Editing Cheyenne (section)

===Expansion on the Plains===
[[File:George Catlin - Né-hee-ó-ee-wóo-tis, Wolf on the Hill, Chief of the Tribe - 1985.66.143 - Smithsonian American Art Museum.jpg|thumb|upright|Chief Wolf-on-the-Hill (Cheyenne), portrait by [[George Catlin]], 1832, in [[Fort Pierre, South Dakota]]]]
After being pushed south and westward by the Lakota, the Cheyenne began to establish new territory. Around 1811, the Cheyenne formally allied with the [[Arapaho people]] (Hetanevo'eo'o), which would remain strong throughout their history and into the present. The alliance helped the Cheyenne expand their territory that stretched from southern Montana, through most of Wyoming, the eastern half of Colorado, far western Nebraska, and far western Kansas. 

By 1820, American traders and explorers reported contact with Cheyenne at present-day [[Denver, Colorado]], and on the Arkansas River. The Cheyenne likely hunted and traded in Denver much earlier. They may have migrated to the south for winter. The Hairy Rope band is reputed to have been the first band to move south, capturing wild horses as far south as the [[Cimarron River (Arkansas River)|Cimarron River]] Valley.<ref>Berthrong, pp. 13–21</ref> In response to the construction of [[Bent's Fort]] by [[Charles Bent]], a non-Native trader and ally, a large portion of the tribe moved further south and stayed around the area.<ref>Berthrong, pp. 24–26</ref> The other part of the tribe continued to live along the headwaters of the North Platte and Yellowstone rivers. The groups became the Southern Cheyenne, or Sówoníă (Southerners), and the Northern Cheyenne, or O'mǐ'sǐs (Eaters). The two divisions maintained regular and close contact.

In the southern portion of their territory, the Cheyenne and Arapaho warred with the allied Comanche, Kiowa, and Plains Apache. Numerous battles were fought including a notable fight along the Washita River in 1836 with the Kiowa which resulted in the death of 48 Cheyenne warriors of the Bowstring society.<ref>{{cite web|title=Battle of Wolf Creek |url=http://www.okhistory.org/sites/fswolfcreek |work=Oklahoma History |access-date=2013-02-09}}</ref> In summer 1838, many Cheyenne and Arapaho attacked a camp of Kiowa and Comanche along Wolf Creek in Oklahoma resulting in heavy losses from both sides. Among the losses were White Thunder (keeper of the Medicine Arrows and [[Owl Woman|Owl Woman's]] father), Flat-War-Club (Cheyenne), and Sleeping Wolf (Kiowa).<ref name="hyde-80">Hyde 1968, p. 80.</ref> 

Conflict with the Comanche, Kiowa, and Plains Apache ended in 1840 when the tribes allied with each other. The new alliance allowed the Cheyenne to enter the [[Llano Estacado]] in the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles and northeastern New Mexico to hunt bison and trade. Their expansion in the south and alliance with the Kiowa led to their first raid into [[Mexico]] in 1853. The raid ended in disaster with heavy resistance from Mexican lancers, resulting in all but three of the war party being killed. 

To the north, the Cheyenne allied with the Lakota, which allowed them to expand their territory into part of their former lands around the Black Hills. By heading into the Rocky Mountains, they managed to escape the 1837–39 smallpox epidemics that swept across the plains from white settlements but were greatly affected by the 1849 cholera epidemic. Contact with Euro-Americans was mostly light, with most contact involving mountain men, traders, explorers, treaty makers, and painters.