Man Afraid of His Horses, another prominent Oglala leader, played an important political role in the period — he was among those who negotiated with American officials and maintained communication with the U.S. side while the fighting continued.

High Back Wolf and other Northern Cheyenne leaders contributed their communities’ fighters and their knowledge of the terrain to the campaign.

The Cheyenne presence in the Hayfield Fight demonstrates the active participation of Cheyenne warriors throughout the conflict.

These allied communities had their own specific interests in the Powder River Country.

The Northern Cheyenne had been driven north by previous American pressure and had become closely associated with the Lakota in occupying and defending the Powder River region.

The Arapaho maintained their own alliance networks that overlapped with Lakota territory.