people. They also celebrate traditional American holidays like Christmas and Fourth of July. Instead of relying solely on themselves, they have become increasingly dependent on the federal government. Today the federal government tightly regulates everything involving the Cheyenne tribe. Since the government took over, the Cheyenne are slowly losing their traditional values. Rather than focusing on the tribe’s best interests, Cheyenne leader are more concerned with pleasing the federal authorities.