Webs of Kinship: Family in Northern Cheyenne Nationhood (Volume 16) (New Directions in Native American Studies Series)

Many stories that non-Natives tell about Native people emphasize human suffering, the inevitability of loss, and eventual extinction, whether physical or cultural. But the stories Northern Cheyennes tell about themselves emphasize survival, connectedness, and commitment to land and community. In writing __Webs of Kinship__, anthropologist Christina Gish Hill has worked with government records and other historical documents, as well as the oral testimonies of today’s Northern Cheyennes, to emphasize the ties of family, rather than the ambitions of individual leaders, as the central impetus behind the nation’s efforts to establish a reservation in its Tongue River homeland. Hill focuses on the people who lived alongside notable Cheyennes such as Dull Knife, Little Wolf, Little Chief, and Two Moons to reveal the central role of kinship in the Cheyennes’ navigation of U.S. colonial policy during removal and the early reservation period. As one of Hill’s Cheyenne correspondents reminded her, Dull Knife had a family, just as all of us do. He and other Cheyenne leaders made decisions with their entire extended families in mind—not just those living, but those who came before and those yet to be born. __Webs of Kinship__ demonstrates that the Cheyennes used kinship ties strategically to secure resources, escape the U.S. military, and establish alliances that in turn aided their efforts to remain a nation in their northern homeland. By reexamining the most tumultuous moments of Northern Cheyenne removal, this book illustrates how the power of kinship has safeguarded the nation’s political autonomy even in the face of U.S. encroachment, allowing the Cheyennes to shape their own story. "Many stories that non-Natives tell about Native people emphasize human suffering, the inevitability of loss, and eventual extinction, whether physical or cultural. But the stories Northern Cheyennes tell about themselves emphasize survival, connectedness, and commitment to land and community. In writing Webs of Kinship, anthropologist Christina Gish Hill has worked with government records and other historical documents, as well as the oral testimonies of today's Northern Cheyennes, to emphasize the ties of family, rather than the ambitions of individual leaders, as the central impetus behind the nation's efforts to establish a reservation in its Tongue River homeland. Hill focuses on the people who lived alongside notable Cheyennes such as Dull Knife, Little Wolf, Little Chief, and Two Moons to reveal the central role of kinship in the Cheyennes' navigation of U.S. colonial policy during removal and the early reservation period. As one of Hill's Cheyenne correspondents reminded her, Dull Knife had a family, just as all of us do. He and other Cheyenne leaders made decisions with their entire extended families in mind--not just those living, but those who came before and those yet to be born. Webs of Kinship demonstrates that the Cheyennes used kinship ties strategically to secure resources, escape the U.S. military, and establish alliances that in turn aided their efforts to remain a nation in their northern homeland. By reexamining the most tumultuous moments of Northern Cheyenne removal, this book illustrates how the power of kinship has safeguarded the nation's political autonomy even in the face of U.S. encroachment, allowing the Cheyennes to shape their own story." -- Publisher's description Follows The Northern Cheyenne People With Dull Knife, Little Wolf, Little Chief, And Two Moons Before Removal From Their Powder River Homeland And Traces Their Use Of Kin-based Mechanisms To Navigate U.s. Colonial Policy, Particularly During Removal And The Early Reservation Period.--provided By Publisher. Our Ancestors Were There: Family, History, And Native Nationhood -- I Was Rich In My Relatives: Kinship And The Cheyenne Nation -- We Are Still One Nation: Family In Migration And Diaspora -- We Never Surrendered: Two Moons's People And An Alliance With General Nelson Miles -- We Could Not Forget Our Native Country: Dull Knife And Little Wolf's People -- And The Long Journey Home -- We Are Not All Fools: Little Chief's People And The Language Of Kin -- It Belonged To Us: Northern Cheyenne Homesteading As An Assertion Of Autonomy -- Make Us Strong On This Reservation: The Northern Cheyennes' Struggle To Remain In Their Homeland -- Conclusion: For The Unborn -- Appendix: The 1874 Agreement With The Northern Cheyennes. Christina Gish Hill. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.