The 1864 Sand Creek Massacre was a dark part of Colorado history. It was the focus of a Wednesday presentation at the Center of Southwest Studies at Fort Lewis College.
On Nov. 29, 1864, about 675 U.S. Cavalry attacked a large encampment of Cheyenne and Arapaho near Big Sandy Creek in Southeast Colorado. The Native Americans at the camp had surrendered to the United States government and were gathered for peace talks when the attack occurred.
Shelby Tisdale, director of the center, focused on more than the events of Sand Creek.
"It was such a tragic event, but I also want to talk about some of the more recent activities in the creation of the Sand Creek National Historic Site," she said.
As part of her preparation for the talk, Tisdale visited the Sand Creek Massacre site near Eads.
"You really have to go out there to understand what happened and see the site and feel the presence of the people there."
The Sand Creek site was established in 2007, and as such is relatively new to the National Park Service, said Karen Wilde, tribal liaison for the site.
As a location that commemorates a dark chapter in America's history, the park has a mission that is different from most other parks, said Shawn Gillette, chief of interpretation for the site.
"One of the park's missions is to educate people so that something like this never occurs again."
Gillette believes that is an important part of what the Park Service does.
"We tell both the good stories and the not-so-good stories, too," he said. As part of the telling of the story of Sand Creek, the Park Service tries to dispel myths about the massacre and place the event in context of what was occurring during the time, such as the end of the Civil War and the westward expansion of the United States.
Tisdale drew connections between the massacre and the American Indian Wars, as well as highlighting some of the ways the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes are still affected by the event, she said.
The tribes lost 13 "Peace Chiefs" in the massacre, Wilde said. "Not only was it a horrific event for them in 1864, it also is horrific for them now because they lost a lot of significant information and knowledge."
Luke Perkins is a full-time student at Fort Lewis College and an intern at the Durango Herald. He can be reached at Lukep@durangoherald.com.
