THE SAND CREEK MASSACRE

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
It's time for the legendary law and order stories of
the wild West. This podcast features of forensic psychologists the
looks of the history of the most infamous and famous
outlaws and cowboys of the wild West. So sit back,
Parker and take you listen.

Speaker 2 (00:28):
I've been talking about today the Sand Creek Massacre of
eighteen sixty four. On November twenty nine to eighteen sixty four,
significant events known as the Sand Creek Massacre took place
in southeastern Colorado, involving a violent encounter between US military
forces and Native American groups. It was actually referenced in
Iron Man, which gave me the idea to do the

(00:49):
podcast today. I think it was an iron Man three
the movie. The event the Curb in Colorado, Territorial militia
led by Colonel John Shivington, attacked an encampment of Cheyenne
and Arapaho people along Sand Creek. The encamped and led
by Cheyenne chief Black Kettle, included approximately seven hundred individuals.
You see, Black Kettle had raised a white flag in

(01:11):
an American flag to indicate peaceful intentions following prior communications
with US authorities. Colonel Chimmington's force, numbering around seven hundred,
launching attack at dawn. Estimates of the death toll vary,
with historical records indicating between seventy and two hundred and
thirty Cheyenne or Rapahoe were killed. Many of them were women, children,
and elders. Reports from the time, including soldiers accounts, note

(01:33):
that somebodies were mutilated, with scalps and other body parts
taken by the militia members. The Sand Creek massacre occurred
during a period of heightened tensions known as the Indian Wars,
marked by conflicts between US forces and Native American tribes.
Another notable event from eighteen sixty four was the relocation
of the Navajo people known as the Long Walk, where
approximately two hundred died during a forced march to a

(01:55):
reservation in New Mexico. Following the Sand Creek attack, congressional
and military investigations were conducted. These inquiries criticized the actions
of Shivington's militia described the event as unjustified, though no
penalties were imposed on Shivington. Historical records, including military reports,
survivor testimonies in Cheyenne oral histories, provide detail accounts of

(02:17):
the massacre. Some contemporary perspectives view the event within the
context of mutual conflicts, referencing earlier incidents like the Dakotah
War of eighteen sixty two, where Native American groups engaged
in hostilities with settlers. However, documentation confirms the Cheyenne Rappaho
at Sand Creek were not engaged in conflicts at the
time of the attack. It was a tragic event, resulting

(02:40):
in a significant loss of life among the Cheyenne Arapaho