Cheyenne Exodus Historic Horseback Journey Captured in Photographs

Facebook/Olivia Lovisa Pollock

A storm approaching Croton Creek Ranch in Cheyenne, Oklahoma.
Facebook/Olivia Lovisa Pollock

Thomas Smittle, one of the riders.
Facebook/Olivia Lovisa Pollock

This picture is of grandmother's regalia, a belt remade from old bullets.
Facebook/Adrienne Youngblood

The riders were adopted by this stray dog outside Grant, Nebraska.
Facebook/Adrienne Youngblood

This photo shows the riders in Sand Creek, Kansas.
Facebook/Adrienne Youngblood

Jesus Garza, the 21-year-old Texas A&M University-Kingsville junior history and political science major who created the map the riders followed prepared to ride.
Facebook/Adrienne Youngblood

The inspiration behing the ride, Grandmother Margaret Behan.
Facebook/Adrienne Youngblood

Rider Adrienne Youngblood on the trail.
Facebook/Adrienne Youngblood

Riders Deb Lawrence and Juan Villareal, Texas Lipan Apache.
Facebook/Olivia Lovisa Pollock

Crazy Oklahoma skies
Facebook/Olivia Lovisa Pollock

Sky over Fort Robinson, Nebraska
Facebook/Olivia Lovisa Pollock

Little Horse, who was adopted along the way.
Facebook/Olivia Lovisa Pollock

Noe and Biggie
Facebook/Olivia Lovisa Pollock

Noe and his flute
Facebook/Aisling Benavides

Making camp along the way
Facebook/Aisling Benavides

Journey through Cathedral Spires in South Dakota.
Facebook/Aisling Benavides

Aisling Benavides captioned this as "sacred" when she uploaded it to Facebook when riding through Cathedral Spires in South Dakota.
Facebook/Suzi Landolphi

Taking a refreshing swim in Bear Butte Lake in South Dakota.
Facebook/Suzi Landolphi

Even the horses enjoy Bear Butte Lake
Facebook/Adrienne Youngblood

Alex Littlecoyote, Cheyenne, carries his tribe's flag into Bear Butte.
Facebook/Suzi Landolphi

Jesus Garza in front of Devils Tower in Wyoming.
Facebook/Suzi Landolphi

Gigi Greene and Gauke in Lame Deer, Montana.
Facebook/Suzi Landolphi

Alex Littlecoyote and his brother Daniel in Lame Deer, Montana.
Facebook/Suzi Landolphi

A tipi in Lame Deer, Montana
Facebook/Suzi Landolphi

A picturesque scene when the riders stopped in Lame Deer, Montana.
Facebook/Suzi Landolphi

Another picturesque scene in Lame Deer, Montana.

The historic ride to commemorate the Northern Cheyenne Exodus of 1878 will end today, July 28, when the riders arrive at the 11th Gathering of the International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers in Lame Deer, Montana. The riders left Fort Reno, Oklahoma on June 1 to embark on the 1,391-mile journey.

After Gen. George Armstrong Custer was defeated at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, the United States government removed the Northern Cheyenne from their traditional homelands in Montana to a reservation in Indian Territory in Oklahoma. What came to be known as their “exodus” was the “bloody but futile attempt to return to their homeland in Montana,” says the description of In Dull Knife’s Wake: The True Story of the Northern Cheyenne Exodus of 1878 by Vernon R. Maddux and Albert Glenn Maddux.

The group of riders have documented their journey on Facebook with pictures and posts. The photographs are breathtaking and the kindness they encountered across the country was documented along with them.

“We are so blessed. Everywhere we go we are greeted with overwhelming kindness. We only stay in one place for a night, but the generosity and support takes us a much longer way. There is so much love in this country…. we carry it with us as we stop at the sites of outright massacre… and pray for healing and transformation,” Adrienne Youngblood, one of the riders posted on Facebook on June 4.

The 11th Gathering of the International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers is being held on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation July 26 to 29. The event is hosted by Grandmother Margaret Behan “Red Spider Woman,” Cheyenne and Arapaho, and the riders are scheduled to share stories of their journey at the gathering upon their return.