Editing Cheyenne (section)

===Enemies and warrior culture===
{{see also|Cheyenne military societies}}
[[File:Ledger Drawing - Cheyenne warriors fighting Mexican Lancers.jpg|thumb|right|Ledger drawing by Hubble Big Horse showing a battle between Cheyenne warriors and Mexican lancers.]]
[[File:Ledger drawing - Cheyenne and Pawnee or Osage fight.jpg|thumb|Ledger drawing showing a battle between a Cheyenne warrior (right) and an Osage or Pawnee warrior (left).]]
[[File:Crow-Cheyenne-fight.jpg|thumb|Ledger drawing of a mounted Cheyenne warrior counting coup with lance on a dismounted Crow warrior.]]
[[File:Ledger Drawing - Cheyenne Crazy Dog Society Warrior.jpg|thumb|Ledger drawing of a Cheyenne warrior with [[pronghorn antelope|pronghorn]] horned headdress, symbol of the Crazy Dog Society.]]

Like many other Plains Indian nations, the Cheyenne were a [[horse culture|horse and warrior]] people who developed as skilled and powerful mounted warriors. A warrior in Cheyenne society is not a fighter but also a protector, provider, and leader. Warriors gained rank in Cheyenne society by performing and accumulating various acts of bravery in battle known as [[counting coup]]s. The title of war chief could be earned by any warrior who performs enough of the specific coups required to become a war chief. 

Specific [[Cheyenne military societies|warrior societies]] evolved. Each society had selected leaders who would invite those that they saw worthy enough to their society lodge for initiation into the society. Often, societies would have minor rivalries; however, they might work together as a unit when warring with an enemy. Military societies played an important role in Cheyenne government. Society leaders were often in charge of organizing hunts and raids as well as ensuring proper discipline and the enforcement of laws within the nation.<ref name="greene-9">Greene 2004, p. 9.</ref> Each of the six distinct warrior societies of the Cheyenne took turns leadering the nation.<ref name="hyde-336">Hyde 1968, p. 336.</ref> The four original military societies of the Cheyenne were the Swift Fox Society, Elk Horn Scrapper or Crooked Lance Society, Shield Society, and the Bowstring Men Society. The fifth society is split between the Crazy Dog Society and the famous [[Dog Soldiers]]. The sixth society is the Contrary Warrior Society, most notable for riding backward into battle as a sign of bravery.<ref name=Dictionary>Chief Dull Knife College [http://cdkc.edu/cheyennedictionary/lexicon/main.htm "Cheyenne Dictionary"] 2007-09-05. Retrieved June 10, 2013</ref> All six societies and their various branches exist among the Southern and Northern Cheyenne nations in present times. 

Warriors used a combination of weapons from [[Gunstock war club|war clubs]], [[Tomahawk (axe)|tomahawks]], and bows and arrows, and lances to [[firearms]] acquired through raiding and trade.

The enemies of the Cheyenne included the [[Crow Nation|Apsáalooke]] (Óoetaneo'o – "crow (bird) people"), [[Shoshone people|Shoshone]] (Sósone'eo'o), [[Blackfoot Confederacy|Blackfeet]] (Mo'ȯhtávėhahtátaneo'o, same literal meaning), [[Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Nation|Interior Salish and Kuntenai]] (Kȧhkoestséataneo'o – "flat-headed-people"), [[Nez Perce people|Nez Perce]] (Otaesétaneo'o – "pierced nose people"), [[Arikara people|Arikara]], [[Gros Ventre people|Gros Ventre]] (Hestóetaneo'o – "beggars for meat", "spongers" or Mȯhónooneo'o – lit. "scouting all over ones"), [[Assiniboine people|Assiniboine]], and [[Cree|Plains Cree]] (Vóhkoohétaneo'o – "rabbit people") to the north and west of Cheyenne territory. By the help of the Medicine Arrows (the Mahuts), the Cheyenne tribe [[Tongue River Massacre (1820)|massacred a Crow camp in 1820]].<ref>Hyde, George E.: Life of George Bent. Written From His Letters. Norman, 1987. Pp. 25–26.</ref> To the east of Cheyenne Territory they fought with the [[Lakota people|Lakota]], [[Dakota people|Dakota]], [[Pawnee people|Pawnee]], [[Ponca]], [[Kaw people|Kaw]], [[Iowa people|Iowa]], [[Ho-Chunk]], and [[Omaha people|Omaha]] (Onéhao'o). [[The Pawnee capture of the Cheyenne's Sacred Arrows|The Pawnee captured the Cheyenne's Sacred Arrows]] during an attack on a hunting camp around 1830.<ref name=Dorsey1903>Dorsey, George A.: "How the Pawnee Captured the Cheyenne Medicine Arrows." ''American Anthropologist'', New Series. Vol. 5 (Oct. – Dec. 1903), No. 4, pp. 644–658.</ref> 

South of Cheyenne territory they fought with the Kiowa, Comanche, [[Ute people|Ute]], [[Plains Apache]], [[Osage Nation|Osage]], [[Wichita people|Wichita]], various [[Apache]] tribes, and [[Navajo people|Navajo]]. Many of the enemies the Cheyenne fought were only encountered occasionally, such as on a long-distance raid or hunt. Some of their enemies, particularly the Eastern Plains tribe such as the Pawnee and Osage would act as [[United States Army Indian Scouts|Indian Scouts]] for the US Army, providing valuable tracking skills and information regarding Cheyenne habits and fighting strategies to US soldiers. Some of their enemies such as the Lakota would later in their history become their strong allies, helping the Cheyenne fight against the United States Army during [[Red Cloud's War]] and the [[Great Sioux War of 1876]]. The Comanche, Kiowa and Plains Apache became allies of the Cheyenne towards the end of the Indian wars on the Southern Plains, fighting together during conflicts such as the [[Red River War]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Red River War |url=https://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/redriver/ |website=Texas Beyond History |access-date=23 May 2024}}</ref>