Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site

National Historic Site of the United States

38°32′27″N 102°31′43″W / 38.54083°N 102.52861°W / 38.54083; -102.52861Area12,583 acres (50.92 km²)^[1]EstablishedApril 27, 2007 (2007-April-27)Visitors5,701 (in 2019)^[2]Governing bodyNational Park ServiceWebsiteSand Creek Massacre National Historic Site

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 170 miles (270 km) southeast of Denver and about 125 miles (200 km) east of Pueblo. 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 people and the descendants of the massacre victims." The law authorized establishment of the site once the National Park Service 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 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.^[3] The massacre site itself is off-limits to visitors.

On August 2, 2005, President George W. Bush gave final approval for the site. On April 23, 2007, it was announced that site would become America's 391st official park unit^[4] with an effective date of April 27, 2007.^[5] The dedication ceremony was held on April 28, 2007.^[6] In October 2022, leaders from the Northern Arapaho Tribe, the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, the Cheyenne and Arapaho 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 3,478 acres (1,407 ha).^[7] 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.^[8] The expansion of the site contributed to one of the most intact shortgrass prairie ecosystems within the National Park system, providing habitat for a wide range of plants, wildlife and species of special concern.^[9]

Currently, the site encompasses 12,583 acres (50.92 km²) of which 2,385 acres (9.65 km²) are federally owned.^[1]^{[needs update]} By 2004, the federal government acquired 920 acres (3.7 km²) from private landowners. On September 9, 2006, the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma conveyed to the United States title to 1,465 acres (6 km²) to be held in trust for the National Historic Site.^[5] The site includes 640 acres (260 ha) acquired and preserved by the American Battlefield Trust and its partners.^[10]

References

This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Park Service.

^ ^a ^b "Listing of acreage – December 31, 2011" (XLSX). Land Resource Division, National Park Service. Retrieved March 19, 2012. (National Park Service Acreage Reports)
^ "NPS Annual Recreation Visits Report". National Park Service. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
^ Sand Creek Massacre Site Pamphlet. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. 2017.
^ U.S. Dept. of Interior. "Secretary Kempthorne Creates Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site". Retrieved May 2, 2007.
^ ^a ^b Dirk Kempthorne. "Notice of Establishment of the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site". Federal Register Volume 72, Number 81, pp. 21048-21049. Archived from the original on August 18, 2017. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
^ National Park Service. "Sand Creek Massacre NHS Dedication, Schedule of Events" (PDF). Retrieved May 2, 2007.
^ Cooke, Kyle (October 5, 2022). "Sand Creek Massacre site expands by nearly 3,500 acres". Rocky Mountain PBS. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
^ Langmaid, Virginia (October 9, 2022). "The Sand Creek Massacre site will be expanded to preserve Native American tribes' sacred land". CNN. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
^ "Secretary Haaland Commits to Telling America's Story at Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site" (Press release). October 5, 2022. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
^ [1] Land Saved by the American Battlefield Trust, accessed May 18, 2018.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site.

Sand Creek Massacre Site National Register of Historic Places
Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site – National Park Service
The Conservation Fund – Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site

State of Colorado

Denver (capital)

Society

Colorado portal

Indigenous peoples of Colorado

Overview

Contemporary peoples
native to Colorado

People	Arapaho Cheyenne Comanche Jicarilla Apache Kiowa Pawnee Shoshone Ute
Reservations	Southern Ute Indian Reservation Ute Mountain Ute Tribe
Major events	Battle of Beecher Island Colorado War Comanche Campaign Meeker Massacre Sand Creek massacre

Prehistoric cultures
in Colorado

Paleo-Indian	Clovis culture Cody complex Folsom tradition Goshen complex Hell Gap complex Plainview complex Plano cultures
Archaic	Apex complex Basketmaker culture Mount Albion complex Oshara tradition Picosa culture
Post-Archaic	Ancestral Puebloans Apishapa culture Dismal River culture Fremont culture Panhandle culture Sopris phase Tipi ring
Noted archaeologists	Cynthia Irwin-Williams Paul Sidney Martin Waldo Rudolph Wedel Joe Ben Wheat

