The Colorado creek stained with the blood of 150 peaceful Cheyenne

Black Kettle’s Fatal Peace Mission Despite Sand Creek

Chief Black Kettle kept trying for peace even when no one else would. He joined the Cheyenne Council in 1854 and soon faced tough choices.

In 1861, he signed the Fort Wise Treaty, giving up land to keep his people safe. President Lincoln even gave him an American flag.

Yet in 1864, Colonel Chivington’s troops killed 150 of Black Kettle’s people at Sand Creek. Black Kettle survived and saved his wife, who had nine bullet wounds.

Still, he signed more treaties in 1865 and 1867. His quest for peace ended on November 27, 1868, when Custer’s cavalry shot him and his wife dead at Washita River.

The Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site now stands as a powerful reminder.

A Pragmatic Leader Rises Among The Cheyenne

Black Kettle became an important voice for the Southern Cheyenne around 1803 in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

The Council of Forty-Four welcomed him as a chief in 1854.

He married into the Wutapai band of Southern Cheyenne and soon led them. Black Kettle saw the growing number of white settlers as too strong to fight.

He built ties with white traders and settlers early on, thinking talks would keep his people safer than fighting.

Thousands Gathered To Sign The First Major Treaty

The Treaty of Fort Laramie in 1851 brought Black Kettle and thousands of Plains tribe members together to let Oregon Trail travelers pass safely through their lands.

The government gave them land between the North Platte and Arkansas Rivers. Peace lasted briefly, but the California Gold Rush pushed more settlers onto native lands.

Through these growing problems, Black Kettle stayed friendly with white fur traders at Bent’s Fort, hoping for peaceful relations.

Six Chiefs Signed Away Most Tribal Lands

Black Kettle signed the Fort Wise Treaty on February 18, 1861, at Bent’s New Fort near today’s Lamar, Colorado.

Only six Southern Cheyenne chiefs and four Arapaho leaders agreed to it. The treaty took away most land promised in the Fort Laramie agreement.

Their new reservation along the Arkansas River was tiny, just one-thirteenth the size of their previous territory. The land had poor soil and no buffalo.

Many Cheyenne bands, like the Dog Soldiers, refused these harsh terms.

Lincoln Gave Him A Flag That Became A Symbol

Black Kettle traveled to Washington D.C. and met President Abraham Lincoln, who gave him a large American flag.

Black Kettle believed flying this flag would keep his people safe from army attacks. The creation of Colorado Territory in 1861 brought new problems however.

The Civil War pulled many soldiers away from the Plains, causing more fights between settlers and tribes. Through it all, Black Kettle kept working for peace despite growing anger on both sides.

Peace Talks In Denver Left False Hope

Black Kettle met with Colorado Governor John Evans and Colonel John Chivington on September 28, 1864, at Camp Weld outside Denver.

He offered to move his people to the Sand Creek reservation near Fort Lyon to avoid war. Other peace chiefs like White Antelope joined him in promising to stay peaceful.

Black Kettle trusted the officials’ words and led his people to what he thought was safety at Sand Creek.

Soldiers Attacked Despite The White Flag Flying

Colonel John Chivington led his troops to attack Black Kettle’s village at Sand Creek on November 29, 1864.

Black Kettle raised both an American flag and a white flag above his tipi, but the soldiers ignored these peace signals.

They killed about 163 Cheyenne people, mostly women and children, in one of the worst massacres of the Indian Wars.

Black Kettle survived, but his wife Medicine Woman took nine bullet and shrapnel wounds. The attack broke trust between the Cheyenne and the U.S. government.

He Rescued His Shot-Up Wife And Still Wanted Peace

Black Kettle carried his badly wounded wife away from Sand Creek and nursed her back to health. Most Southern Cheyenne chiefs turned against his peaceful approach after this brutal attack.

Many warriors joined with Comanche and Kiowa fighters to strike back at white settlements and army posts. Black Kettle still believed fighting would only cause more Cheyenne deaths.

His influence among his people weakened as more warriors chose to fight rather than talk. Still, he kept pushing for peaceful solutions.

The Government Promised To Pay For Sand Creek

Black Kettle signed the Treaty of Little Arkansas River on October 14, 1865, which promised “perpetual peace” between his people and the U.S. government.

Officials admitted the Sand Creek attack was wrong and offered money to families who lost loved ones.

But the treaty also took more land from the Cheyenne and forced them to move toward what is now Oklahoma.

Powerful warrior leaders like Roman Nose and the Dog Soldiers rejected these terms and kept fighting against white expansion.

His Final Treaty Moved His People To Oklahoma

Black Kettle signed the Medicine Lodge Treaty on October 28, 1867, moving the Southern Plains tribes to reservations in present-day Oklahoma.

The U.S. government promised yearly food and supplies to help the relocated tribes survive. These promised goods never showed up after the tribes moved.

Black Kettle lost standing among his people as more warriors joined war leaders who fought against broken promises.

Still, he stuck to his belief that peace offered the only path to survival.

His Last Peace Meeting Was Turned Down

Black Kettle moved his peaceful band to camp along the Washita River in Indian Territory by November 1868.

He traveled to Fort Cobb on November 20 to meet with Colonel William Hazen, seeking protection for his people. Hazen told him there could be no peace until he surrendered directly to General Sheridan.

Though his camp sat within reservation boundaries set by treaty, Osage scouts tracked his people’s movements.

True to his lifelong practice, Black Kettle flew a white flag above his tipi, hoping it would signal his peaceful intentions.

Custer’s Men Shot Him In The Back As He Fled

Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer attacked Black Kettle’s sleeping village at dawn on November 27, 1868.

The 7th Cavalry followed tracks from a Kiowa raiding party to find Black Kettle’s peaceful camp. As the shooting started, Black Kettle and his wife Medicine Woman tried to escape across the Washita River on horseback.

Cavalry soldiers shot them both in the back, killing them as they fled. His death ended decades of tireless work for peace between the Cheyenne and the U.S. government.

The man who had survived the Sand Creek Massacre four years earlier couldn’t escape a second surprise attack.

Visiting Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site, Colorado

Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site honors Chief Black Kettle’s peace efforts with the U.S. government, which continued even after surviving this 1864 attack.

The site is 8 miles north of Chivington, Colorado or 37 miles north of Lamar with 7 miles on gravel road.

You can take ranger programs twice daily and walk the 0.5 mile trail to Monument Hill overlook, then continue on the 1.5 mile Bluff Trail.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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