A Cheyenne Odyssey

Experience Westward Expansion from the perspective of a Northern Cheyenne teen

Step into the role of Little Fox, a fictional Northern Cheyenne boy who is 12 years old when the game begins. Over the course of the years 1866-1876, you must choose how Little Fox reacts and adapts to the encroachment of white settlers, expansion of railroads, decline of buffalo, and rise of the reservation system. You will interact with other Cheyenne and Lakota characters with different perspectives on how to cope with the challenges they face, as well as traders, railroad workers, soldiers, and settlers. Eventually, as a grown warrior, you will be part of the Battle of the Greasy Grass, often referred to as the Battle of the Little Bighorn or Custer’s Last Stand. With each change and each choice, you will witness the persistence of the Cheyenne through national transformations and the impact of Westward Expansion on America’s Indigenous peoples, the economy, the landscape and environment.

Winner of the Games for Change Award for Most Significant Impact, “A Cheyenne Odyssey” was developed in close collaboration with representatives of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe at Chief Dull Knife College, a tribally-managed institution on the Northern Cheyenne reservation in Montana.

“A Cheyenne Odyssey” is part of the acclaimed MISSION US interactive series that immerses young people in the drama of American history. Used by more than four million students to date, multiple research studies show that using Mission US improves historical knowledge and skills, leads to deeper student engagement, and promotes richer classroom discussion.

GAME FEATURES:

• Immerses players in the period of Westward Expansion from 1866-1876, from the perspective of the Northern Cheyenne

• Innovative choice-driven story with multiple endings and badge system

• Includes interactive prologue, 5 playable parts, and epilogue - approx. 2 hours of gameplay, segmented for flexible implementation

• Diverse cast of characters features a range of perspectives on the changes and challenges faced by Indigenous people during this era of national transformation. All Northern Cheyenne characters are voiced by Northern Cheyenne actors.

• Primary source documents integrated into game design

• Includes text-to-speech, Smartwords, and Glossary features to support struggling readers, as well as closed captioning, play/pause controls, and multi-track audio control.

• Collection of free educator support resources available at mission-us.org includes curriculum overview, document-based activities, writing/discussion prompts, vocabulary support, and more.

ABOUT MISSION US:

• AWARDS include: Games for Change Award for Most Significant Impact, multiple Japan Prize, Parents’ Choice Gold, Common Sense Media ON for Learning, and International Serious Play awards, and Webby and Daytime Emmy nominations.

• CRITICAL ACCLAIM: USA Today: “a powerful game that all kids should experience”; Educational Freeware: “one of the most captivating educational games online”; Kotaku: “a slice of livable history that every American should play”; 5 out of 5 stars from Common Sense Media

• GROWING FAN BASE: 4 million registered users across the US and around the world to date, including 130,000 teachers.

• PROVEN IMPACT: Major study by Education Development Center (EDC) found students who used MISSION US significantly outperformed those who studied the same topics using typical materials (textbook and lecture) – showing a 14.9% knowledge gain versus less than 1% for the other group.

• TRUSTED TEAM: Produced by The WNET Group (NY’s flagship PBS station) in partnership with educational game development company Electric Funstuff and the American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning, City University of New York