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The Sand Creek Massacre by Mathew Barkhausen (Awohali) As I write this on November 29, it is the 135th anniversary of the Sand Creek Massacre here in Colorado. I'm not sure if any of you are familiar with this. But since I am not really involved in any of the things going on to commemorate the event here in Denver I felt compelled to do something, like share this information with others who may have never heard of this event. Before Colorado became a sate there were a group of people that organized a militia under the command of John Chivington. This was to stop a group of Confederate soldiers from making it to California during the Civil War. Chivington succeeded at two major battles, the largest ever fought that far west in the Civil War. He was made a Colonel by the Union. He lead several other groups after the war always under the title the "Colorado Volunteers". He was a very unusual person. He served as a part time Methodist minister in Denver. He would often preach from the pulpit always laying a revolver next to the bible. One contemporary called him "a crazy preacher who thinks he is Napoleon". Many people began to make fun of his Third Colorado Volunteers, they had never seen battle. They often called them "the Bloodless Third". Chivington thought, if there is no war, I will make one. Black Kettle and White Antelope were men of peace. They agreed to do whatever the territorial government and the army said, no matter how many times they got screwed. They were forced to move further and further away from Denver, all the way out to Sand Creek, almost on the border with Kansas. They were not "Dog Soldiers" the Cheyenne warrior society responsible for many of the attacks of Colorado mining camps. They just wanted to be left alone. But early in the morning on November 29, 1864 Chivington lead his men on an attack of the peaceful camp. Bullets ripped through the lodges and White Antelope awoke, he ran out and frantically waved at the soldiers urging them to stop, pointing at a white flag and an American flag hanging from the lodge poles. But they killed him. They continued murdering everyone in camp. A few managed escape, including Black Kettle and his family. The soldiers had killed approximately 160 people, perhaps more. Most of them women and children and old people. They proceeded to mutilate the bodies. They cut off the genitals of nearly everyone. One soldier joked he would make a tobacco pouch out of the genitals of White Antelope. They cut out the genitals of women and their unborn babies. They cut off their breasts. Many of the grizzly trophies were pinned to their uniforms or hats or even tied to the horses' mane. When they got back to Denver they told the Denver Post that they had successfully fought off 500 Cheyenne Dog Soldiers. That's how the newspaper officially reported it and that's what most people believed for a long time. But later the truth was discovered. When asked about the event Chivington said, "I believe it is right and honorable to kill Indians and I shall use every means under God's Heaven to kill them." At a reunion of his soldiers nearly 20 years later he stepped up to the podium and said to his men, "I stand by Sand Creek." There is no longer a Cheyenne reservation in Colorado, only the Ute ones remain. Most Cheyenne's live in Oklahoma, Wyoming, or Montana now. But those who remain have not forgotten and the Indian community of Denver made an effort the past two days to commemorate the event. Starting yesterday, Indian people in Denver began running back and forth from the steps of the capital to the site of the massacre. It is an incredible distance but they are doing this so that this will never be forgotten. I just thought I'd share this with everyone because I've been feeling really strange today, like I should be mourning or something.
Many links to the Sand
Creek massacre may be found via this site The Background for this page was provided by
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