The Massacre at Sand Creek: Narrative Voices (American Indian Literature and Critical Studies Series) [Paperback]

Bruce Cutler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 1997 | Series: American Indian Literature and Critical Studies Series (Book 16)

In the dawn of November 29, 1864, a Colorado militia unit attacked a peaceful encampment of Cheyennes by Sand Creek in southeast Colorado Territory and murdered almost two hundred men, women, and children. In The Massacre at Sand Creek, Bruce Cutler retells, in a powerful narrative, the events surrounding this atrocity. We hear the voices of the white participants, such as Colonel John Chivington, who planned and led the surprise attack, and Captain Silas Soule, the only officer who refused to attack. We are also given the voices of the Cheyennes - voices that historical documents do not record - with particular focus on Black Kettle, the chief who trusted the promise of protection he had received from white officers and who waved the white flag of peace even as the attacking army approached.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this searing novel, Cutler (The Dark Fire) brings to life an oft-told tale--and a tragic episode in American history. On Nov. 29, 1864, Colorado volunteers under Col. John Chivington, a former Methodist minister who claimed to be part Indian himself, attacked the peaceful Cheyenne village of Chief Black Kettle on Sand Creek. This incident, in which hundreds of Indian men, women and children were killed and mutilated, shocked a nation in the midst of its Civil War and led to Congressional inquiries. Cutler tells of the massacre and its aftermath from multiple perspectives, employing such diverse forms as correspondence, newspaper interviews and obituaries. Both white and Indian accounts are presented, with the latter arranged in poetic format to capture the differences between English and the Cheyenne language. Prominent in the account are the letters of Capt. Silas Soule, who commanded a company of cavalry that considered the engagement ``murder pure and simple'' and refused to engage in the killing. Soule was later murdered for his perceived betrayal in opposing Chivington, who remained unrepentant to the end--and against whom no action was ever taken. Cutler recounts this grim tale expertly and with passion, weaving from bits of daily life the stuff of myth.

Copyright 1995 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

The author of numerous books, Cutler was the founder of the creative writing program at Wichita State University. Here he has brought to life the murder of almost 200 Cheyenne men, women, and children at Sand Creek by a Colorado military unit. Sand Creek, located in the southeast Colorado territory, is remembered as an atrocity reminiscent of My Lai. Although the author is faithful to historical facts, he has retold this story through a poetic version of the tragedy. He intersperses the voices of actual white participants: Capt. Silas Soule (who refused to attack), Col. John Chivington, and John Smith with those of the Cheyenne. Although no documents reflect what the Cheyenne did, their voices have been re-created in a lyrical vision by Cutler?a clear strength of the book. The storyteller, Ekomina, states, "The white men make two wars. One to kill us. And one to make sure no one will remember....No beginning, no generation coming. Just killing off the living, killing off the dying. Killing to kill, without the heat of wanting to." Recommended for Native American collections.?Vicki L. Toy Smith, Univ. of Nevada, Reno
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press (September 15, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806129905
• ISBN-13: 978-0806129907
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 4.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,985,924 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Cutler's Massacre at Sand Creek: Narrative Voices, June 18, 2010

By 

J. C. Campbell (Colorado) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Massacre at Sand Creek: Narrative Voices (American Indian Literature and Critical Studies Series) (Paperback)

God Rest his soul, Cutler's work is very interesting, but it is FICTION. A close examination of his [Captain] Silas Soule letters and the interview of [Colonel] John Chivington reveals they are fictionalised. The newspaper supposedly conducting the interview of Chivington does not and did not exist. There is no bibliography or citations of sources. Cutler died about ten years ago and he did not leave any notes that I have found to date. There are some very interesting and revealing Silas Soule letters - for real - at the Denver Public Library.