Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site is a National Historic Site in Kiowa County, Colorado, commemorating the Sand Creek massacre that occurred here on November 29, 1864. The site is considered sacred after the unprovoked assault on an encampment of approximately 750 Native people resulted in the murder of hundreds of men, women and children. Near Eads and Chivington, the site is about southeast of

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and about east of

Pueblo Pueblo refers to the settlements of the Pueblo peoples, Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, currently in New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. The permanent communities, including some of the oldest continually occupied settlement ...

. A few basic park facilities have been opened at this site. In 1999, archaeological teams from the National Park Service, Dept. of the Interior BLM, Colorado Historical Society and accompanied by Native American observers, made a major archaeological discovery of remains of the massacre site. Large numbers of period bullets, camp equipment, and other items convinced the NPS that they had found the correct site. The Historic Site was authorized by Public Law 106-465 on November 7, 2000, in order to "recognize the national significance of the massacre in American history, and its ongoing significance to the Cheyenne and

Arapaho The Arapaho ( ; , ) are a Native American people historically living on the plains of Colorado and Wyoming. They were close allies of the Cheyenne tribe and loosely aligned with the Lakota and Dakota. By the 1850s, Arapaho bands formed t ...

people and the descendants of the massacre victims." The law authorized establishment of the site once the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

acquired sufficient land from willing sellers to preserve, commemorate, and interpret the massacre. The site near the junction of County Road 54 and County Road "W" was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on September 28, 2001. The site contains a small visitor center, interpretive plaques and signage, monuments located on a hilltop overlooking the massacre site, and two walking trails. The massacre site itself is off-limits to visitors. On August 2, 2005, President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

gave final approval for the site. On April 23, 2007, it was announced that site would become America's 391st official park unit with an effective date of April 27, 2007. The dedication ceremony was held on April 28, 2007. In October 2022, leaders from the Northern Arapaho Tribe, the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, the Cheyenne and

Tribes along with descendants of some of the massacre’s victims and survivors joined Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland at the site as she announced the purchase of an additional . The area included lands listed on the National Register of Historic Places for their significance. Archaeological remains include evidence of the village where Cheyenne and Arapaho families were camped, along with an intact viewshed that is key to the integrity of the site. The expansion of the site contributed to one of the most intact

shortgrass prairie The shortgrass prairie is an ecosystem located in the Great Plains of North America. The two most dominant grasses in the shortgrass prairie are blue grama (''Bouteloua gracilis'') and buffalograss (''Bouteloua dactyloides''), the two less domin ...

ecosystems within the National Park system, providing habitat for a wide range of plants, wildlife and species of special concern. Currently, the site encompasses of which are federally owned. By 2004, the federal government acquired from private landowners. On September 9, 2006, the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma conveyed to the United States title to to be held in trust for the National Historic Site. The site includes acquired and preserved by the American Battlefield Trust and its partners.
Land Saved by the American Battlefield Trust, accessed May 18, 2018.

References

External links

Sand Creek Massacre Site National Register of Historic Places

– National Park Service
The Conservation Fund
– Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site {{authority control Massacres of Native Americans National Historic Sites in Colorado Protected areas established in 2007 Protected areas of Kiowa County, Colorado Conflict sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Colorado 2007 establishments in Colorado Grasslands of Colorado Anti-Indigenous racism in Colorado

See also

References

External links