A Misplaced Massacre: Struggling over the Memory of Sand Creek

by Ari Kelman

  10. “Collected …” and “sand pits” from National Park Service, Intermountain Region, Sand Creek Massacre Project, vol. 1: Site Location Study (Denver: National Park Service, Intermountain Region, 2000), 127 and 135, respectively. “We’ve never had an issue …” from Chuck and Sheri Bowen, interview by author, August 8, 2003, Lamar, CO, tape recording, in author’s possession.

  11. “Compromise” from “Ranchers Oppose Historic Site,” Rocky Mountain News, May 16, 2000, A-7. All other quotes from Chuck and Sheri Bowen interview, August 8, 2003. See also Chuck and Sheri Bowen, “Bowens Undertake Sand Creek Massacre Research,” Watonga Republican, January 1, 2003, B-11.

  12. Alexa Roberts, superintendent, Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site, interview by author, August 26, 2004, telephone, notes in author’s possession.

  13. Quotes from Douglas Scott interview, October 3, 2003. See also Douglas Scott, Great Plains team leader, to Alexa Roberts, site manager, Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site, “Trip Report for 9/17/02,” e-mail, October 7, 2002, in FSCMNHS, now at NPS-WACC.

  14. “In what ways …” from Chuck Bowen to Alexa Roberts, e-mail, November 4, 2002, in FSCMNHS, now at NPS-WACC. “Our work …” from Douglas Scott to Chuck Bowen, e-mail, December 6, 2002, in FSCMNHS, now at NPS-WACC. See also Jefferson Broome to Douglas Scott, e-mail, October 2, 2002, in FSCMNHS, now at NPS-WACC; Douglas Scott interview, October 3, 2003.

  15. Quotes from Janet Frederick, director, Kiowa County Economic Development Corporation, interview by author, June 17, 2003, Eads, CO, tape recording, in author’s possession. See also Rod Brown, Kiowa County Commissioner, interview by author, June 17, 2003, Eads, CO, tape recording, in author’s possession; Rod Johnson, member, Kiowa County Economic Development Corporation, interview by author, June 17, 2003, Eads, CO, tape recording, in author’s possession.

  16. “We had all traded …” from Rod Brown interview, June 17, 2003. “Gateway community,” “rubber tomahawk syndrome,” and “a lot in common …” from Rod Johnson interview, June 17, 2003.

  17. “We’ve got …” from Rod Johnson interview, June 17, 2003. “Ranching-type people” from Rod Brown interview, June 17, 2003.

  18. Alexa Roberts, handwritten text of an untitled presentation, Fort Lewis College, October 18, 2001, in FSCMNHS, now at NPS-WACC.

  19. Rod Johnson interview, June 17, 2003; Rod Brown interview, June 17, 2003.

  20. “Identify with …” from Janet Frederick interview, June 17, 2003. All other quotes from Ruthanna Jacobs, director, Kiowa County Museum, interview by author, June 18, 2003, Eads, CO, tape recording, in author’s possession.

  21. Two of the three inquiries have been collected in John M. Carroll, ed., Sand Creek Massacre: A Documentary History, 1865–1867 (New York: Amereon Limited, 1985).

  22. “Letters received …” and “Congressional investigation” from Rocky Mountain News, December 29, 1864. “Perhaps it was wrong …” and “can only …” from Black Hawk Mining Journal, January 5, 1865. “It is …” and “confessed murderers …” from Rocky Mountain News, January 30, 1865. “Political ambition” and “put money …” from Rocky Mountain News, January 31, 1865.

  23. “On account …” from Major Scott J. Anthony to Colonel Thomas Moonlight, January 21, 1865, Rocky Mountain News, February 1, 1865. All other quotes from Colonel Edward Wynkoop to General James Ford, January 16, 1865, The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1900) (hereafter Official Records of the War of the Rebellion), Series I, XLI, Pt. 1, 959–962. See also Congressional Globe, 38th Cong., 2nd Sess., Pt. 1, 158, 173, 250–255; General Henry Halleck to General Samuel R. Curtis, January 11, 1865, in “Massacre of the Cheyenne Indians,” in Report of the Joint Committee on the Conduct of War (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1865), 74; General Samuel R. Curtis to Colonel Thomas Moonlight, January 13, 1865, Official Records of the War of the Rebellion, Series I, XLVIII, Pt. 1, 511.

