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Sand Creek MassacreBrochure |
Official Brochure of Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site (NHS) in Colorado. Published by the National Park Service (NPS).
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Sand Creek Massacre
Sand Creek Massacre
National Historic Site
Colorado
National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior
It was hard to see little children … their brains beat out
by men professing to be civilized.
Eagle Robe (Eugene J. Ridgely Sr.)
painted this elk hide in 1994, from
Arapaho oral tradition. His greatgrandfather, Lame Man, escaped
the massacre.
Capt. Silas Soule to Maj. Edward W. Wynkoop, December 1864
Attack at Dawn
A column of riders moves up Big Sandy Creek as the
village awakens on November 29, 1864. This is no ordinary village; it is a chiefs’ village, with over 750 people
and at least 33 chiefs and headmen of the Cheyenne and
Arapaho. All believe they are safe here, within the 1861
Fort Wise Treaty Lands.
Women think they hear buffalo approaching. The
“buffalo” are US Army soldiers—well-trained troops of
the 1st Regiment Cavalry (Colorado US Volunteer) and
raw recruits of the 3rd Regiment Cavalry. The soldiers have
guns and howitzers. A US flag and a white flag of truce
flutter from a lodgepole at Cheyenne Peace Chief Black
Kettle’s tipi, but the soldiers are undeterred. Startled men
reach for their weapons. White Antelope and other chiefs
walk toward the mounted soldiers.
The cavalry open fire. Women, children, and elderly flee.
Black Kettle survives unscathed, but White Antelope and
Left Hand are hit; both will die from their wounds.
Col. John Chivington arrives. He orders the 1st Regiment
to fire into the fleeing villagers. Mayhem ensues as his
soldiers massacre Cheyenne and Arapaho people.
Capt. Silas Soule and Lt. Joseph Cramer defy Chivington
and order their companies (D and K of the 1st Regiment)
to stand down. They witness the executions of those who
surrender and others who try to escape along the sandy
creek bed.
When the firing stops, over 230 Cheyenne and Arapaho,
including 13 Council and four Soldier chiefs, lie murdered.
US Army casualties amount to about 18 dead and 70
wounded. Reports exaggerate the number of Indians
killed at 500.
Soldiers loot, scalp, and mutilate the dead. They ransack
and burn the village. They take human body parts as
trophies along with 600 horses. Surviving Cheyenne and
Arapaho, wounded and bleeding, escape north toward
the Smoky Hill River.
COURTESY RIDGELY FAMILY, NORTHERN ARAPAHO
We ran up the creek with the cavalry following
us … [it] was now a terrible sight: men, women,
and children lying thickly scattered on the sand.
George Bent, Sand Creek survivor
Path to Tragedy
The Central Plains, which stretch from the Missouri River
to the Rockies, were home to thousands of Plains Indians—Cheyenne, Arapaho, Comanche, Lakota, and others.
They adopted the horse for hunting buffalo—the main
source for their material culture and food. In winter,
certain locales along creeks and rivers offered firewood,
shelter from bitter winds, and drinking water. Big Sandy
Creek was one such place. People of many tribes paused
here while traveling the Smoky Hill Lodgepole Trail.
In 1821 European Americans began to cross the Central
Plains in greater numbers, first on the Santa Fe Trail, which
followed the Arkansas River, and later along the Oregon
Trail, which followed the Platte River. Some tribes saw the
newcomers as trespassers in their hunting territories.
Tension and violence resulted. The US government sought
peace through treaties that acknowledged the tribes as
”dependent, domestic nations.” The 1851 Fort Laramie
Treaty defined the Plains tribes’ territory. It promised them
protection and annuities (provisions) in return for safe
passage by travelers through Indian lands.
The treaty did not achieve lasting peace. In the late 1850s
prospectors struck gold in the Rocky Mountains. Realizing
that Indian lands might include rich mineral resources, the
US government reneged on the 1851 treaty. A new Fort
Wise Treaty (1861) required the Cheyenne and Arapaho
to cede all their previously agreed territory except a small
reservation. Six Cheyenne and four Arapaho chiefs signed.
Many more refused. Despite the discord, Congress created
Colorado Territory in 1861.
Only a few months later, the Civil War began. The US Army
withdrew most of its regulars from the frontier for service
back east. In 1862 Congress passed the Homestead and
Pacific Railway Acts, which eventually led to more westward migration.
Col. John Chivington, a Civil War hero, commanded the
troops of the Colorado Military District. Chivington, who
had political aspirations, reportedly said, ”It is right or
honorable to use any means under God’s heaven to kill
Indians....” In spring 1864 he ordered attacks on four
Cheyenne villages. When his regiment killed Peace Chief
Lean Bear, Plains warriors retaliated. Some Indian leaders
appealed for peace in a conference at Camp Weld, near
Denver, with Territorial Governor John Evans and Chivington. Those Indians desiring peace were told to report to
Fort Lyon. Many did, and then encamped at Sand Creek.
On November 29, 1864, Chivington led the attack at Sand
Creek. Although an Army judge condemned the ”cowardly
cold-blooded slaughter,” the colonel was never formally
charged nor tried. Evans was forced to resign in 1865.
Peace Chief Black Kettle
Peace Chief White
Antelope
Gov.
John Evans
Maj. Edward
Wynkoop
Capt.
