A little hike into Indian history

Donavan Sprauge (Photo Courtesy)

By Clara Caufield, Native Sun News Today Correspondent

“If we had been here in the late 15th century, we might have seen the Crow and Hidatsa Indians conducting a hunt at a nearby Big Goose buffalo jumps” Professor Donovan Sprague said in starting his lecture. From then until about 1877, this area was a crossroads in the history of Plains Indians, especially conflict with the whites. And if we had been with General Crook shortly before the Battle of the Little Big Horn, enjoying a day of fishing, we would have been startled to see the skyline atop the ridge filled with hundreds of warriors, primarily Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapaho.”
With that Sprague launched into an hour-long review of tribal histories in the area, personalized by his family recollections from the great-great-great grandfather High Backbone aka Hump, a contemporary and close comrade of Crazy Horse, Touch the Cloud, Lame Deer and Dull Knife,
Though it was a bitter blustery day, on April 13, nearly over 50 hardy souls gathered on Soldier Ridge outside of Sheridan, WY in the shadow of the Big Horn Mountains, to hear Sprague, (High Backbone ‘Cankahu Wankatuye), Minnicoujor, Lakota and Cheyenne, Native American Studies and History instructor at Sheridan College speak about how Native Tribes used the land and resources in the Sheridan area for centuries. A member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribes, Sprague is a well-known tribal historian, making frequent presentations throughout the country and even Europe.
Soldier Ridge is part of a larger trail system in the Sheridan Area preserved the Sheridan Community Land Trust, a nonprofit organization. The system also includes the Soldier Ridge Bench Trail, Kicking Horse Trail, Hoot Loop and Hidden Hoot Trail, all originally established and used by tribal people. The Land Trust, Wyoming Humanities Council and ERA Carroll Realty sponsored the event.
As a direct descendant of High Backbone, aka Hump and his son, also Hump, headsmen for the Miniconjou Sioux, is a contemporary tribal historian, author of several books, utilizing the winter counts kept by the Sioux people for generations to indicate significant tribal events each year.
The chronology presented by Sprague is fascinating in its detail, bringing into perspective many different historical conflicts between the Tribes and with the whites including: 1863 1st Battle of Arrow Creek between Crow, Cheyenne and Sioux; 1865 Swayer Expedition where Dull Knife and Red Cloud led 500 warriors to harass the whites; Also that summer High Backbone and Crazy Horse were in the Platte Bridge Fight near Casper; 1866, construction of Ft. Kearny began; 1867: Hayfield Fight at Fort Smith, (now the Crow reservation) and the Wagonbox Fight at Story, WY, Crazy Horse and Hump both present and many Cheyenne; 1869- Crows chase Lakota back to South Dakota Camp later repelled by High Backbone. Noted as the year “Old Woman killed by Tree” in Winter Count; 1870 High Backbone killed by Shoshone in Wind River Mts. Remains brings remains back to Sioux; 1872: 2nd Battle of Arrow Creek; 1874; Gold discovered in Black Hills, Crazy Horse, then at Dayton, WY refuses to go to Red Cloud Agency; 1876: Battle of Powder River, Broadus, Prairie Dog Creek and Tongue River Battle, Sheridan, WY; Battle Where Girl Saved Her Brother, Rosebud; Battle of the Greasy Grass, Crook gets 200 Ute and Shoshone Scouts, Dull Knife Battle near Kaycee, WY; 1877 major surrenders by tribal headsmen, Sitting Bull to Canada. Thus ended the presence of tribal warriors and conflict in the Sheridan area.
With diligent attention to detail and good humor Sprague does an outstanding job of synthesizing this myriad of events, suggesting cause and effect, humanizing the tribal people in the process, even pointing out their fallible and disagreements. “They were determined to stay free as long as possible,” he noted “and all throughout this time, the Sioux and the Cheyenne regarded themselves as one.”
Sprague is available, especially during the summer for such lectures and tours, highly recommend by this author. In the Sheridan area, he has gradually won recognition as the ‘go-to’ scholar on such matters, outshining other non-Indian experts and authors.
The information shared at Solider Ridge is from Sprague’s soon-to-be-publish book Hump and Crazy Horse from a Family View. There Sprague notes that both his grandfathers had Cheyenne wives, Hump was an uncle and mentor to Crazy Horse. That is good to see. It is time, after all, for us to tell our own stories.

(Clara Caufield can be reached at acheyennevoice@gmail.com)

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