Sand Creek

Colorado · United States · Haunted site

On 29 November 1864, soldiers attacked a Cheyenne and Arapaho village here that was flying a United States flag. Most of the dead were women and children.

On the morning of 29 November 1864, Colorado troops under Colonel John Chivington attacked a Cheyenne and Arapaho village camped along Sand Creek in what is now Kiowa County.

The village had been told it was under the protection of the army. Black Kettle flew a United States flag above his lodge, and a white flag beneath it.

Around two hundred and thirty people were killed. The great majority were women, children and the elderly, hunted along the creek bed as they tried to escape, and many were mutilated afterwards.

Congress investigated and condemned it. The word used in the official record was massacre.

What is reported at the site is not the point of this entry and never has been. The Cheyenne and Arapaho consider this ground sacred and return to it, and what happened here is remembered by descendants of the people it was done to.

It is now a National Historic Site. Visit it as what it is.

FAQ

Where is Sand Creek located?

Sand Creek is in Colorado, United States.