  24. Quotes from Statement of Commissioner Samuel F. Tappan, in “Report of the Secretary of War,” 39th Cong., 2nd Sess., Senate Exec. Doc. 26, 8. See also Curtis to Moonlight, January 13, 1865; Colonel Thomas Moonlight to Commissioner Samuel F. Tappan, February 12, 1865, in “Report of the Secretary of War,” 39th Cong., 2nd Sess., Senate Exec. Doc. 26, 3–4; Rocky Mountain News, February 8, 16, 22, 1865.

  25. Moonlight to Tappan, February 12, 1865; Rocky Mountain News, February 9, 16, 1865; Testimony of Silas S. Soule, in “Report of the Secretary of War,” 39th Cong., 2nd Sess., Senate Exec. Doc., 8–29.

  26. Quotes from Report of the Judge Advocate General in the Case of Colonel John M. Chivington, First Colorado Volunteer Cavalry, as quoted in Gary L. Roberts, “Sand Creek: Tragedy and Symbol” (unpublished PhD dissertation, University of Oklahoma, 1984), 497–498. See also T. Harry Williams, Lincoln and the Radicals (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1941), 69–72; Hans L. Trefousse, “The Joint Committee on the Conduct of War: A Reassessment,” Civil War History 10 (1964): 5–19; Deposition of John M. Chivington, in “Report of the Secretary of War,” 39th Cong., 2nd Sess., Senate Exec. Doc. 26, 103–108.

  27. “Massacre of the Cheyenne Indians,” in Report of the Joint Committee on the Conduct of War, iii–v.

  28. “Bloody offense” from Washington Chronicle, July 21, 1865. “An act …” from Chicago Tribune, August 26, 1865. “Of a few …” from Weekly Rocky Mountain News, June 7, 1865. “At present …” quoted in Rocky Mountain News, August 19, 1865. See also Nebraska City News, February 1, 1865.

  29. Quotes from Miniclier, “Sand Creek Site Parcel on Block,” B-1. See also David Melmer, “Owner Stalls Sand Creek Historic Site,” Indian Country Today, March 20, 2002.

  30. “Traditional …” from Laird Cometsevah interview, May 12, 2003. See also Cometsevah to Tabor, March 16, 2002; “Jim Druck Travels to Make Case for Extending Gaming Contract,” Watonga Republican, April 30, 2003, B-4; “Briefing Statement, National Park Service, Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site, April 30, 2002,” in FSCMNHS, now at NPS-WACC; William Dawson interview, June 18, 2003.

  31. Quotes from William Dawson interview, June 18, 2003. See also Steve Brady interview, August 29, 2004.

  32. Quotes from Jim Druck, president, Southwest Entertainment, interview by author, March 14, 2003, Pine, CO, tape recording, in author’s possession. See also “Purchase Agreement Reported for Dawson Land at Sand Creek,” Watonga Republican, May 1, 2002, B-4.

  33. “Win-win” from Kit Miniclier, “Site of Sand Creek Massacre Sold,” Denver Post, April 26, 2002, B-1. “Sand Creek …” from Katie Kerwin McCrimmon, “Sand Creek Healing Can Begin,” Rocky Mountain News, April 27, 2002, B-2. “Thanks to …” from “Honoring Sand Creek,” Denver Post, April 29, 2002, B-7. “If Ground Zero …” from Pablo Mora, “Sacred Soil,” Pueblo Chieftain, May 2, 2002, B-1. “The Cheyenne …” from Clara Bushyhead, “Southern Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes Acquire Massacre Site in Colorado,” Southern Cheyenne and Arapaho Nation News no. 1 (May 2002): 1. See also Owen Good, “Sand Creek Massacre Site Returns to Indians,” Rocky Mountain News, April 29, 2002, A-5; David Phinney, “Indians Celebrate Sand Creek Memorial Purchase,” Pueblo Chieftain, May 9, 2002, B-1; “Purchase Agreement Reported for Dawson Land at Sand Creek,” B-4; Sam Lewin, “Tribe Purchases Massacre Site,” Native American Times, December 17, 2003, in FSCMNHS, now at NPS-WACC.

