The+Sand+Creek+Massacre

Charisse Hilton Am In 210 4/17/2011

The Sand Creek Massacre
The Sand Creek Massacre (also known as the **Chivington Massacre**) refers to a famous genocidal event against Native Americans. This event took place the 29th of November in 1864, when an army of between 650 and 700 voluntary soldiers viciously attacked a peaceful village of Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians. This surprise attack left a large amount of natives dead, most of whom where women and children.



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During the spring and summer months of 1864, Cheyenne Indians began to retaliate against white settlers thorough the running of raids all through out the West. Consequently, John Evans (the Governor of the Colorado Territory) asked that all peaceful Indians to separate themselves from their more hostile counterparts. Moreover, he also issued a proclamation authorizing all citizens of Colorado to: ======

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John Evan’s words in the summer of 1864, would eventually lead to the murder over one hundred innocent people. However, mean while, many native Americans were still seeking peace with the whites. Consequently, the Treaty of Fort Wise was signed, and Black Kettle (leader of the Cheyenne people) migrated to a location near Big Sandy Creek in Colorado to live a life separate from their more hostile counter parts. However, they were unaware of the horrific events which would take place following the months of their “peaceful” negations. ======

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By late November John M. Chivington had assembled a voluntary militia of, about, 700 men. And by dawn on November 29th, 1864, Chivington and his voluntary militia, would reach the Indian encampment. For an estimated six to eight hours after they reach the camp the most horrific attack had commenced. Men, women, and children were shot at random. However, this was only the beginning of the horror. Chivington and his men would torture and mutilate their victims. ======

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"There was one little child, probably three years old.....[T]he Indians had gone ahead, and this little child was following after them...I saw one man get off his horse at a distance of about seventy-five yards, and draw up his rifle and fire - he missed the child. Another man came up and said, "Let me try the son of a bitch; I can hit him." He got down off his house, kneeled down and fired at the little child, but he missed him. A third man came up and made a similar remark, and fired, and the little fellow dropped." ======

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By the end of the mass killing, amazingly, about 500 Cheyennes and Arapahos escaped with their lives. However, some were between 150 and 200 Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians lay dead. Among the casualties, about two-thirds were women and young children. In letters written by those soldiers present at the massacre, many of the men expressed a deep shame with regards to the events at Sand Creek. ======

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"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..." ======

Consequences
While there were some men who felt a deep sense of shame at what they had done to the victims of Sand Creek, many other soliders and citizens of Colorado regarded the slaughter as a “victory.” However, throughout the nation the acts of Chivington and his men were condemned. Judge Advocate General Joseph Holt called it a “cowardly and cold-blooded slaughter, sufficient to cover its perpetrators with indelible infamy." Moroever, the US government was swift with regards to its actions as a result of the massacre. President Lincoln removed John Evans as governor of the Colorado Territory as a result of his role in allowing Chivington to commit the acts he did at Sand Creek. However, no one else was ever held accountable for the slaughter that took place on November 29th, 1864. Moreover, as a result of the controversy surrounding the Sand Creek Massacre, Colorado Territory’s statehood was delayed and up for more debate.

**Sand Creek Memorial**
For about a century after the massacre at Sand Creek, the site of the killing had been used by settlers for agricultural activities. Consequently, those activities lead to some huge environmental problems for the land and surrounding areas. These areas have been affected by not only the farming activities, but also hunting, erosion, development, and natural fires. All of these actions, obviously, forced the land to change significincatly. As a consequence, by 1998 the National Park Service decided to preserve the location of the massacre as a result of its historical significance. It took many years; however, by 2007 the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site was finally established. Additionally, according to the Sand Creek Massacre National Historical Site’s website, the overall purpose of the park is to “preserve and protect the cultural landscape of the massacre, enhance public understanding, and minimize similar events in the future.”



**Annotated Bibliography**
1. [|University of Colorado: Sand Creek Massacre] "Sand Creek Massacre." //University of Colorado Boulder//. Colorado Endowment for the Humanities. Web. 12 Apr. 2011. This website is a collection of many articles and sources from which one can learn about the Sand Creek Massacre. This website also just gives the reader a basic overview of what exactly happened during the Sand Creek Massacre and why it is significant.

2. [|National Historic Site Marks 1864 Sand Creek Massacre] "National Historic Site Marks 1864 Sand Creek Massacre." //Military History// 24.5 (2007): 10. //Academic Search Elite//. EBSCO. Web. 12 Apr. 2011. While this article had some similar information as the previous article, something unique and worth mentioning from this pieces is the statistical details taken about this event. This article shares more specific numbers regarding the number of men who participated in the attack as well as an estimated number of Indian casualties. Moreover, this article gives some more details regarding the rest of American's reaction to the massacre.

3. [|Digital History: The Sand Creek Massacre] "The Sand Creek Massacre." //Digital History//. 2011. Web. 13 Apr. 2011. This article gives its reader a quick overview of the of the some of the events which lead up to the massacre at Sand Creek, as well as some of the consequences of that event. Additionally, this article tells of some of the hideous cruelties were experienced by the Native people in gruesome detail.

4. [|New Perspectives on The West: Colorado] "PBS - THE WEST - Sand Creek." //PBS: Public Broadcasting Service//. The West Film Project and WETA Credits, 2001. Web. 13 Apr. 2011. . According to PBS’s website THE WEST is a documentary series which first aired in 1996. It consists of multiple episodes, each featuring different conflicts and other significant events with happened in The West. Its website also dedicates itself to remembering and acknowledging important events in The West, including the Sand Creek mass killing which happened in 1864. This site has many useful maps and rare photographs relating to Sand Creek.