Protected areas of Colorado

Federal

4 National Parks	Black Canyon of the Gunnison Great Sand Dunes Mesa Verde Rocky Mountain
9 National Monuments	Browns Canyon (BLM-USFS) Camp Hale-Continental Divide (USFS) Canyons of the Ancients (BLM) Chimney Rock (USFS) Colorado Dinosaur Florissant Fossil Beds Hovenweep Yucca House
3 National Historic Sites	Amache Bent's Old Fort Sand Creek Massacre
2 National Recreation Areas	Arapaho (USFS) Curecanti
1 Wild and Scenic River	Cache la Poudre River
4 National Historic Trails	California Trail Old Spanish Trail Pony Express Trail Santa Fe Trail
1 National Scenic Trail	Continental Divide Trail
11 National Forests	Arapaho Grand Mesa Gunnison Medicine Bow–Routt Pike Rio Grande Roosevelt San Isabel San Juan Uncompahgre White River
2 National Grasslands	Comanche Pawnee
44 National Wildernesses	Black Canyon of the Gunnison Black Ridge Canyons Buffalo Peaks Byers Peak Cache La Poudre Collegiate Peaks Comanche Peak Dominguez Canyon Eagles Nest Flat Tops Fossil Ridge Great Sand Dunes Greenhorn Mountain Gunnison Gorge Hermosa Creek Holy Cross Hunter–Fryingpan Indian Peaks James Peak La Garita Lizard Head Lost Creek Maroon Bells-Snowmass Mesa Verde Mount Evans Mount Massive Mount Sneffels Mount Zirkel Neota Never Summer Platte River Powderhorn Ptarmigan Peak Raggeds Rawah Rocky Mountain National Park Sangre de Cristo Sarvis Creek South San Juan Spanish Peaks Uncompahgre Vasquez Peak Weminuche West Elk
3 National Conservation Areas	Dominguez–Escalante Gunnison Gorge McInnis Canyons
8 National Wildlife Refuges	Alamosa Arapaho Baca Browns Park Monte Vista Rocky Flats Rocky Mountain Arsenal Two Ponds
3 National Heritage Areas	Cache la Poudre River Corridor Sangre de Cristo South Park
28 National Historic Landmarks	Beaver Meadows Visitor Center Bent's Old Fort Central City/Black Hawk Historic District Colorado Chautauqua Cripple Creek Historic District Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad Denver Civic Center Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Elitch Gardens Carousel Georgetown–Silver Plume Historic District Granada War Relocation Center Leadville Historic District Lindenmeier site Lowry Pueblo Ludlow Tent Colony Site Mesa Verde Administrative District Minnequa Steel Works Pikes Peak Pike's Stockade Raton Pass Red Rocks Park Shenandoah-Dives Mill Silverton Historic District Telluride Historic District Temple Aaron Trujillo Homesteads United States Air Force Academy, Cadet Area Winks Panorama
16 National Natural Landmarks	Big Spring Creek Garden of the Gods Garden Park Fossil Area Hanging Lake Indian Springs Trace Fossil Natural Area Lost Creek Scenic Area Morrison-Golden Fossil Areas Raton Mesa Roxborough Russell Lakes Sand Creek Slumgullion Earthflow Spanish Peaks Sulphur Cave and Spring Summit Lake West Bijou Site
National Register of Historic Places	National Register of Historic Places listings in Colorado

