Dog Soldiers

Lore & Background

Porcupine Bear, chief of the Dog Soldiers, took up the war pipe after a party of 48 Cheyenne Bowstring Men were killed by Kiowa and Comanche warriors in 1837. While seeking support for revenge, Porcupine Bear became involved in a drunken fight in which he stabbed his cousin Little Creek to death. By the rules governing military societies, Porcupine Bear was expelled from the Dog Soldiers, and he and his relatives were forced to camp apart. The Dog Soldiers were disgraced, and other chiefs forbade them from leading war against the Kiowa. Although outlawed, Porcupine Bear led the Dog Soldiers into battle against the Kiowa and Comanche at Wolf Creek, where they were reportedly the first to strike the enemy, but their feat was not celebrated due to their outlaw status.

The outlawing of Porcupine Bear and his followers led to the transformation of the Dog Soldiers from a warrior society into a separate division of the tribe. After the cholera epidemic of 1849 killed nearly half the Southern Cheyenne, many of the remaining Masikota band joined the Dog Soldiers. The Dog Soldier band took the position in the camp circle formerly occupied by the Masikota. Prominent or ambitious warriors from other bands gradually joined, and over time the Dog Soldiers took a prominent leadership role in wars against whites. The band occupied the territory between the Northern and Southern Cheyenne, in the headwaters country of the Republican and Smoky Hill rivers. They were allies of the Sioux-speaking Lakota and Brulé Lakota, and many Dog Soldiers were half-Lakota, including their leader Tall Bull.

Reader's Guide

The Dog Soldiers represent a significant transformation within Cheyenne society, evolving from a traditional military society into a separate, militaristic band that challenged both external enemies and internal tribal governance. Their emergence was catalyzed by the outlawing of Porcupine Bear after a murder, which forced the Dog Soldiers to operate independently. The cholera epidemic of 1849 further strengthened them as surviving Masikota band members joined their ranks. The Dog Soldiers contributed to the breakdown of the traditional matrilineal clan system by bringing all wives to their own camp, contrary to custom. They often opposed policies of peace chiefs such as Black Kettle, and by the 1860s their influence rivaled that of the Council of Forty-Four. Their refusal to sign treaties limiting hunting grounds and their resistance to reservation confinement led to military campaigns against them. In 1869, United States Army forces killed most of the band in the Battle of Summit Springs in Colorado Territory. The surviving Cheyenne societies became much smaller and more secretive in their operations. The Dog Soldiers' legacy is that of a warrior society that became a distinct political and military force, embodying Cheyenne resistance during a period of intense conflict.

Did You Know?

• The Dog Soldiers are historically one of six Cheyenne military societies.
• Porcupine Bear, chief of the Dog Soldiers, was expelled from the society after killing his cousin Little Creek in a drunken fight.
• After the cholera epidemic of 1849, many of the remaining Masikota band joined the Dog Soldiers, effectively making it a separate band.
• The Dog Soldiers were crucial in Cheyenne resistance to U.S. expansion in the late 1860s and were largely destroyed at the Battle of Summit Springs in 1869.

From Warrior Society to Separate Band

The Dog Soldiers began as one of six Cheyenne military societies, but a violent episode in 1837 reshaped their identity. After a party of 48 Bowstring Men was killed by Kiowa and Comanche warriors while raiding horse herds along the North Fork of the Red River, Dog Soldier chief Porcupine Bear took up the war pipe and traveled to Cheyenne and Arapaho camps seeking allies for revenge. At a Northern Cheyenne camp near the South Platte River, he joined a drinking session and sang war songs. When two of his cousins, Little Creek and Around, got into a drunken fight, Porcupine Bear tore a knife from Little Creek, stabbed him repeatedly, and forced Around to finish the killing. Under military society rules, a member who killed a fellow tribe member was expelled and outlawed. Porcupine Bear was cast out, disgracing the Dog Soldiers, and other chiefs forbade them from leading war against the Kiowa. Yet Porcupine Bear defied this ban, leading his warriors into battle at Wolf Creek, where they were reportedly the first to strike the enemy. This defiance, combined with the society's expulsion, set the stage for the Dog Soldiers' transformation into a separate band.

Governance, Discipline, and Sacred Combat

In traditional Cheyenne tribal governance, two institutions held central authority: the Council of Forty-Four and the military societies. The council, composed of four chiefs from each of the ten bands plus four principal 'Old Man' chiefs, handled overall governance of individual bands and the tribe as a whole. The headmen of warrior societies, including the Dog Soldiers, carried distinct responsibilities: maintaining internal discipline, overseeing tribal hunts and ceremonies, and providing military leadership. The Dog Soldiers earned a reputation as exceptionally aggressive and effective combatants. One tradition recalled that in battle they would fix themselves to a selected stretch of terrain using an unusually long breech-clout rear-apron, secured by one of three Sacred Arrows they carried into combat. Their role as enforcers of discipline and military commanders gave them a power that complemented, and sometimes conflicted with, the authority of peace chiefs. When the Dog Soldiers evolved into a separate band, this dual role as both warriors and institutional enforcers made them a formidable force within and beyond the Cheyenne nation.

Territorial Identity and the Resistance to Expansion

Following the cholera pandemic of 1849, which killed nearly half the Southern Cheyenne and devastated the Masikota band, many surviving Masikota joined the Dog Soldiers. This influx effectively made the Dog Soldiers a separate band occupying the territory between the Northern and Southern Cheyenne. Their homeland centered on the headwaters of the Republican and Smoky Hill rivers, spanning southern Nebraska, northern Kansas, and northeastern Colorado Territory. They allied with the Sioux-speaking Lakota and Brulé Lakota who also frequented that region, and intermarriage became common; many Dog Soldiers, including their leader Tall Bull, were half-Lakota. As the United States pushed westward, the Dog Soldiers took a prominent leadership role in Cheyenne resistance. They frequently opposed the peace policies of chiefs like Black Kettle, favoring continued armed defense of their lands. Leaders such as Tall Bull and White Horse actively called for resistance during the mid-1860s. The Dog Soldiers also contributed to the breakdown of the traditional matrilineal clan system, as they maintained their separation by bringing all wives to their own camp rather than following the custom of a man moving to his wife's band.

Summit Springs and the Diminishing of a Power

By 1869, the Dog Soldiers had become the dominant force in Cheyenne resistance to American expansion across Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, and Wyoming. That year, United States Army forces confronted the band at the Battle of Summit Springs in Colorado Territory, where most of the Dog Soldiers were killed. The devastation was profound. In the aftermath, the surviving Cheyenne societies became much smaller and more secretive in their operations, a stark contrast to the bold, visible military presence the Dog Soldiers had represented for decades. The broader context of violence had already disrupted Cheyenne social structures: the 1849 cholera epidemic, the Sand Creek Massacre of 1864, and subsequent military campaigns had killed perhaps half of several bands, including the Wutapai, Hevhaitaniu, Oivimana, and Hisiometanio. The Dog Soldiers and Masikota were not present at Sand Creek, but the cumulative toll of disease and warfare had already shattered the traditional kinship system. The loss at Summit Springs did not merely eliminate a band; it removed the institutional and military backbone of Cheyenne resistance, leaving a fractured and diminished people.

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