Buffalo Calf Road Woman, a Warrior in the Battle of the Rosebud

(Originally posted on From Behind the Pen). Native Americans were relentlessly pursued. Slowly, most of the Cheyenne surrendered. But despite being pregnant, Buffalo Calf Road Woman refused to surrender, holding out with a small group of about 30 Cheyenne “hostiles,” including some children.

From Behind the Pen

Image source: Wikimedia Commons

The remarkable story of Buffalo Calf Road Woman, a young Cheyenne warrior woman in her early twenties, weaves Native American culture with iconic women’s history. Buffalo Calf Road Woman, or Brave Woman (circa 1850s – 1879), was a Northern Cheyenne woman who saved her wounded warrior brother, Chief Comes in Sight, in the Battle of the Rosebud in 1876. She fought next to her husband in the Battle of Little Bighorn that same year. It is not known how Buffalo Calf Road Woman acquired her skill with a gun, but she first rose to prominence among her people at the Battle of the Rosebud.

The Cheyenne were caught in the westward expansion of pioneers, miners, and the army, all determined to colonize the land on the great plains occupied by native peoples. The Cheyenne and other native tribes endured attacks, massacres, and forced removals to reservations…

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