n.
Plains Indian people of Algonquian stock (see Algonquian languages ), living principally in Montana and Oklahoma, U.S. Originally farmers, hunters, and gatherers who lived in central Minnesota, the Cheyenne moved in the early 19th century to regions around the Platte and Arkansas rivers and split into the Northern Cheyenne and the Southern Cheyenne.
In these areas they adopted the lifestyle of the Plains Indians; after acquiring horses, they became more dependent on the buffalo for food and developed a tepee-dwelling nomadic mode of life. They performed the sun dance and placed heavy emphasis on visions in which an animal spirit adopted the individual and bestowed special powers on him. They had well-organized military societies and fought constantly with the Kiowa until 0441; 1840. In the 1870s they participated in various Indian uprisings, joining the Sioux at Little Bighorn in 1876. More than 11,100 people claimed sole Cheyenne descent in the 2000 U.S. census.