Chief's Village at Sand Creek
The Cheyenne and Arapaho Village at Sand Creek was a
Chief's village with 33 chiefs and headmen present. To be
a chief in the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes is to undertake
a responsibility so vast only . . . — — Map (db m181887) HM WM
Sand Pits Offer Life and Death Chief Black Kettle and George Bent sought shelter in
a sand pit with almost one hundred others. South of
them another hundred survivors sheltered in two other
sand pits, but soldiers brought up the . . . — — Map (db m181071) HM
Cheyenne Peace Chief Black Kettle As the soldiers' gunfire increased, and artillery began
firing deadly salvos toward the village, Black Kettle
remained in camp. In a final show of desperate hope,
the chief hoisted an American and . . . — — Map (db m182290) HM WM
Activity in the Villages
As the attack moved toward the northern-most Cheyenne
and Arapaho encampments, tribal members sought to
escape, even as artillery shells exploded overhead.
Within the first hour of the attack command and . . . — — Map (db m181252) HM WM
A Camp at Sand Creek
Along the northern edge of the Pónoeo 'hé'e (Dry River) or
Sand Creek, sit about 156 lodges or tipis, with hoóxé’e or
tipi poles rising into the sky. Traditionally positioned with
their entrances open toward . . . — — Map (db m181240) HM
Some Soldiers Refuse to Fight Shortly after opening fire on the village, 1st Regiment
soldiers moved along both sides of the village. Cpt. Soule
and Lt. Cramer led their men west, around the fighting,
and purposefully did not . . . — — Map (db m181873) HM
Captain Silas S. Soule and Lieutenant Joseph A. Cramer of the 1st Colorado (U.S.) Volunteer Cavalry put their military
careers - and lives - at risk by refusing to fire during the attack against a peaceful Cheyenne and Arapaho village at
Sand . . . — — Map (db m180846) HM
In the Cheyenne and Arapaho camps, the early hours of
November 29, 1864 started like any other day – people up
before sunrise greeted the day cautiously, but with little
trepidation. “Heap of Buffalos Coming!”
Always alert to . . . — — Map (db m180915) HM
The Fort Lyon Reservation
Created in 1861 by the Treaty of Fort Wise, the Upper
Arkansas Agency Reservation, known later as the Fort
Lyon Reservation, was established for those Cheyenne and
Arapaho living below the South Platte . . . — — Map (db m180906) HM
Grasslands are some of the most biologicaly productive but endangered ecosystems on
Earth, and are the major ecosystem in the
Great Plains. The prairie is integral in shaping this cultural landscape. It supports the interaction and survival of . . . — — Map (db m185037) HM
Women at Sand Creek
During the soldiers' attack, men in the village put up the
best defense they could. But displays of bravery were not
exclusive to warriors; many women risked their lives to
protect their families as well. Women . . . — — Map (db m181477) HM
Accountings of a Massacre
Captain Soule and Lieutenant Cramer put their lives
and careers in jeopardy when they refused to attack the
Cheyenne and Arapaho at Sand Creek. Both men wrote
letters detailing atrocities they witnessed . . . — — Map (db m184923) HM
A Scene of a Tragedy, a Hallowed Landscape
As the final shots faded throughout the valley and
November 29 drew to a close, approximately 230
Cheyenne and Arapaho lay dead. Most of those
killed were women, children and the . . . — — Map (db m180954) HM
"Many years have passed. The land is still here. We lived here, our clans lived here. The land here is our home - we have come back home."
Arapaho:
Wonoo3ei’i ceciniihi’ coowoo’ou’u. Nih’iine’etiino’ hiitiino. Neito’eininoo . . . — — Map (db m180924) HM WM
Sacred Memory
Sand Creek is a place where culture and history are at the
center of controversy, trauma, anger, and forgiveness. A
place to reflect on the past as well as the future, the Sand
Creek Massacre teaches powerful . . . — — Map (db m181063) HM WM
Camp Site Along the Smokey Hill Lodgepole Trail In the 1800's Plains tribes like the Cheyenne and Arapaho
moved their camps using travois to carry their possessions.