  34. “Dedicated steward …” from Ben Nighthorse Campbell, U.S. senator, interview by author, September 10, 2003, telephone, tape recording, in author’s possession. “A friend …” from Laird Cometsevah interview, May 12, 2003.

  35. Quotes from Chris Leppek, “Sand Creek: A Genocide Finds a Jewish Redeemer,” Intermountain Jewish News, February 27, 2004, 28–36. See also Jim Druck interview, March 14, 2003; Miniclier, “Site of Sand Creek Massacre Sold,” B-1.

  36. “We’ll just …” from Alexa Roberts, interview by author, September 27, 2004, telephone, notes in author’s possession. “The
sufficiency …” from “Briefing Statement, National Park Service, Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site, February 27, 2003,” in FSCMNHS, now at NPS-WACC. “When Jim Druck …” from James Doyle, Colorado communications director for Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell, interview by author, June 10, 2003, Fort Collins, CO, tape recording, in author’s possession.

  37. “The first thing …” from Rod Brown interview, June 17, 2003. “There’s more …” from James Doyle interview, June 10, 2003.

  38. “Less than five …,” “Are we going …,” “I didn’t want …,” and “It’s far too …” from Jim Druck interview, March 14, 2003. “Mr. Druck paid …” from William Dawson interview, June 18, 2003.

  39. Quotes from “Purchase Agreement Reported for Dawson Land at Sand Creek,” B-4. See also “Sand Creek Land Buy Proposal under Study,” Watonga Republican, April 24, 2002, B-4; “Jim Druck Travels to Make Case for Extending Gaming Contract,” B-4; Kit Miniclier, “ ‘Glitch’ Delays Sand Creek Land Deal: Purchase for Massacre Memorial on Hold,” Denver Post, August 7, 2002, B-8.

  40. Quotes from Colorado Senate Joint Resolution 99-017 in File 6-10, “Civil War Monument, 2002,” in Colorado Historical Society, Denver, CO. See also Robert Martinez, senator, Colorado State Senate, to David F. Halaas, chief historian, Colorado Historical Society, facsimile, Februrary 22, 1999, in File 6-10; David F. Halaas to Robert Martinez, March 15, 1999, in File 6-10; Georgianna Contiguglia, president, Colorado Historical Society, to Robert Martinez, January 20, 1999, in File 6-10. See also “Staff Summary of Capital Development Committee, Agenda Item #3, September 15, 1998,” in File 6-10; Dottie Wham, senator, Colorado State Senate, and chair, Capitol Development Committee, to Tony Grampsas, representative, Colorado House of Representatives, and chair, Capitol Building Advisory Committee, September 17, 1998, in File 6-10; Betty Chronic, vice chair, Capitol Building Advisory Committee, to Dottie Wham, July 31, 1998, in File 6-10; “Summary of Meeting: State Capitol Building Advisory Committee, House Committee Room 0109, State Capitol Building, July 31, 1998,” 1–2, in File 6-10.

  41. Quotes from Joan Johnson, vice chairman, Capitol Building Advisory Committee, State of Colorado, to Terry Phillips, chairman, Capital Development Committee, State of Colorado, October 2, 2002, in File 6-10, “Civil War Monument, 2002.” See also Georgianna Contiguglia, president, Colorado Historical Society, to Modupe Lobode, chief historian, Colorado Historical Society, and Brian Shaw, director, Colorado Roadside Interpretation Project, Colorado Historical Society, e-mail, May 22, 2002, in File 6-10; Brian Shaw to Georgianna Contiguglia, e-mail, May 23, 2002, in File 6-10; “Staff Summary of Meeting, Capitol Building Advisory Committee, June 28, 2002,” in File 6-10; Modupe Lobode to Brian Shaw, e-mail, July 25, 2002, in File 6-10; Brian Shaw to Modupe Lobode, e-mail, July 30, 2002, in File 6-10; “Proposed Agenda, State Capitol Building Advisory Committee, August 16, 2002,” in File 6-10; Georgianna Contiguglia to Steve Tammeus, legislative council staff, Colorado State Legislature; Joan Johnson, vice chairman, Capitol Building Advisory Committee, State of Colorado; Brian Shaw; and Modupe Lobode, e-mail, August 20, 2002, in File 6-10; Steve Tammeus to Modupe Lobode and Brian Shaw, e-mail, September 11, 2002, in File 6-10; Modupe Lobode to Steve Tammeus and Georgianna Contiguglia, e-mail, September 11, 2002, in File 6-10; “Agenda, Capital Development Committee, October 2, 2002,” in File 6-10; Steve Tammeus to Georgianna Contiguglia, e-mail, October 3, 2002, in File 6-10.

