Celebrating Native American Heritage Month: Sand Creek Massacre 1864

More history you didn't learn in school.  

On November 29, 1864, nearly 700 volunteer soldiers from the Third Colorado Cavalry under the command of Colonel John Chivington attacked peaceful village of Cheyenne and Arapaho people in southeastern Colorado Territory, killing anywhere between 69-600 people, mostly women and children.

The 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie between the US and seven Native American nations gave the tribes land that included southeastern Wyoming, southwestern Nebraska, most of eastern Colorado, and western Kansas.  However, when gold was discovered in Colorado in November 1858, the US pushed the Treaty of Fort Wise on the local tribes, substantially reducing the amount of land given to the tribes. 

This led to much dissension among the tribes, but in 1864, a coalition of Sioux, Comanches, Kiowas, Cheyennes, and Arapahos engaged in hostilities to drive the whites out of their country.  But since the American Civil War was going on, the US government was more concerned with defeating the Confederates. Native Americans continued to attack.

In September 1864, the Cheyenne met with Governor John Evans at his invitation.  He told them that this was not to secure peace, but to offer protection to Native Americans who were friendly.  

Chief Black Kettle, led Southern Cheyenne and some Arapahos to Fort Lyon in compliance with a peace parley held in Denver in September 1864.  But they were told to relocate to Big Sandy Creek about 40 miles away. Black Kettle flew a US flag with a white flag underneath it to show he was friendly and hope to forestall any attack by Colorado soldiers. 

On November 29, 1864, Col. Chivington, despite being warned to attack a peaceful camp, gave the order to attack.  Captain Silas Soule and Lt Joseph Cramer refused to obey and told their men to hold fire.  Chivington's men ignored the white flag and murdered as many Native Americans they could find, including women, children, and infants.

Celebrating Native American Heritage Month: Occupation of Alcatraz begins 1969

On November 20, 1969, eighty-nine Native Americans and their supporters landed on Alcatraz Island and maintained a presence until June 11, 1971. The organizers of the protest, Richard Oakes, LaNada Means, and John Trudell, claimed that under the Treaty of Fort Laramie of 1951 between the US and the Lakota tribe, all retired, abandoned, or federal land no longer in use, was to be returned ot the Indigenous people who once occupied it.  Since the penitentiary had been closed since March 1963 and the land had been declared surplus federal property in 1964, the Red Power activists felt the island belonged to the Native Americans.

They began the occupation late on November 20, and despite a Coast Guard blockade, fourteen managed to land on the island.  At the height of the occupation, four hundred people lived on the island.  They set up a daycare, a health clinic, and a school.  Doctors volunteered their services and Native and non-Natives brought necessary supplies to the island to support the occupiers.

Coast Guard blockades made it increasingly more difficult to reach Alcatraz, but the occupation began receiving a lot of support from around the world.

In January 1970, Oakes' stepdaughter feel to her death, which prompted Richard and his wife to leave the island. A hippie and drug scene moved to the island creating problems until non-Indians were prohibited from staying over night.  The government cut off electrical power, water, and telephone service to the island.  In June 1970, a fire destroyed numerous buildings on the island.  After that, the number of occupiers began to dwindle.  On June 11, 1971, government officers removed the last fifteen people.

The Occupation of Alcatraz established a precedent for Indian activism and spurred such actions as the Trail of Broken Treaties in 1972, the Wounded Knee incident in 1973, and the Longest Walk in 1968.