Customer Reviews

The Sand Creek Massacre

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I rated this book 4 stars for the incredible amount of information regarding the time period revolving around the massacre. Any fan of western history or native american history should read this book. The only thing about the book that I did not like was that it appeared that the author continuoulsy gave reasons of provocation on Colonel Chivington's actions against Black Kettle and his people who were trying to live in harmony with the settlers and the army. Im not saying the author is a Chivington apologist by any means and did a great job with the facts, but maybe my own contempt and feelings toward Chivington and Anthony got in the way. There are many contributing factors to what happened but the bottom line is Chivington hated the Indians and wanted them dead. I recommend the book....especially if you live or plan to travel the eastern Colorado area.

Stan hoig's story of the Sand Creek Massacre is well documented and the biblography shows a direct connection to Historians Dee Brown & Elliot West whose accounts are almost identical This is the tragedy of colorado's fear and bigotry rising up against Native Americans and resulting (as one of Chington's Officers said,"they killed the only peaceful Indians on the Plains"...l50 indians mostly women and children The double tragedy continues to this day where Colorado has no marker near the site and the local landowners tear down the county street signs that would take you there and land designated as a reservation in an 1861 "Treaty" now has 'no trespassing' signs and stories of history fans being run off by gunshot.

Very little is known about this massacre, except that over one hundred Indians of Black Kettle's Cheyenne tribe were killed as they were co-existing in eastern Colorado. Some Indians were indeed renegades but not from this tribe. Early in the morning, a troop of mostly volunteer soldiers from the Colorado militia raided Black Kettle's village and killed braves, women, and children. They then mutiliated the corpses. Hoig describes the situation that led to the massacre very effectively.

Hoig has written many other good histories of the southern Plains Indians. These Indians were victims of the territorial expansion of the United States. Many settlers wished them dead rather than supporting their upkeep on reservations. This shows the sade tale of broken promises.

The Sand Creek Massacre was one of the most heinous acts to ever be committed against the American Indian culture. This is an atrocity that has been quietly tucked away in the back of the American consciousness and I feel that Stan Hoig has done it justice by bringing it to light in this wonderfully revealing book. Mr. Hoig pulls no punches in his expose (as the government and military pulled no punches in their attempts to annihilate an entire race of people) and I must applaud him for his efforts. Parts of this book will bring your eyes to tear, others will redden your face with anger, and others will numb your mind with horror at the brutal acts of murder and mutilation that were committed in the name of greed and hatred. This is a book that should be required reading for all Americans so that they may understand just whose blood this country was built upon. Never have I read a historical account so compelling. White Antelope, my brother, I hope that the truth of this book helps you to rest in peace!!

A reader will get a very good background of events leading up to the Sand Creek Massacre, the people involved, the mind-set of the era, and the fallout from the massacre. It was an interesting read.

I have been a student of Native American history for more years than I care to remember, and each time I finish reading a book on the subject I ask myself the same question.Why ? This book unfortunately reflects all others on the subject, for the white mans GREED. Of course with hindsight, we all agree it should not have happend, certainly Sand Creek should not have happened, hindsight or no, Hoig has written a really moving epitaph to the Cheyenne Nation, and whilst history may be written by the victors,there will always be people searching, and often finding the truth, sure the Indian may not have been perfect, but nor were the white europeans who were prepared to annihilate whole cultures in their greed for land, gold etc. A well written book which any student of Native American culture should not be without.

The morning of November 28, 1864 was truly a day which should live in infamy with regards to the treatment of Native Americans. Stan Hoig, who passed away just a few short years ago, wrote a brief but concise history on background and events that led to the Sand Creek Massacre which took place northeast of present-day La Junta, Colorado those many years ago.

Tensions arose between the alliance of Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes and the growing number of whites who migrated westward to take advantage of the gold strikes near Pike's Peak and other endeavors to start a new life in the West. Relegated to a block of land in Southeast Colorado as the result of the Treaty of Fort Wise, the Indians soon were harassed by a number of whites encroaching on its territory. An unusual drought in 1861 further antagonize the relations and soon thereafter the Indians revolted with depredations on whites traveling west. The killing of Nathan Hungate and his family near Denver in the Summer of 1864 fanned the flames even further.

Demands to end Indian depredations reached the boiling point and citizens demanded that action be taken against the Cheyenne and Arapaho. The climax to crisis culminated on that fall morning where the Third Regiment of the Colorado Calvary under Col. John Chivington launched the attack on the Indians at Sand Creek. When the fighting concluded, more than a 100 Indians lay dead, mostly women and children. Congressional inquiries were held that resulted in a stern rebuke to Chivington and the Territorial Governor John Evans.

The book has 176 pages of text, an appendix detailing testimonies of a number of men who witnessed the massacre, a bibliography and an index. The book's details should send chills up one's spine and should make us remember the depths of depravity in a man's heart including that of the "Fighting Parson" Chivington. Five stars.