Opinion

Opinion: Atoning for Sand Creek Massacre after 147 years

Friday, May 13, 2011

"When a serious wrong is committed, how long should atonement last?

Here in Colorado, some religious leaders believe that atonement for at least one historic wrong may be appropriate for 147 years — and perhaps beyond.

The name is familiar to most Colorado historians: Major John Chivington. On Nov. 19, 1864, Chivington and his Colorado volunteer militia attacked a peaceful Cheyenne village led by the "peace chief," Black Kettle, near Eads, in southwest Colorado.

The infamous Sand Creek Massacre resulted in the slaughter of as many as 400 old men, women and children. Bodies of the victims were mutilated, and body parts were paraded through Denver streets to the cheers of many residents. Only later did the truth of the attack on the defenseless settlement come to light, forcing Chivington to resign in disgrace from the militia.

This sad and savage event so long ago has special meaning to members of Trinity United Methodist Church in Denver because Chivington was an ordained Methodist minister who became head of the Methodist church in Colorado Territory in 1859. Not only did a Methodist minister lead the attack on the Cheyenne, church leaders acknowledge that Methodists (as well as members of other denominations) were among the militia that rode with him, and that too many Christians applauded his actions at the time."

Get the Story:
Susan Thornton: Healing a historic wrong (The Denver Post 5/13)