The Sand Creek Massacre

Part of a larger depiction of the Sand Creek massacre, painted on elk hide by Northern Arapaho artist Eugene Ridgely. His great-grandfather Lame Man survived the attack. Soldiers attack after most of the warriors have left to go hunting (far right). The Cheyenne chief White Antelope stands by the American flag and white peace flag at the center of the camp, yelling to the soldiers that they are mistakenly attacking a peaceful camp (center), but they ignore him. Women, children and the elderly flee, pursued by the soldiers, who kill and mutilate them (left).

The Sand Creek Massacre is one of the most controversial and widely discussed incidents in the history of Native/White relations in North America, rivalled only by events such as the Battle of Little Bighorn, the Trail of Tears, and the stories of Pocohantas and of the First Thanksgiving. The basic details are as follows: in late November, 1864, a group of volunteer Colorado militia under the command of Col. John Chivington attacked a camp of Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians along Sand Creek in southeastern Colorado. The Indians had gone there at the request of the Governor of Colorado, in order to escape ongoing military campaigns against other groups of Cheyenne and Arapaho who were perceived to be more hostile to Whites. Around 250 or more Indians, mostly women, children and elderly, were killed in the attack on the camp, despite the presence of flags being flown which were the agreed-upon indicators of a peaceful camp.

The attack was initially celebrated as a victory in Colorado, but soon condemned throughout the nation by many. Congressional investigations were conducted, and individual soldiers wrote letters and accounts which described the massacre and mutilation of the victims. Several participants were strongly critical of Chivington, and one was eventually murdered in Denver by Chivington's supporters. The entire affair was condemned by Congress, but no one was ever held accountable, and Chivington refused to apologize to the end of his life. The Cheyenne and Arapaho people continue to this day to view this as the greatest violent injustice ever committed against them. The massacre set off a war which lasted for three years (1864-67), in which hundreds more died on both sides.

Letters written by those at Sand Creek

• From Lt. Joseph Cramer to Maj. Edward Wynkoop, Dec. 19, 1864:
  "This is the first opportunity I have had of writing you since the great Indian Massacre, and for a start, I will acknowledge I am ashamed to own I was in it...It is no use for me to tell you how the fight was managed, only I think the Officer in command should be hung...After the fight there was a sight I hope I may never see again...Bucks, woman and children, were scalped, fingers cut off to get the rings on them...little children shot, while begging for their lives...I told the Col. I thought it was murder to jump them friendly Indians. He says in reply; Damn any man or men who are in sympathy with them."

• From Lt. Silas Soule to Maj. Edward Wynkoop, Dec. 14, 1864:
  "The massacre lasted six or eight hours...I tell you Ned it was hard to see little children on their knees have their brains beat out by men professing to be civilized....They were all scalped, and as high as a half a dozen [scalps] taken from one head. They were all horriby mutilated...You could think it impossible for white men to butcher and mutilate human beings as they did there, but every word I have told you is the truth, which they do not deny...I expect we will have a hell of a time with Indians this winter."

Sand Creek National Historic Site

The Sand Creek National Historic Site was established by an Act of Congress and signed into law by President Clinton on November 7, 2000. The Act authorizes the National Park Service to acquire land at the site and provide for visitor education as well as preservation of the site.

There is still some controversy regarding the exact location of the battlefield. A marker indicates the traditionally-accepted site, but National Park Service archaeologists believe the actual location may be slightly different. There have also been some difficulties in acquiring the private property at the site.

The NPS Sand Creek website has extensive additional information.

The Sand Creek Spritual Healing Run: A new Arapaho tradition

Beginning in the year 2000, Northern Arapaho youth and young adults began running - a long ways. They ran from Sand Creek, Colorado to Ethete, Wyoming - a distance of several hundred miles. They did this to commemorate the Sand Creek massacre, and also to help themselves and the Tribe heal from the negative memories of that event.

The runs have gone ever since then, including one which terminated on the CU campus in Boulder. The runners go in relays of one to two persons each, with the others riding in a van which accompanies the runners. The runs take several days to complete, and are normally done during the hottest summer months.

Long distance running is an old tradition among the Arapaho, and the ability to run great distances without stopping is seen as a sign of not just physical health, but spiritual blessedness and proper living. Arapaho religion in general places great stress on endurance; there are three consecutive days of Sun Dancing, four days of fasting during vision quests, and sweat lodge ceremonies can also be quite rigorous.

The runs connect sacred places, but they also serve to build sacred connections across time, from the past to the present. They are a uniquely Arapaho way of relating to time and place in Colorado.