A Comparison Of The Cheyenne Society And The American Society

A Comparison of the Cheyenne society and the American society

The Cheyennes are known as the Indians of the Great Plains but that was not always the case. The Cheyennes have been forced to migrate several times due to hostile neighbors and disease that have plagued the areas where they resided (Hoebel 7). They originated in the Northwest part of the country and ended up settling in the plains. Now, the few Cheyennes who have survived live in reservations under the mercy of the American government, which treats them as second-class citizens. Even to this day they are battling starvation and living in two opposing societies at the same time. They want to abide by the traditions of their ancestors but that is virtually impossible while living in the American culture. There are progressive aspects of the Cheyenne culture and then there are aspects that are not so advanced. Both Americans and Cheyennes have high-quality and low-quality aspects to their cultures. Solid social structures and unity are apparent within the Cheyenne society, which seem to be lacking in the present day American society; however, when pertaining to the equality between men and women and political structures the American society seems to have the upper hand.

The Cheyennes spend many of their early years in search of a homeland. They first lived in the Northwest and had a sedentary lifestyle. In 1690, they were forced to move out of this region by the Woodland Sioux, the Assiniboine, and the Cree. These tribes obtained guns by traders and had the upper advantage, which caused a swift removal of the Cheyenne. The Cheyenne left the woodlands behind and migrated to Minnesota in 1700. They were now in an area that was abundant in animals like the bison, deer, moose and other animals of the sort. After several years, the Cheyenne yet again came in contact with other hostile Indians and disease, which caused them to move out of the region. In the early 1800, they drifted to the west into the Great Plains regions. As a result of the constant struggle to find a permanent home, the Cheyenne became very adaptable and acquired many methods of living from the vast diversity environments and tribes that they had contact with.