Ripples of Memory from Sand Creek

Abstract

On November 29, 1864, troops from the 1st and 3rd Colorado Regiments attacked an Arapaho and Cheyenne peace camp along the banks of Sand Creek in southeastern Colorado Territory. The soldiers killed some 200 or more Native people, razed what remained of their village, and desecrated the bodies of the dead. Initially celebrated by Colorado settlers as a heroic battle, in time the violence came to be known nationally as the Sand Creek Massacre. Almost a century and a half later, on April 27, 2007, the National Park Service opened its 391st unit: Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site. This essay explores the politics of memory surrounding the Sand Creek Massacre, focusing on the impact of the historic site in reshaping official and popular recollections in the 16 years since it opened to the public.