A long, long time ago the Cheyenne people had among them a prophet and teacher called Sweet Medicine.

Sweet Medicine was wise.
Sweet Medicine was good.

He himself did not want to be made their leader. "You should not have a leader more powerful than all the others," he said. He organized the tribe in such a way that there were forty-four chiefs who represented the tribe in all things and who were their leaders.

"A chief must not seek profit for himself," said Sweet Medicine. "He must help the people, live for the people, and, if need be, die for the people."

Warriors were greatly admired by the Cheyenne, but Sweet Medicine taught that when a man was chosen to be a chief, he must renounce his warrior ways and walk in the way of peace. A man could not be a soldier and a chief at the same time.

In case of war, the soldier societies did the fighting. They also carried out the punishment decided on by the Council of Chiefs for wrongdoing in the tribe. Always, however, the emphasis was on restitution, rehabilitation, and forgiveness.

How were the teachings of Sweet Medicine carried out in the lives of the Cheyenne? Did the teaching of Sweet Medicine make a difference in the way the people treated those who did wrong? Here is what happened.
One day in spring, at the beginning of the hunt, two young Cheyenne boys rode out to hunt buffalo by themselves, without waiting for the others. They wanted a head start. This was, of course, very selfish. It was also against the rules of communal hunting.

The Shield Society, whose duty it was to enforce rules, saw the two and immediately swept down on them. As punishment they beat the boys and killed their horses. The boys' father came and lectured them about their selfish behavior.
Now the members of the Shield Society, who stood around, saw that the boys were very ashamed of themselves. They had obviously learned their lesson. Two of the soldiers stepped forward and gave the boys horses. Two other soldiers gave them guns. The punishment of the culprits, their change of heart, and their rehabilitation took place within minutes. The matter was settled. This is the way the Cheyenne handled their own internal problems.

In 1825 something new happened in the life of the Cheyenne. The United States government sent an officer to ask them to come to Fort Teton to have a council meeting with them. The chiefs assembled, discussed this request, and decided to accept the invitation.

At the meeting the representatives of the United States said,"Our people would like to travel through the country from east to west. May we have permission to build a road though your territory and use water and the trees to help do this? We will only travel on the road and not trespass on any other land."

After the chiefs came home they held a tribal council about this.
"We have no ill will toward the white people," said one chief.

"Sweet Medicine taught that we should treat strangers as friends, make them welcome, and treat them as members of the tribe," said another chief.

"White people are loud and uncultured," said one of the chiefs slowly.

After a long silence another chief said,"True, but there is only a handful of them,and it can do a little harm to let them cross our land,"

"Yes, let them build the road," they finally all agreed. "By allowing them to do it, we will show our hospitality."

The Cheyenne kept their part of the treaty, but the white people did not. The handful of whites became a great stream moving from east to west. Instead of using only the road, they spread all across the country, and brought with them whiskey, sickness, and death.

The Cheyenne people became very angry. They wanted to fight back. What would the chiefs do now? Would they remember the teachings of Sweet Medicine? It became more and more difficult.

One year the Cheyenne were almost starving, because they could not find any game. Suddenly they came upon six white hunters and beside them the carcasses of eighteen buffalo. they saw that the hunters had cut out only the tongues of the buffalo and were leaving the rest to rot!

The Cheyenne were furious. Slowly they surrounded the white hunters. The hunters knew that the Cheyenne were going to kill them.

But at that moment Chief Little Wolf, who was dedicated to the way of peace and to the teachings, intervened. He smoked a pipe. He talked to the Cheyenne solders. Finally he turned to the hunters and in his powerful way he said, "Go!"

The hunters ran. They ran as fast as they could and never knew why their lives were spared! But something even worse was about to happen. Chief Lean Bear was one of the chiefs who was greatly distressed over the turn of events. He wanted his people to live in peace with the white people. For this reason he and several other chiefs went to Washington in 1862 to speak with the president. Lean Bear was very happy when he came home. The president himself had spoken to them and assured them of the government's good will. Lean Bear brought back a peace medal the president had given him. He thought now they would all be able to live in peace.

Soon afterwards Lean Bear saw a column of white soldiers marching toward his camp. His people were frightened, but Lean Bear comforted them.

"Do not be afraid," he said. "The president himself has promised that no harm will come to us. See, I have hung his peace medal around my neck. And here are the papers he gave me."

Lean Bear and several of his men confidently rode out to meet the soldiers to tell them that this was a friendly camp. But the soldiers fired on Lean Bear before he could say anything. They killed him.

Now surely the Cheyenne would fight! Yes, in their fury, they started to fight the government soldiers. But another chief, Black Kettle, rode among them. He reasoned with them. He persuaded them once more to follow the teachings of Sweet Medicine and to keep the peace.

And so it was that long, long after Sweet Medicine had died, his teachings were still followed by the Cheyenne. This affected the lives of all the Cheyenne, and with them, the lives of all the white people. Sweet Medicine had truly been a great man.

 

From Peace Be With You by Cornelia Lehn, Faith and Life Press, 1980.Used by permission of the publisher. Peace Be With You, a collection of true stories about peacemakers throughout history, is available from Herald Press and Faith & Life Press.To order, or for information on current prices, call Herald Press at
1-800-245-7894 or Faith & Life Press at 1-800-743-2484.
Art by Bruno Nez, Goshen, Indiana