State

43 State Parks	Arkansas Headwaters Barr Lake Boyd Lake Castlewood Canyon Chatfield Cherry Creek Cheyenne Mountain Crawford Eldorado Canyon Eleven Mile Elkhead Fishers Peak Golden Gate Canyon Harvey Gap Highline Lake Jackson Lake James M. Robb - Colorado River John Martin Reservoir Lake Pueblo Lathrop Lone Mesa Lory Mancos Mueller Navajo North Sterling Paonia Pearl Lake Ridgway Rifle Falls Rifle Gap Roxborough Spinney Mountain St. Vrain Stagecoach State Forest Staunton Steamboat Lake Sweetwater Lake Sweitzer Lake Sylvan Lake Trinidad Lake Vega Yampa River
1 State Forest	State Forest
307 State Wildlife Areas	List of Colorado state wildlife areas
96 State Natural Areas	Aiken Canyon Antero-Salt Creek Arikaree River Badger Wash Blacks Gulch Blue Mountain-Little Thompson Fault Bonny Prairie Boulder Mountain Park Brush Creek Fen California Park Castlewood Canyon Chalk Bluffs Coal Creek Tallgrass Prairie Colorado Tallgrass Prairie Comanche Grassland Copeland Willow Carr Corral Bluffs Cross Mountain Canyon Dakota Hogback Deer Gulch Dome Rock Droney Gulch Duck Creek Dudley Bluffs East Lost Park East Sand Dunes Elephant Rocks Escalante Canyon Fairview Fourmile Creek Fruita Paleontological Garden Park Fossil Gateway Palisade Geneva Basin Iron Fens Gothic Gunnison Gravels Haviland Lake High Creek Fen High Mesa Grassland Hoosier Ridge Hurricane Canyon Indian Spring Indian Springs Trace Fossil Irish Canyon Jimmy Creek Ken-Caryl Ranch Kremmling Cretaceous Ammonite Limestone Ridge Lookout Mountain Lower Greasewood Creek McElmo Mexican Cut Mini-Wheeler Miramonte Reservoir Mishak Lakes Mount Callahan & Logan Wash Mine Mount Emmons Iron Bog Mount Goliath Narraguinnep Needle Rock North Park Phacelia Orient Mine Owl Canyon Pagosa Skyrocket Paradise Park Park Creek Hogback Pyramid Rock Rabbit Valley Rajadero Canyon Raven Ridge Redcloud Peak Rough Canyon Roxborough Ryan Gulch Saddle Mountain San Miguel River Sand Creek Shell Duck Creek Shell Rock Slumgullion Earthflow South Beaver Creek South Boulder Creek South Cathedral Bluffs Specimen Mountain Staunton Tamarack Ranch Treasurevault Mountain Trinidad K-T Boundary Two Buttes Unaweep Seep Wacker Ranch West Creek Wheeler Geologic White Rocks Yanks Gulch/Upper Greasewood Creek Natural Area Zapata Falls
26 Scenic and Historic Byways	Alpine Loop Cache la Poudre-North Park Collegiate Peaks Colorado River Headwaters Dinosaur Diamond Flat Tops Trail Frontier Pathways Gold Belt Tour Grand Mesa Guanella Pass Highway of Legends Lariat Loop Los Caminos Antiguos Mount Evans Pawnee Pioneer Trails Peak to Peak San Juan Skyway Santa Fe Trail Silver Thread South Platte River Trail Top of the Rockies Tracks Across Borders Trail of the Ancients Trail Ridge Road/Beaver Meadow Unaweep Tabeguache West Elk Loop

Trails

28 National Recreation Trails

Apex
Barr
Bear Creek
Big Dry Creek
Calico
Crag Crest
Devils Head
Fish Creek Falls
Grays Peak
Greyrock Mountain
High Line Canal
Highline Loop
Lake Fork
Mineral Belt
Mount Evans
Mount McConnel
Petroglyph Point
Platte River Greenway
Poudre River
Rocky Mountain Arsenal
Round Mountain
Swamp Park
Two Elk
Two Ponds
Vail Pass
West Lost Trail Creek
Wheeler Ten Mile
White House Ranch

6 Regional Trails

Colorado Department of Natural Resources

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