The Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. Denise Low and Ramon Powers are the co-authors of “Northern Cheyenne Ledger Art by Fort Robinson Breakout Survivors,” a 2021 Kansas Notable Book.
In January, 1879, near the end of the Plains Indian Wars, seven Northern Cheyenne prisoners of war arrived in Dodge City for civil trial.
Their group had suffered heavy losses at the massacre known as the Fort Robinson Breakout. Some of the men were gravely wounded, and all despaired. Jailers gave them only spoons for meals to avoid suicides. Yet when they were released the following September, they had recovered physically and, at least somewhat, mentally and spiritually.
As co-authors of a book about their story, “Northern Cheyenne Ledger Art by Fort Robinson Breakout Survivors,” we are humbled to have won a 2021 Kansas Notable Book award and by the courage of Northern Cheyenne people, whose nation today thrives in Montana.
Their perseverance offers several lessons.
First, we learned the complexity of Kansas history. Western Kansas was prime hunting grounds of Cheyennes, Pawnees, Kiowas, Wichita, Lakotas and other Indigenous peoples. They did not give up their land, nor their ways of life, without resistance. After the Little Bighorn battle in 1876, Northern Cheyenne were sent to Indian Territory, where they suffered death and disease. A band escaped and fled through Kansas to their homeland in the north. During the flight north, younger warriors killed 40 settlers. The entire band was captured and held at Fort Robinson, Nebraska. They broke out, and more than 60 were killed. The survivors included the seven prisoners of war.
A second lesson is how allies of oppressed groups can make a difference. Two men in particular championed the desperate Northern Cheyenne prisoners: a volunteer lawyer and a sheriff. As the ordeal unfolded, J.G. Mohler of Salina traveled to Dodge City and offered his services pro bono. He argued that this group of older men, some of whom had been U.S. Army scouts, were being wrongly prosecuted by the state. The other, less likely ally was Bartholomew William Barclay Masterson, the top law enforcement official known as Bat. Masterson attended to the medical needs of these men and provided meals so good that the prisoners gave a gift to the jailer and his wife, the cook. Some Kansas citizens wanted to lynch the Northern Cheyennes, and Masterson prevented this and enforced their safety while in jail.
A third lesson from this story is the importance of the arts. While the Northern Cheyenne men were incarcerated, Masterson provided them some materials for drawing and painting. They created four ledger-art booklets in the distinctive Plains Indian art genre, with emphasis on two-dimensional figures and glyphs. They illustrate animals of the region in their drawings, as well as war regalia, dances and courtship. On paper, they recreated their personal experiences as they adjusted to their new circumstances, and as they faced a new battlefield in court.
Our book includes more than forty of these drawings — two men chasing skunks out of camp; Wild Hog, the leader, mounted on his horse with full eagle-feather headdress; mother elk with calves; lines of dancing women.
Today, these are compelling artworks. In the context of the artists who made them in Dodge City, they are assertion of identity. Indigenous peoples have survived more than 500 years of colonization, and they still have intact communities because of the strength of their cultures. Arts are a means to cultural survival.
Spirituality is a fourth lesson of the Northern Cheyenne men who not just survived but prevailed as they battled depression, trauma and loss. They found strength to grieve losses and to create new lives. In Dodge City, and later when relocated to Lawrence, they developed relationships with their new communities. When a Dr. Jefferson Odenbaugh visited them in jail, the prisoners performed a brief ritual. Then Wild Hog drew an image on a card. He gave this gift to Odenbaugh with the understanding that it was a source of protection. Masterson knew the prisoners’ use of tobacco for prayer and provided it.
Long-term consequences are a final lesson from this story. Because they were not executed, most of these seven Northern Cheyenne men lived into their 80s. They taught their traditions to children and grandchildren as they adapted to life on the new reservation. They informed historians and anthropologists in later years. Because they survived, they were able to tell their stories.
We are honored to be a small part of this inspiring story of strength and perseverance, through this book.
Through its opinion section, the Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.
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What we learned from Northern Cheyenne men held captive in Dodge City in 1879 - Kansas Reflector
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