Sand Creek Massacre

Background

Under the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie, the United States recognized a large territory belonging to the Cheyenne and Arapaho. After gold was discovered in Colorado in 1858, settlers flooded into the region, and in 1861 several Cheyenne and Arapaho chiefs signed the Treaty of Fort Wise, ceding most of that territory. Many Cheyenne, including the militaristic Dog Soldiers band, rejected the treaty and continued to live on their traditional lands, and tensions with settlers escalated through 1863 and 1864. Incidents in the spring and summer of 1864—including attacks on Cheyenne camps by Colorado troops under Lieutenant George Eayre and the killing of chief Lean Bear—coincided with raids on settlers, stage lines, and livestock by Plains tribes. In July 1864, Colorado Governor John Evans issued a circular inviting friendly Native people to gather at Fort Lyon for safety, but at a September 28, 1864 council he told chiefs, including Black Kettle, that peace terms would have to come from the military rather than from him.

The attack

Black Kettle's band, along with Arapaho under Chief Niwot, had moved to a camp on Sand Creek under military guidance and were considered under the protection of Fort Lyon; most warriors were absent hunting, leaving mainly the old, young, women, and children. On the morning of November 29, 1864, Colonel John Chivington led roughly 675 men of the Third and First Colorado Cavalry, guided by frontiersman James Beckwourth, in an attack on the camp despite Black Kettle flying a U.S. flag and a white flag. Captain Silas Soule and Lieutenant Joseph Cramer refused orders to fire and held their men back, but most soldiers attacked, killing and mutilating villagers regardless of the flags. Estimates of the dead range from 70 to over 600; most historians place the toll around 150, with about two-thirds women and children. Survivors, including George Bent, fled up the creek and hid in the riverbank before regrouping at other Cheyenne camps.

Investigations and aftermath

Congressional and military investigations followed. The Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War condemned Chivington's actions as a "foul and dastardly massacre," but because Chivington had already resigned his commission, no criminal charges were brought against him or his men. Captain Silas Soule, who had testified about the massacre, was killed in Denver weeks afterward by a man reported to be under Chivington's command. The massacre disrupted traditional Cheyenne leadership, contributed to further conflict including 1865 raids at Julesburg, and led to the 1865 Treaty of the Little Arkansas, which promised reparations later abrogated by subsequent treaties.

Remembrance

The site is preserved as the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site, dedicated in 2007 and expanded in 2022. In 2014, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper formally apologized to descendants at the 150th anniversary commemoration.