Becoming Cheyenne (a true story)
William Rowland loved the land
and the Cheyenne
woman Sis Frog.
He married her
west they went
searching for their peace.
Warm acceptance on the
Tongue River Reservation
helped their family thrive.
William assimilated
into his new tribe,
taking a stand,
he became Cheyenne.
——
Image: Cheyenne Indian and Son – Tongue River Reservation, Montana, photographed by Arthur Rothstein (1915-1985) in June 1939, held by the U.S. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA.
Background: The true story of Becoming Cheyenne. William Rowland (1832-1901) was a white man who married a Cheyenne woman named Sis Frog and then assimilated himself into the Cheyenne tribe. They migrated from the Nebraska Territory to the Wyoming Territory, eventually settling on the Tongue River Reservation of Montana. Many of their nine children married Cheyenne, and their grandchildren did the same. In the 1933 and 1936 census of Native Americans, some of William’s great grandchildren still carried the Rowland name and were identified as being 7/8ths Cheyenne. Many of his descendants living today would be 15/16ths or 31/32nds (or more) Cheyenne.
——
Linked to dVerse Poets Pub — Monday Quadrille — Stand, where Lisa is hosting. She described the recently discovered plights of Native Americans in North America and asked us to write a quadrille poem using the word stand.
Quadrille: A poetic form introduced at dVerse Poets Pub circa 2011. The rules for Quadrille: not including the title, a poem of exactly 44 words using the prompt word or its variant.
Interesting, Ron! So, is this your heritage, too?
I know many tribes took in White and Black people, and they became members of the tribe.
Thanks. To the best of my knowledge I am not related to William, and I do not have any Cheyenne blood. However, I am about 1% Montauk (confirmed by DNA) as a result of an early Dutch ancestor marrying a Montauk woman on Long Island in the 1600s.
Cool! 😀
Ron, your quadrille and afterword gave me goosebumps. The love William and Sis Frog had for each other must have been mighty. I bow in their honor. Wonderful writing to the prompt.
I really wonder if all of their descendants might have been saved from being kidnapped and taken to Indian Schools because of that thin sliver of white in them?
Fortunately, there was not a boarding school on the Tongue River Reservation.
I love Rowland’s story, Ron. Here in Indiana, there is a similar story of a white girl, captured as a teenager who married an Indian and chose to remain with the tribe when she was given a choice to return to her white life many years later. I’m always fascinated by such stories. If you enjoy such stories, check out James Alexander Thom’s “Follow the River” . Great stuff!!
Thanks, and thanks for the lead. I just ordered the book, as one of my ancestors was a scout along the Ohio River after the Revolution and before the first settlement at Marietta. I’ve read similar encounters to the ones you mentioned in the historical stories of early Ohio.
Such an incredible story!
Also wondering if this is part of your heritage. A very interesting story. Thanks for sharing. This is the type of assimilation that brings a smile to my face, one of love, freedom and acceptance, unlike my own poetic offering today.
~Mish~
No, not part of my heritage. I am not related to William, and I do not have any Cheyenne blood. However, I am about 1% Montauk (confirmed by DNA) as a result of an early Dutch ancestor marrying a Montauk woman on Long Island in the 1600s.
Unfortunately, it seems that stories like yours are more prevalent.
I like poems that teaches me history lessons. Nicely done.
wait wait wait
you just coincidentally wrote about somebody with the same last name?
<3
David
Not pure coincidence, as I run the Rowland Genealogy website, and I am familiar with many Rowland stories.
that’s so cool! were there any famous Rowlands?
Here’s a few I have documented: https://rowlandgenealogy.com/famous-rowlands/
Extraordinary story of true love!
Fascinating Ron! True stories are the BEST. Our heritage doesn’t make us who we are but it certainly broadens our understanding of how we got here. 😉
Thanks. I’m hooked on heritage, which is why I’m usually pursuing genealogy when not penning poems.
Excellent! I’m a curious type on my own too.
If a chapter of DAR were closer to me, I’d be a proud verifiable member.
What an amazing story, told so concisely. Awesome quadrille!
Thanks. I really had to struggle to keep it to 44 words and somewhat poetic (hence the addition of the background).
The Quadrille … the story … the history of your family ~~~~ all of it fascinating, Ron.
Love the story in your quadrille, and the background history is wonderful to read.
Bravo! Well done
Much❤love
Very interesting Ron! Might you be one of those descendants?
No, no relation.