Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site, CO

On Nov. 29, 1864, Col. John Chivington led a group of 700 Colorado militiamen on a pre-dawn attack of 500 Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians on Big Sandy Creek. By day’s end, about 150 to 160 Indians —- most of them women, children or and elderly -- were killed. Although the assault was first considered heroic, the Sand Creek Massacre was later recognized as a national disgrace.

In a gesture of healing, the National Park Service in April 2007 dedicated the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site in remote Kiowa County. The Conservation Fund worked with the National Park Service, the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes, the Colorado Historical Society, and private landowners to acquire three tracts totaling 920 acres that created the new park unit in southeastern Colorado. “When I was in school, the events of the Sand Creek Massacre were not taught,” said notes Christine Quinlan, project manager for The Conservation Fund. “Now, with the preservation of this site, Americans can learn about and reflect upon this chapter of our history.”