The Massacre at Sand Creek: Narrative Voices (The American Indian Literature and Critical Studies Series , Vol 16) (Paperback)

~ (Author) "They're camped in short-grass country, but it isn't theirs..." (more)
Key Phrases: grand old gentleman, Black Kettle, Colonel Chivington, Frank Little Wolf (more...)

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.

Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press (September 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)
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• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,148,083 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)