Made by securing lodge poles to a horse, the ends of . . . — — Map (db m180907) HM
3rd Regiment Attacks
Hearing gun fire from the vicinity of the village,
soldiers of the 3rd Regiment, approximately two
miles west of this location, disobeyed orders and
turned their horses toward the bluffs. Somewhere
in the . . . — — Map (db m181097) HM WM
On November 29, 1864, U.S. Colonel John Chivington and 700 volunteer troops attacked an encampment of Cheyenne and Arapaho along Sand Creek. The thunderous approach of horses galloping toward camp at dawn sent hundreds fleeing from their tipis. Many . . . — — Map (db m180927) HM
Pony Herds Threatened
First to see soldiers approaching were two young men, King
Fisher and Little Bear, who were tending the horse herds
grazing to the south. In 1906, Little Bear described that
fateful day: “As I was going . . . — — Map (db m181575) HM
We ran up the creek with the cavalry following us…The dry bed of the stream was
now a terrible sight: men, women, and children lying thickly scattered on the sand, some dead and the rest too badly wounded to move… George . . . — — Map (db m181944) HM WM
The flag before you represents the flag that flew from Chief Black Kettle's lodge on the morning of November
29, 1864, when his encampment of friendly Cheyenne and Arapaho was brutally attacked by the Colorado
(U.S.) Volunteer Cavalry. The . . . — — Map (db m184925) HM
Sand Creek Massacre
National Historic Site
Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site memorializes the massacre of nearly two hundred Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians.
Near dawn on November 29, 1864, detachments of the 1st . . . — — Map (db m107179) HM
Though the Sand Creek Massacre has long passed, memories live on. Cheyenne and Arapaho return here to pray and pay tribute to ancestors who both perished and survived that dreadful day.
Ever resilient, the Cheyenne and Arapaho nations of today . . . — — Map (db m181060) HM
Plains Indian Life
By the nineteenth century, Colorado’s southeastern plains country was home to many native peoples, including Comanches, Kiowas, Plains Apaches, Arapahos, and Cheyennes. Although vastly different in language and . . . — — Map (db m107178) HM
(Front Side)
Kiowa County pays tribute to all men and women who served honorably in the armed forces to preserve America’s freedom
(Rear Side)
“All gave some
Some gave all”
“Freedom is not . . . — — Map (db m107174) WM
"All we ask is that we may have peace with the whites...We want to take good tidings home to our people, that they may sleep in peace."
Cheyenne Chief Black Kettle
As tensions mounted, Chiefs Black Kettle and Left Hand pled . . . — — Map (db m181243) HM
”Many years have passed. The land is still here. We lived here, our clans lived here. The land here is our home - we have come back home.”
Arapaho:
Wonoo3ei’i ceciniihi’ coowoo’ou’u. Nih’iine’etiino’ hiitiino. Neito’eininoo . . . — — Map (db m180923) HM
In the aftermath of Sand Creek, federal investigations and military inquiry took place. Dozens of eyewitness' provided testimony. Taken in Washington, D.C., Denver City, Fort Lyon, and other locations, officers, soldiers, and civilians came forth. . . . — — Map (db m181061) HM
A barrage of arms fire was leveled against the Cheyenne and Arapaho. Amid the wild confusion, soldiers noticed people at the village “... going slowly away in a sort of listless, and dazed, or confused manner ...” Throughout the morning and into the . . . — — Map (db m181242) HM
Erected through the cooperation of Federal, State and local governments by Works Progress Administration. Dedicated to the enrichment of human lives. A record of permanent achievement. — — Map (db m118240) HM
For years, Cheyenne and Arapaho traveled and hunted the Great Plains in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains. But in 1858, gold fever struck in Colorado Territory. Miners rushed in and tens of thousands of settlers followed. Competition for land became . . . — — Map (db m181241) HM
