Cheyenne Exodus Historic Horseback
Journey Captured in Photographs
By ICTMN Staff
July 28, 2012
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Facebook/Olivia Lovisa Pollock
A storm approaching Croton Creek Ranch in Cheyenne,
Oklahoma.
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Facebook/Olivia Lovisa Pollock
Thomas Smittle, one of the riders.
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Facebook/Olivia Lovisa Pollock
This picture is of grandmother's regalia, a belt remade from
old bullets.
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Facebook/Adrienne Youngblood
The riders were adopted by this stray dog outside Grant,
Nebraska.
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Facebook/Adrienne Youngblood
This photo shows the riders in Sand Creek, Kansas.
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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.
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Facebook/Adrienne Youngblood
The inspiration behing the ride, Grandmother Margaret Behan.
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Facebook/Adrienne Youngblood
Rider Adrienne Youngblood on the trail.
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Facebook/Adrienne Youngblood
Riders Deb Lawrence and Juan Villareal, Texas Lipan Apache.
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Facebook/Olivia Lovisa Pollock
Crazy Oklahoma skies
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Facebook/Olivia Lovisa Pollock
Sky over Fort Robinson, Nebraska
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Facebook/Olivia Lovisa Pollock
Little Horse, who was adopted along the way.
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Facebook/Olivia Lovisa Pollock
Noe and Biggie
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Facebook/Olivia Lovisa Pollock
Noe and his flute
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Facebook/Aisling Benavides
Making camp along the way
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Facebook/Aisling Benavides
Journey through Cathedral Spires in South Dakota.
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Facebook/Aisling Benavides
Aisling Benavides captioned this as "sacred" when she
uploaded it to Facebook when riding through Cathedral Spires
in South Dakota.
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Facebook/Suzi Landolphi
Taking a refreshing swim in Bear Butte Lake in South Dakota.
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Facebook/Suzi Landolphi
Even the horses enjoy Bear Butte Lake
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Facebook/Adrienne Youngblood
Alex Littlecoyote, Cheyenne, carries his tribe's flag into
Bear Butte.
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Facebook/Suzi Landolphi
Jesus Garza in front of Devils Tower in Wyoming.
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Facebook/Suzi Landolphi
Gigi Greene and Gauke in Lame Deer, Montana.
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Facebook/Suzi Landolphi
Alex Littlecoyote and his brother Daniel in Lame Deer,
Montana.
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Facebook/Suzi Landolphi
A tipi in Lame Deer, Montana
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Facebook/Suzi Landolphi
A picturesque scene when the riders stopped in Lame Deer,
Montana.
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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.
To see all the photos from the journey, visit the
Grandmothers Horses The Ride Home Facebook page.
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