Medicine Arrows
Cheyenne chief and Keeper of the Medicine Arrows
About Medicine Arrows
Lived 1795 – 1876 (aged 80–81).
Medicine Arrows (real name Rock Forehead or Stone Forehead) (1795 – 1876) was a Cheyenne chief and Keeper of the Medicine Arrows from 1850 until his death. Rock Forehead became known to whites as Medicine Arrows after his appointment to this office. Among the Cheyenne he was also known by the nickname "Walks with His Toes Turned Out."
Rock Forehead was a cousin of Black Kettle. His nephew, Little Man, would later become Arrow Keeper after his son, Black Hairy Dog. one of the precipitating events leading ultimately to the Battle of the Saline River and the Battle of Washita River in 1867 and 1868 respectively. Rock Forehead's camp was one of several camps along the Washita River downstream of Black Kettle's village at the time the battle of the Washita which took place on November 27, 1868.
Rock Forehead's daughter was married to a man in Tall Bull's Dog Soldier band. She and her four children survived the Battle of Summit Springs on July 11, 1869, in which Tall Bull's village was destroyed by the 5th Cavalry Regiment; they were taken prisoner but were later released.
Fearing military reprisals following the Red River War, Rock Forehead fled his reservation in January 1875 to join the Northern Cheyenne in Montana. He died there peacefully in 1876. His son Black Hairy Dog succeeded him as Keeper of the Medicine Arrows. Descendants of Rock Forehead reside in the Western Oklahoma area.
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Important facts
People in Medicine Arrows's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Medicine Arrows's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Medicine Arrows?
Cheyenne chief and Keeper of the Medicine Arrows
When was Medicine Arrows born?
Medicine Arrows was born in 1795.
When did Medicine Arrows die?
Medicine Arrows died in 1876.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Medicine Arrows. https://biography.guide/medicine-arrows/
MLA: "Medicine Arrows." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/medicine-arrows/.
Chicago: "Medicine Arrows." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/medicine-arrows/.
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