Transcript
Lindsey Graham (0:00)
There are more ways than ever to listen to History Daily ad free. Listen with Wondry plus in the Wondery app as a member of Noiser plus at noiser.com or in Apple Podcasts. Or you can get all of History Daily plus other fantastic history podcasts at IntoHistory.com it's around 10pm on January 9, 1879, at Fort Robinson, a U.S. military fort in Nebraska. Northern Cheyenne Chief Morningsome, also known as Dull Knife, leads his tribe across the fort grounds. Here and there, surreptitiously, some Cheyenne warriors stop to retrieve weapons they hid for tonight's escape. For months, Morningstar 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. Many Cheyenne have died in the terrible conditions. So tonight, Morningstar 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 US Government, which has been trying to force the Cheyenne to move to Oklahoma. But Morningstar 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 U.S. 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 Morningstar is heartbroken as dozens of his people die 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 Morningstar 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 Morningstar 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 US army has been trying to remove the Cheyenne people from their land, resorting often to violent and deadly means. But under Morningstar's leadership, the Cheyenne are determined to return to their ancestral territories. Eventually, this dream will become a reality, but it will 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 U.S. army. 60 will escape, but not for long. They're recaptured just two weeks later, on January 22, 1879. From Noiser and airship, I'm Lindsey 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 22, 1879. The Northern Cheyenne face off against the U.S. army. It's November 25, 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 the other daily tasks that keep the camp running smoothly. But the calm of the day is suddenly shattered by the sounds of horses approaching. Hundreds, maybe even thousands of US Soldiers descend on the camp with weapons drawn. Immediately, the Cheyennes 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 US 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 US 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 US Government has been trying to forcibly move natives from Montana to Oklahoma. The reason is simple. Lt. Col. 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 US 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 were will never be safe here. After this attack, the Cheyennes struggle to live off the land. Many die of starvation. And Northern Cheyenne chief Morningstar 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 US Military, becoming wards of the state. The army does provide food and shelter, but at a terrible cost. With the fate of the tribe in the government's hands, more Morningstar 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 a 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, Morningstar tries to reason with the army, requesting that the Cheyenne be returned to Montana. But the military is unmoved. It's clear to Morningstar that the US 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 Morningstar 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, Morningstar begins forming a plan to take their people back home. History Daily is sponsored by Acorns. Studying history is studying survival. And at the heart of survival most of the time is money. It's always been a challenge. From bartering livestock to trading crypto, saving and investing feels aspirational. Something you want to do, but just not right now. In fact, last year, Save More Money was the most popular New Year's resolution in America. So how do you start for real? Acorns makes it easy to start automatically saving and investing so your money has a chance to grow for you, your kids and your retirement. You don't need to be an expert. Acorns will recommend a diversified portfolio that fits you and your money goals. You don't need to be rich. Acorns lets you invest with the spare money you've got right now. You can start with $5 or even just spare change. Head to acorns.comhistorydaily or download the Acorns app to start saving and investing for your future. Today, paid non client endorsement compensation provides incentive to positively promote Acorns Tier 2 compensation, provided investing involves risk. Acorns Advisors LLC and SEC registered investment advisor. View important disclosures@acorns.com historydaily On January 5.