5. [|Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site] "Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)." //U.S. National Park Service - Experience Your America//. 2011. Web. 13 Apr. 2011. This is the website for the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site (national park). The site contains many interesting photographs and some information about the history and culture of the park.

6. [|Sand Creek Papers, 1861-1864] "Sand Creek Papers, 1861-1864,Mf 0018." //Colorado College Tutt Library: Special Collections//. 2006. Web. 13 Apr. 2011. This website gives a brief historical overview of the events which took place on November 29, 1864. In addition, it contains several letters written in relation to the massacre.

7. [|Britannica: The Sand Creek Massacre] "Sand Creek Massacre." //Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online//. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 13 Apr. 2011 This website outline some of the basic events surrounding the Sand Creek Massacre. Additionally, the website offers many great links to find out more information on the topic.

8. [|Archaeology Magazine: Sand Creek Massacre] Smiley, Brenda. "Sand Creek Massacre." //Archaeology Magazine//. 1999. Web. 13 Apr. 2011. This web source gives more of a modern insight regarding the events at Sand Creek. They use more “modern” technology to answer old questions like whether or not the natives were really attacked off guard or not. Additionally, the site offers some great images of artifacts found at the site of the massacre.

9. [|Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture] "BLACK KETTLE (ca. 1812-1868)." //Oklahoma State University - Library - Home//. Oklahoma Historical Society. Web. 13 Apr. 2011. This article gives us a detailed and in depth view into what is currently known about Black Kettle’s life from what little is known about his early life to his death in the Battle of Washita. It also focuses a great deal on the events which happened at Sand Creek.

10. [|Sand Creek (1864)] "Sand Creek (1864)." //Sand Creek (Chivington Massacre)//. 2011. Web. 13 Apr. 2011. This brief article gives a quick overview of the Sand Creek Massacre. Additionally, this site gives a few more details regarding the massacre’s potential “purpose” and its actual location. Moreover, its article also gives some more specific dates with regards to when the massacre took place.

11. [|Battle Summaries: Sand Creek] "Battle Summary: Sand Creek, CO." //Heritage Preservation Services//. The American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP). Web. 13 Apr. 2011. This article offers another brief description of the Sand Creek Massacre. Additionally, this article included unique details such as the “forces engaged” in the conflict and the estimated casualties.

12. [|Indian Wars] "Indian Wars." //Indian Wars//. University of Idaho. Web. 13 Apr. 2011. This article discusses all Indian wars in general, however the article does go into specific detail about Sand Creek. This article, uniquely, discusses some more information regarding the Sand Creek Massacre and how it began.

13. The Sand Creek Massacre Hoig, Stan. //The Sand Creek Massacre.// Norman: University of Oklahoma, 1961. Print. This novel discusses the massacre at Sand Creek in great detail. It provides the reader with numerous eye-witness testimonies.

14. [|Colorado Volunteers Civil War] Elswick, M.S. "Colorado Volunteers Civil War." //Colorado.gov: The Official State Web Portal//. 26 Apr. 2001. Web. 13 Apr. 2011. This website lists several articles from the Colorado State Archives. The site discusses, more specifically, what lead up to the mass killings of Sand Creek. Moreover, they also spend some time going over the Cheyenne and Arapahoe’s retaliation.

15. [|Governor John Evans] "Colorado Governor John Evans." //Colorado.gov: The Official State Web Portal//. Web. 14 Apr. 2011. From the same Colorado state website, they give a brief over view of former Governor John Evans’ life. This article is highly relevant with regard to the events at Sand Creek because they discuss his role in the massacre and the consequences of his actions.

16. [|John Chivington] "John Chivington." //Civil War Trust: Saving America's Civil War Battlefields//. Civil War Trust, 2011. Web. 14 Apr. 2011. This article discusses the life of John Chivington. Moreover, it gives some specific details regarding his role in the Sand Creek Massacre.

17. [|Sand Creek: An Environmental History] Mitchell, Elizabeth, and Julia Langfield. "Sand Creek Massacre Site: An Environmental History." Diss. Colorado State University, 2007. //Home.nps.gov//. 2007. Web. 13 Apr. 2011. This dissertation gives an excellent overview and insight in to the events which lead up to the massacre at Sand Creek. This article also goes into great detail about the enviromental history at Sand Creek and the significance of that.

18. [|The Search for the Site of the Sand Creek Massacre] Whitacre, Christine. "Prologue: Selected Articles." //National Archives and Records Administration//. 2001. Web. 14 Apr. 2011. This article talks about how archeologists discovered the exact site of the Sand Creek Massacre. This article also has some excellent pictures of great artifacts from the battle.

19. The Massacre at Sand Creek: Narrative Voices Cutler, Bruce. //The Massacre at Sand Creek: Narrative Voices//. Norman: University of Oklahoma, 1995. Print. This novel gives a much more indepth view about the masacre and some of its aftermath.

20. American Holocaust Stannard, David E. Preface. //American Holocaust: Columbus and the Conquest of the New World//. New York: Oxford UP, 1992. Xi. Print. This novel goes into great detail about the Holocaust and genocide against American Indians which has taken place for many hundreds of years. The author, Stannard, briefly uses an example of such horrific genocide by describing one event at Sand Creek in which a three year old boy was shot and killed.