Dog Soldiers

The Dog Soldiers were a warrior society of the Cheyenne Tribe and several other tribes, such as the Arapaho.

The Dog Soldiers were noted as both highly aggressive and effective combatants. One tradition states that in battle they would "pin" themselves to a "chosen" piece of ground, through an unusually long breech-clout "rear-apron", by use of one of three "Sacred Arrows" they would constantly carry into battle. Every Native American tribe had warrior societies, including names such as Fox Soldiers, Red Shields and more.

In the late 1860s, the Dog Soldiers were crucial in Cheyenne resistance to American expansion. Led by war hero Roman Nose, the Dog Soldiers refused to sign treaties that limited their hunting grounds and restricted them to a reservation south of the Arkansas River. They attempted to hold their traditional lands at Smoky Hill, but the campaigns of General Philip Sheridan foiled these efforts; most notably, after the Battle of Beecher's Island, many Dog Soldiers were forced to retreat south of the Arkansas River.

In the spring of 1867, they returned north with the intention of joining Red Cloud in Powder River country. They were attacked by General Eugene Carr, however, and instead began raiding settlements on Smoky Hill in revenge. Eventually, the Dog Soldiers fled west into Colorado, under the guidance of Chief Tall Bull. They were attacked by a force composed of Pawnee mercenaries and American cavalry; almost everyone, including Tall Bull, died in the attack near Summit Springs.

Today the Dog Soldier society is making a comeback in such areas as the Wind River Reservation.

References

• Broome, Jeff Dog Soldier Justice: The Ordeal of Susanna Alderdice in the Kansas Indian War, Lincoln, Kansas: Lincoln County Historical Society, 2003. ISBN 0-9742546-1-4
• Brown, Dee Alexander Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: an Indian history of the American West, New York : H. Holt, 2001. ISBN 0-8050-6634-9