Northern Cheyenne Wolf Scout

Artist James Bama’s portrait of a Northern Cheyenne Wolf Scout is among his most beloved portrayals of a proud warrior decorated with trophies from both war and hunting. His headdress and armbands, made of wolf hide, give him the power and stealth of the wolf. He wears a necklace of buffalo teeth and around his torso is the rawhide lariat for catching wild horses. Hanging down from his waist is hair from a scalp that he carries with him so that the scalped person will be unable to kill him in the afterlife. This scout has blackened his eyes and hands to represent the claws and eyes of a wolf. On his face, arms and chest, he first smeared buffalo or deer fat, then white clay from the riverbanks to represent the white underbelly of the wolf.

It was an honor to be appointed a scout by a Cheyenne warrior chief. Scouts ranged for days at a time looking for buffalo, horse herds and threatening white soldiers. Usually three scouts would travel together so one could always be on watch at night, and if needed one could be sent back to camp with news. When the news was important, the scout would howl like a wolf to alert the camp as he approached camp.