Editing Cheyenne (section)

==Culture==
[[File:Big Back art.jpg|thumb|Cheyenne courting scenes, by Big Back, before 1882]]

Over the past 400 years, the Cheyenne have changed their lifestyles. In the 16th century, they lived in the regions near the [[Great Lakes]].<ref name=ohs/> They farmed corn, squash, and beans, and harvested [[wild rice]] like other [[indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands]]. They migrated west in the 18th century and hunted bison on the Great Plains.<ref name=ohs/> By the mid-19th century, the US forced them onto [[Indian reservation|reservations]].<ref name=ohs/>

The traditional Cheyenne government system is a politically unified system. The central traditional government system of the Cheyenne is the Arrow Keeper, followed by the Council of Forty-Four. Early in Cheyenne history, three related tribes, known as the ''Heviqsnipahis'', the ''Só'taeo'o'' and the ''Masikota'', unified themselves to form the ''Tsétsėhéstȧhese'' or the "Like Hearted People" who are known today as the "Cheyenne". The unified tribe then divided themselves into ten principal bands:
* Hevéškėsenėhpȧho'hese (''Iviststsinihpah'')
* Hévhaitanio (''Heévȧhetaneo'o'')
* Masikota
* Omísis (''Ȯhmésėhese'', the Notameohmésėhese proper)
* Só'taeo'o (''Suhtai'' or ''Sutaio'', Northern and Southern)
* Wotápio
* Oivimána (''Oévemana'', Northern and Southern)
* Hisíometanio (''Hesé'omeétaneo'o'' or ''Issiometaniu'')
* Ohktounna (''Oqtóguna'')
* Hónowa (''Háovȯhnóva'')

Each of the ten bands had four seated chief delegates; the remaining four chiefs were the principal advisers of the other delegates. Smaller bands or sub-bands had no right to send delegates to the council. This system also regulated the [[Cheyenne military societies]] that developed for planning warfare, enforcing rules, and conducting ceremonies.

Anthropologists debate about Cheyenne societal organization. On the plains, it appears that they had a bilateral band kinship system. However, some anthropologists reported that the Cheyenne had a matrilineal band system. Studies into whether, and if so, how much the Cheyenne developed a matrilineal [[clan system]] are continuing.
{{wide image|Cheyenne dance4.jpg|1500px|align-cap=center|A Cheyenne [[sun dance]] gathering, c. 1909.}}