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OCTOBER 24, 2000

On Monday, the House approved a bill to create a national historic site at the location of the Sand Creek massacre in Colorado.

The House passed the bill by a voice vote. The Senate passed it earlier this month and it is expected President Bill Clinton will sign it into law.

The bill is sponsored by Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colo). For the Northern Cheyenne lawmaker, the legislation is more than just a commemoration of the historic event, as some of his own ancestors were among the more than 150 Cheyenne and Arapaho children, women, and elderly men massacred by US Army troops on November 29, 1864.

During a committee hearing on the bill in September, Campbell read from the Congressional testimony of two Army witnesses to the massacre. Visibly moved, Campbell described some of the horrors inflicted upon the victims, described in graphic detail by the two soldiers.

Children were beaten until their brains fell out. One pregnant woman had her body ripped open and her child removed.

As members of Cheyenne Chief Black Kettle's camp, who were flying the white flag of peace, pleaded for mercy, the killings continued. Even after the massacre ended, Army soldiers continued their abuse of the dead bodies.

The Sand Creek Massacre Historical Site would cover about 12,480 acres in Kiowa County, Colorado. It would be part of the National Park System.

Study of the site, which was authorized in 1998 by the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site Study Act, has occurred in consultation with the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribe of Oklahoma, the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, and the Northern Arapaho Tribe. The site would allow access to tribal members for carrying out special ceremonies.

Part of the site would also be used for repatriation of the remains and other artifacts of the victims of the massacre.

Read the Letters:
Sand Creek Letter 1 (December 19, 1864)
Sand Creek Letter 2 (December 14, 1864)

Get the Bill:
A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to establish the Sand Creek Massacre Historic Site in the State of Colorado (S.2950)

Relevant Links:
The National Park Service, Sand Creek Massacre Project Study - www.nps.gov/planning/sand/about.htm
The Sand Creek Massacre Site - www.kiowacountycolo.com/sand.htm
Senator Campbell - www.senate.gov/~campbell

Related Stories:
Sand Creek bill approved by Committee (Indian U. 09/21)
Massacre focus of law, letters (Indian U. 9/15)
Runners commemorate Sand Creek (Indian U. 08/03)
Campbell wants massacre memorial (Indian U. 7/28)