  42. Quotes from Steve Tammeus, legislative council staff, Colorado State Legislature, to Joan Johnson, vice chairman, Capitol Building Advisory Committee, State of Colorado; Karen Wilde-Rogers, director, Colorado Commission of Indian Affairs; Georgianna Contiguglia, president, Colorado Historical Society; Heather Wittwer, deputy legal council, office of the governor, State of Colorado; Modupe Lobode, chief historian, Colorado Historical Society; Brian Shaw, director, Colorado Roadside Interpretation Project, Colorado Historical Society; and Scott Grosscup, Colorado State Capitol Advisory Committee, e-mail, October 24, 2002, in File 6-10, “Civil War Monument, 2002.” See also “Text Draft, Sand Creek Massacre Plaque,” January 10, April 11, August 16, 2002, in File 6-10.

  43. Quotes from Deborah Frazier, “138 Years after Sand Creek, ‘Our People Are Still Here,’ ” Rocky Mountain News, November 30, 2002, A-1. See also Robert Tabor, “Sand Creek Trip Culminates in Druck’s Purchase of Land,” Watonga Republican, December 4, 2002, B-4; Kit Miniclier, “Sand Creek History Corrected,” Denver Post, December 1, 2002, B-1; Robert Weller, “History Is Corrected at State Capitol,” Pueblo Chieftain, November 30, 2002, A-1; Deborah Frazier, “Honoring Hallowed Ground,” Rocky Mountain News, November 28, 2002, A-34; “Dedication Ceremony for the Sand Creek Interpretive Plaque, West Steps, State Capitol, November 29, 2002,” in File 6-10, “Civil War Monument, 2002”; “Sand Creek Ceremony, Program Presenters,” in File 6-10; Otto Braided Hair interview, May 11, 2007.

  44. Quotes from “Civil War Memorial,” in File 6-10, “Civil War Monument, 2002”; emphasis added. See also Modupe Lobode, chief historian, Colorado Historical Society, interview by author, June 3, 2005, Denver, CO, tape recording, in author’s possession.

  45. “Colorado and …,” “a mob of 700…,” and “The effort …” from “Anniversary of a Massacre,” Denver Post, November 29, 2002, B-7. All other quotes from Laird Cometsevah interview, May 12, 2003.

  46. Roberts, “Sand Creek: Tragedy and Symbol,” xi–xii, 453; Black Hawk Mining Journal, December 20, 1864, and January 4, February 18 and 24, 1865; “Anniversary of a Massacre,” B-7.

  47. Quotes from Laird and Colleen Cometsevah, Southern Cheyenne Sand Creek descendants, interview by author, May 12, 2003, Denver, CO, tape recording, in author’s possession.

  48. Quote from Jim Druck interview, March 14, 2003. See also “Jim Druck Travels to Make Case for Extending Gaming Contract,” B-4.

  49. Quote from Alexa Roberts interview, September 27, 2004. See also Jim Druck interview, March 14, 2003.

  50. “Did you see …” from author’s notes, Annual Assembly of the Order of the Indian Wars, Colorado Springs, CO, September 4, 2003, in author’s possession. “Twenty-Fourth Annual Assembly of the Order of the Indian Wars, September 4–6, 2003,” conference program, in FSCMNHS, now at NPS-WACC.