Silas Soule
Col. John Chivington
Col. Chivington, although a Methodist minister,
asked for a ”fighting” post in the US Army.
EVANS: COLORADO STATE ARCHIVES
CHIVINGTON: DENVER PUBLIC LIBRARY
Among the participants at the Camp Weld Conference: Cheyenne Peace Chiefs Black Kettle (survived
Sand Creek, died at Washita) and White Antelope
(died at Sand Creek); Capt. Soule (died in Denver
from a gunshot to the head soon after he testified
against Col. Chivington); Maj. Wynkoop, commanding officer, Fort Lyon, CO Territory.
Gov. Evans issued this poster in 1864 to
recruit volunteers for the 3rd Regiment.
HISTORY COLORADO
All we ask is that we have peace with the whites
Peace Chief Black Kettle, September 28, 1864, Camp Weld Conference
HISTORY COLORADO
A Sacred Place, a Spiritual People
The Sand Creek Massacre is not only a tragic historical
event—its legacy is alive and present in the memories,
lineages, and stories, and in the trauma and healing, of its
Cheyenne and Arapaho descendants. Memorialization of
the massacre has significance too for many descendants
of its US military participants as well as those who come
to pay respects.
The Cheyenne and Arapaho have always had a sacred and
spiritual way of life. They believe that all of creation has
a spiritual connection—the land, plants, animals, wind,
water, and people. The tribes believe even speaking of the
massacre is sacred; they consider the massacre site forever
hallowed, because the spirits and blood of the victims are
intermingled with the earth.
Today, Cheyenne and Arapaho return to their homeland
to repatriate remains of the massacre found in museums
and private collections. The tribes provide respectful,
traditionally appropriate burials to assure the victims can
be at rest and never forgotten.
Cheyenne and Arapaho representatives, descendants,
ceremonial leaders, and youth conduct an annual Sand
Creek Massacre Spiritual Healing Run from the massacre
site to the steps of the Colorado State Capitol. Prayers and
offerings by tribal and non-tribal participants are given for
the land, for the spirits of those who perished, for living
generations, and for those to come—all to put to rest the
torment of the past. Through these acts of remembrance
and healing, the landscape of the Sand Creek Massacre
remains a living, sacred place—the past forever
interconnected with the present and the future.
The Massacre Reverberates
The massacre devastated generations of Cheyenne and
Arapaho people. The deaths of so many Cheyenne chiefs
disrupted tribal governance, and surviving chiefs like Black
Kettle lost credibility. Tribes lost much traditional knowledge.
Families lost providers. Children lost parents.
The massacre polarized the American public. In Denver,
crowds cheered when returning soldiers displayed human
trophies. The brutality appalled others. The US Army
ordered an immediate investigation; Congress would order
two more. Company commanders Capt. Silas Soule and Lt.
Joseph Cramer, who ordered their men to stand down, pro-
vided written accounts that shocked national and military
leaders. Col. John Chivington gave a different account,
which the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the Civil War
rejected. In the 1865 Little Arkansas Treaty, the US government took responsibility for the massacre and promised
reparations to survivors. The promised reparations have
never been fulfilled.
The US policy toward Native peoples shifted from removal
and concentration to assimilation. Although it seemed
more humane, assimilation denied people their culture,
language, and traditional way of life. Yet the identities of
the tribes, though weakened, are intact. Today the Chey-
© JEFF CAMPBELL
enne and Arapaho tribes reside in Montana, Wyoming,
and Oklahoma where they continue to maintain their cultures and try to preserve their traditional knowledge.
Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site, established in
2007, reminds us of “the tragic extremes sometimes
reached in the 500 years of conflict between Native Americans and peoples of European or other origins.” Here people work to enhance understanding across diverse cultures.
The story of the Sand Creek Massacre raises awareness of
basic human rights, transcending park boundaries. The
American people, through the intent of Congress, join
Cheyenne and Arapaho leaders and chiefs in the hope that
this story will prevent similar tragedies in the future.
It is difficult to believe that beings … disgracing the uniform of United States
soldiers and officers, could commit … such acts of cruelty and barbarity.
Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, 1865
Visit Sand Creek
Park hours are posted on the website: www.nps.gov/sand. Contact
the park for updated seasonal
hours, upcoming events, or for an
appointment in the off season.
Accessibility We strive to make
our facilities, services, and programs accessible to all. For information go to a visitor center, ask a
ranger, call, or check our website.
For Your Safety The park is in an
isolated area. Bring water and appropriate outdoor clothing. Please
stay on designated walking trails.
Caution, large vehicles and motorcyclists: Eight miles of dirt and
sand roads lead to the site.
The park hosts special programs
associated with the events at Sand
Creek and today’s Cheyenne and
Arapaho. These events, including
the annual Spiritual Healing Run
and other activities, help to commemorate and memorialize the
tragic history and legacy of the
Sand Creek Massacre. Check the
park website for dates and more
information.
Regulations All pets must be
leashed. Camping is not allowed at
the site. For firearms regulations
check the park website.
More Information
Sand Creek Massacre
National Historic Site
PO Box 249
1301 Maine St.
Eads, CO 81036
Site office: 719-729-3003
Eads office: 719-438-5916
www.nps.gov/sand
Sand Creek Massacre is one of
over 400 parks in the National
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