Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site

From New World Encyclopedia
Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site
IUCN Category V (Protected Landscape/Seascape)
Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site
Map of the United States
Map of the United States
Location: Kiowa County, CO, USA
Nearest city: Eads, Colorado
Area: 2,385 acres (9.65 km²)
Established: April 27, 2007
Governing body: National Park Service

Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site is a National Historic Site in Kiowa County, Colorado near Eads and Chivington commemorating the Sand Creek Massacre. The site is about 80 miles (130 km) southeast of Denver. A few basic park facilities have been opened at this site. The pictured monument is very close to the actual site.


Background

Sand Creek Massacre

The Sand Creek Massacre of the Cheyenne and Arapaho is one of the most controversial and painful incidents in the history of White-Indian relations in North America, rivaled only by events such as the Battle of the Little Bighorn, the Wounded Knee Massacre, and the Trail of Tears.

The Pike's Peak gold rush of 1858 lead to increasing conflicts between whites and Native Americans. Though the Cheyenne were settled peacefully in land granted them by the U.S. government in the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851, white settlers were increasingly encroaching on their lands. Even the U.S. Indian Commissioner admitted that "We have substantially taken possession of the country and deprived the Indians of their accustomed means of support." [1]

In the spring of 1864, as the Civil War raged in the east, Colonel John Chivington launched a campaign of violence against the Cheyenne and their allies in Colorado. American troops gradually encroached on Cheyenne lands until fighting broke out. Chief Black Kettle asked Robert Bent, white husband of a Cheyenne woman - Owl Woman, to persuade the Americans to negotiate peace and, briefly, it appeared possible.

Representatives from several tribes met with Governor John Evans, Major Edward W. Wynkoop and Chivington at Camp Weld outside of Denver on September 28, 1864. Black Kettle spoke thus:

"All we ask is that we have peace with the whites. We want to hold you by the hand. You are our father. We have been travelling through a cloud. The sky has been dark ever since the war began. These braves who are with me are willing to do what I say. We want to take good tidings home to our people, that they may sleep in peace. I want you to give all these chiefs of the soldiers here to understand that we are for peace, and that we have made peace, that we may not be mistaken by them for enemies. I have not come here with a little wolf bark, but have come to talk plain with you." [1]

Believing peace had been agreed upon, Black Kettle retreated to a camp along Sand Creek in southeastern Colorado along with a group of several hundred Cheyenne and Arapaho. They had gone there at the request of Governor Evans in order to escape military campaigns against other bands of their tribes who were understood to be more hostile to Whites.

However, Samuel Curtis, Chivington's superior officer, informed him that "I want no peace till the Indians suffer more...No peace must be made without my directions." [1]. On the morning of November 28, Chivington and his army captured Bent's son Robert, forced him to guide them to the Cheyenne campsite, and there killed and mutilated between 250 and 400 Native Americans in what became known as the Sand Creek Massacre.[2]

As instructed, Black Kettle was flying both the American flag and a white flag above his tipi, as an indicator that they were a peaceful camp. The flags were ignored by the American soldiers.

Chivington proudly displayed trophies of his "battle," including body parts, in Denver for months following.

Aftermath of the massacre

The "battle" was initially greeted as a victory in the Colorado War against "hostile Indians," however, within months, Congressional inquiries revealed the truth, and a national scandal erupted. It happened in what is now Kiowa County Colorado, and has become known as the Sand Creek Massacre.

Robert Bent testified in court against Chivington. His brothers, Charles and George Bent, joined the Cheyenne's Dog Soldiers and fought to drive the European-Americans from the their homeland.

Major Wynkoop, who had encouraged peace efforts with the Cheyenne while posted in Colorado prior to the Massacre, investigated Chivington's conduct at Sand Creek on behalf of the U.S. Army, leading to Chivington's condemnation. In 1866 Wynkoop became an Indian agent for the Southern Cheyennes and Arapahos, resigning in December 1868 in protest of the destruction of Black Kettle's village in the Battle of Washita River.