  51. Quotes from Jerry Russell, CEO, Order of the Indian Wars, interview by author, September 12, 2003, telephone, tape recording, in author’s possession. See also Order of the Indian Wars, http://www.indianwars.com/; “An Arkansas Original,” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, December 11, 2003, 20; “Jerry L. Russell: His Jingles Left Mark on Political Contests,” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, December 6, 2003, 14.

  52. “It’s tedious …,” “the Sand Creek Battlefield,” “decision to …,” and “When did …” from Jerry Russell interview, September 12, 2003. All other quotes from Jerry L. Russell, “Refighting the Civil War: Park Service Wants to Talk about the Causes,” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, October 20, 2002, 92.

  53. Quote from Jerry Russell interview, September 12, 2003. See also Stephen Deere, “Historian Dee Brown Dead at 94,” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, December 13, 2002, 20; Douglas Martin, “Dee Brown, 94, Author Who Revised Image of West,” New York Times, December 14, 2002, A-27; “Dee Brown: Bury His Spirit at Wounded Knee,” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, December 17, 2002, 12; T. Louise Freeman-Toole, “Dee Brown’s Legacy Lives On,” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, December 14, 2003, 100.

  54. “Permanent Indian …,” “the culture …,” and “it was …” from Dee Brown, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West (New York: Henry Holt, 1970), 7, xvii, 445. “I’m a very old Indian …” from Martin, “Dee Brown, 94,” A-27.

  55. Quotes from Brown, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, 86, 90.

  56. “Polemic” from Thomas F. Schilz, “The Indian Frontier of the American West: An Indian History of the American West, by Robert F. Utley,” American Indian Quarterly 8 (Autumn 1984): 351. “Believing that …” from Tom Philips, “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian H
istory of the American West, by Dee Brown,” Wisconsin Magazine of History 55 (Spring 1972): 250. “Committed errors” and “distorted …” from Henry E. Fritz, “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West, by Dee Brown,” Pacific Historical Review 41 (November 1972): 539. All other quotes from Francis Paul Prucha, “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West, by Dee Brown,” American Historical Review, 77 (April 1972): 589.

  57. “Original …” and “it is a book …” from Thomas Lask, “ ‘A People’s Dream Died There,’ ” New York Times, February 2, 1971, BR-35. “The first accurate …,” “this is a book …,” and “White people …” from Phyllis Pearson, “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, by Dee Brown,” Montana: The Magazine of Western History 22 (Winter 1972): 69. See also “Best Seller List,” New York Times, March 14, 1971, BR-45; “Best Seller List,” New York Times, April 9, 1972, BR-45; Deere, “Historian Dee Brown Dead at 94,” 20; Martin, “Dee Brown, 94,” A-27; “Dee Brown: Bury His Spirit at Wounded Knee,” 12.

  58. Quote from Philips, “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee,” 249. See also Charles Wilkinson, Blood Struggle: The Rise of Modern Indian Nations (New York: W. W. Norton, 2005), 136–149; Richard DeLuca, “ ‘We Hold the Rock!’: The Indian Attempt to Reclaim Alcatraz Island,” California History 62 (Spring 1983): 2–22; Jack D. Forbes, “Alcatraz: Symbol and Reality,” California History 62 (Spring 1983): 24–25; Carolyn Strange and Tina Loo, “Holding the Rock: The ‘Indianization’ of Alcatraz Island, 1969–1999,” Public Historian 23 (Winter 2001): 55–74; Dean J. Kotlowski, “Alcatraz, Wounded Knee, and Beyond: The Nixon and Ford Administrations Respond to Native American Protest,” Pacific Historical Review 72 (May 2003): 201–227; Troy Johnson, “The Occupation of Alcatraz Island: Roots of American Indian Activism,” Wicazo Sa Review 10 (Autumn 1994): 63–79; James S. Olson and Randy Roberts, My Lai: A Brief History with Documents (New York: Bedford Books, 1998), 2–35; Kendrick Oliver, The My Lai Massacre in American History and Memory (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2007), 11–52; Steven Sutcliffe, Children of the New Age: A History of Alternative Spirituality (New York: Routledge, 2003), 1–30.