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“MANY people think of the Civil War and America’s Indian wars as distinct subjects, one following the other. But those who study the Sand Creek Massacre know different.
On Nov. 29, 1864, as Union armies fought through Virginia and Georgia, Col. John Chivington led some 700 cavalry troops in an unprovoked attack on peaceful Cheyenne and Arapaho villagers at Sand Creek in Colorado. They murdered nearly 200 women, children and older men.
Sand Creek was one of many assaults on American Indians during the war, from Patrick Edward Connor’s massacre of Shoshone villagers along the Idaho-Utah border at Bear River on Jan. 29, 1863, to the forced removal and incarceration of thousands of Navajo people in 1864 known as the Long Walk.
In terms of sheer horror, few events matched Sand Creek. Pregnant women were murdered and scalped, genitalia were paraded as trophies, and scores of wanton acts of violence characterize the accounts of the few Army officers who dared to report them. Among them was Capt. Silas Soule, who had been with Black Kettle and Cheyenne leaders at the September peace negotiations with Gov. John Evans of Colorado, the region’s superintendent of Indians affairs (as well as a founder of both the University of Denver and Northwestern University). Soule publicly exposed Chivington’s actions and, in retribution, was later murdered in Denver.”
– NY Times, Remember the Sand Creek Massacre.
“Members of the Arapaho and Cheyenne tribes gathered Saturday to remember the Sand Creek Massacre on the 150th Anniversary. The tribes gathered near Eads, Colorado for a private ceremony where nearly 200 Native Americans, mostly women and children, were slaughtered by Army soldiers of the Colorado Territory militia. The Sand Creek Massacre occurred on November 29, 1864.
There were a number of public events planned at the national historic site, 23 miles east of Eads. Some of the events included screenings of films about the massacre and discussion sessions.
One hundred fifty years ago, nearly 700 people were camped at Sand Creek on the southeastern plains. It was a location that they believed was safe. And it was safe, until Civil War hero Col. John Chivington attacked the camp with his soldiers, slaughtering many Arapaho and Cheyenne people. After the battle, Chivington paraded through the streets of Denver with body parts of the victims on display.”
– Guardian Liberty Voice, Sand Creek Remembrance by Tribes.
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Download the 18″x24″ poster (.pdf), Indian Country 52 #48 – Sand Creek Massacre.
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Indian Country 52
Indian Country 52 is a weekly project by David Bernie that uses the medium of posters that promote issues and stories in Indian Country.
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This work by David Bernie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. You may download, share, and post the images under the condition that the works are attributed to the artist.