Territorial Governor John Evans eventually lost his job for his part in setting up the incident, and Colonel John Chivington, commander of the U.S. forces, was castigated by the United States Congress and the scandal followed him for the rest of his life. Evans would go on to make significant important contributions to the early Denver community and while Chivington also made some, his reputation remained tainted while Evans is still honored today.

Memorial site

In 2005, final land acquisitions by the National Park Service allowed official designation of the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site, but no park facilities have yet been erected. Only a plaque in the ground acknowledges the site, and it appears that this stone plaque is located in the wrong place.


In 1999, archaeological teams from the National Park Service, Dept. of the Interior BLM, Colorado Historical Society and accompanied by Native American observers, made a major archaeological discovery of remains of the massacre site. Large numbers of period bullets, camp equipment, and other items convinced the NPS that they had found the correct site. Subsequent transfers of ownership from the Dawson family, former owners of the property have left the title of the site to the Cheyenne and Arapahoe tribes with management to be undertaken by NPS. The National Park Service offers scheduled Ranger led programs without charge during the site's hours of operation, from 9 am - 4 pm, April 1st - December 1st, or by advance appointment in the slower winter season.

The Historical Site was authorized by Public Law 106-465 on November 7, 2000, in order to "recognize the national significance of the massacre in American history, and its ongoing significance to the Cheyenne and Arapaho people and the descendants of the massacre victims." The law authorized establishment of the site once the National Park Service acquired sufficient land from willing sellers to preserve, commemorate, and interpret the massacre. The site near the junction of County Road 54 and County Road "W" was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 28, 2001. On August 2, 2005, President George W. Bush gave final approval for the site. On April 23, 2007 it was announced that site would become America's 391st official park unit[3] with an effective date of April 27, 2007.[4] The dedication ceremony was held on April 28, 2007.[5]

The authorized boundary for the National Historic Site encompasses 12,500 acres (50.6 km²). By 2004 the federal government acquired 920 acres (3.7 km²) from private land owners. On September 9, 2006 the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma conveyed to the United States title to 1,465 acres (6 km²) to be held in trust for the National Historic Site[6] bringing the total area to 2,385 acres (10 km²).

File:Sand Creek.jpg
Site of Sand Creek Massacre - Kiowa County, Colorado -c.1986 Photo taken December 24, 2006.


The Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes hold an annual Spiritual Healing Run annually at the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site. Most tribal participants travel to the site from Montana, Wyoming, and Oklahoma.

Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Legends of America. Chief Black Kettle - A Peaceful Leader Retrieved May 10, 2008.
  2. Brown, Dee Alexander. 1971. Bury my heart at Wounded Knee; an Indian history of the American West. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston. ISBN 0030853222
  3. U.S. Dept. of Interior. Secretary Kempthorne Creates Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site. Retrieved May 2, 2007.
  4. Dirk Kempthorne (Federal Register Volume 72, Number 81, pp. 21048-21049). Notice of Establishment of the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site. Retrieved May 2, 2007.
  5. National Park Service. Sand Creek Massacre NHS Dedication, Schedule of Events. Retrieved May 2, 2007.
  6. Dirk Kempthorne (Federal Register Volume 72, Number 81, pp. 21048-21049). Notice of Establishment of the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site. Retrieved May 2, 2007.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

Print sources
  • Biltoft, Garret Lee. 2006. A museum for the Sand Creek massacre historic site. Thesis (M.Arch.)—Texas Tech University, 2006.
  • Brown, Dee Alexander. 1971. Bury my heart at Wounded Knee; an Indian history of the American West. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston. ISBN 0030853222
  • Greene, Jerome A., and Douglas D. Scott. 2004. Finding Sand Creek: history, archeology, and the 1864 massacre site. Norman: University Of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 0806136235
  • Svaldi, David. 1989. Sand Creek and the rhetoric of extermination: a case study in Indian-White relations. Lanham, MD: University Press of America. ISBN 0819173142
  • United States. 2005. Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site Trust Act of 2005: report (to accompany S. 57). Washington, D.C.: U.S. G.P.O.
  • United States. 2000. Sand Creek Massacre Project. Denver: Intermountain Support Office.
Online sources

External links

All links Retrieved May 10, 2008.

Template:Registered Historic Places

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.