Indian Sculpture

"Cheyenne Bear Hunter" is a bronze sculpture created by James A. Ford. Permission to use this on the Web site and the Chief of the Chiefs cover is greatly appreciated. The following is Ford's description:

Cheyenne Bear Hunter sculpture by James A. Ford

Most, if not all of my work, is drawn from the written word, from something I have read; Cheyenne Bear Hunter is no exception. The significance of this work is that it's one of my earlier sculptures and my first, life size, bronze head. At the time I sculpted this piece, I was reading the incredible story of a small band of Cheyenne, led by Dull Knife and Little Wolf.

The story began with the discovery of gold in the Black Hills in 1874. That discovery led to the famous, battle of the Little Big Horn of June, 1876. We all know the end results of Custer's folly; attacking a large settlement (2500 to 4000 men) of Sioux and Northern Cheyenne with 260 troops. This battle, however, was by no means the end of the story.

The ripple effect of the Custer disaster was predictable, in that the miners, settlers and the military were all calling for blood; demanding revenge. As a result, a massive military campaign was put into motion, the purpose of which was the forced removal of all Natives from the area to the newly designated "Indian Country". One such relocation occurred in the Dakotas, on the Red fork of the Powder River in November of that same year. It was a small village of Northern Cheyenne led by Dull Knife. They were attacked and surrounded but managed to escape into the surrounding hills. While the battle was a draw, the village was burned to the ground. Ultimately, Dull Knife and the Cheyenne were forced to surrender and subsequently deported to "Indian Country."

Conditions on the reservation were harsh. The promised food allotments fell far short of their expectations. According to the testimony of one army officer, "...there was only enough food for nine month..." Added to this misery, malaria swept through the reservation, killing off large numbers of the Natives. Especially hard hit were those from the cooler northern climates for they were unused to the warmer weather. Hungry and homesick, many tribes appealed to the Federal Government to be allowed to return to their homelands. Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce and Chief Standing Bear of the Ponce were two of the luckier ones whose requests were approved. The Cheyenne, however, were not given permission. After two years of watching their people die, and in spite of the Federal Governments refusal to allow them to return to their homeland, the Cheyenne made the determination to go home anyway; or die trying.

Led by the two Chiefs, Dull Knife and Little Wolf, the remaining 353 tribal members of the Northern Cheyenne escaped the Oklahoma territories and headed north in 1878. Of the 353 people, only 60 to 70 were fighting men, the rest were women, children and the infirm. They traveled more then 400 miles through open country fighting off numerous attacks by the ever relentless army. When they crossed the North Platte, they split up into two groups. Little Wolf and his band headed north, ultimately ending his journey at Lame Deer, Montana. Dull Knife, who's journey was far from over, headed northwest toward Fort Robinson with his small band of Cheyenne. Arriving in deep snow, hungry and exhausted, he surrendered.

Life was good at fort Robinson for a few short months. In mid winter, with temperatures ranging from zero to 40 below, the government notified the Cheyenne of their intention to return them to Oklahoma. Preferring death on the prairie to further misery in Oklahoma, Dull Knife and the Cheyenne refused to go. One moonlit night, over cold, snow packed ground, 149 Cheyenne escaped Fort Robinson, pursued by the Army. 64 Cheyenne were killed, 78 captured (mostly wounded) and 7 were never found. Dull knife and his family were among the seven.

The following day, when the 78 captives were gathered together, the commandant asked the Cheyenne, "Now, will you go south?" Defeated and prepared to die, the Cheyenne replied as one, "No, we will not go back…" As a result of the Cheyenne's heroism and suffering, an outpouring of sympathy washed across the nation, culminating in land being set aside for them. This reservation is located along the Tongue and Rosebud rivers where Dull Knife and the surviving members lived out their lives. Dull Knife died on the reservation in 1883 and Little Wolf died some thirty years later at Lame Deer.

Though the title; Cheyenne Bear Hunter* makes reference, in a round about way, to Dull Knife; there was no attempt to create a likeness of him or Little Wolf. This sculpture was simply my interpretation of the Cheyenne people and the two remarkable men that led them on a desperate journey back to their homeland.

* The reference to Dull Knife comes from an incident early in his life when a menacing bear came into the village, threatening the safety of the others in the village. Dull Knife, whose Cheyenne name at the time was; Morning Star, attacked the looming bear and killed it with a knife, (Cheyenne Bear Hunter). Feeling he had acquired the spirit of the bear in combat, Morning Star relied heavily on the use of a knife in future combat. At one point, he came across an enemy with an unusually hard buffalo-hide shield which Morning Star's knife was unable to penetrate. Though Morning Star ultimately vanquished his enemy, a Sioux relative, poking fun at him, tagged him with the sobriquet "Dull Knife".

For more information on this and other works of art, visit the artist at www.JamesAFord.com.