Sand Creek Massacre Points-of-View

“…Black Kettle had been given an american flag, and was told that as long as he flew it, no soldier would ever hurt him. He flew the flag, whereupon all the elders, women, and children gatherd around him. Then the soldiers cut them all down with gatlin guns and scalped them. There were no men to protect them because, to get them out of camp, colonel chivington had said that they could go on a buffalo hunt…”

-YouTube.com Person, one of over 20,000 who have viewed abridged portions of the award-winning, “The Sand Creek Massacre” film.

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“Jis to think of that dog Chivington and his dirty hounds, up thar at Sand Creek. His men shot down squaws, and blew the brains out of little innocent children. You call sich soldiers Christians, do ye? And Indians savages? What der yer ‘spose our Heavenly Father, who made both them and us, thinks of these things? I tell you what, I don’t like a hostile red skin any more than you do. And when they are hostile, I’ve fought ‘em, hard as any man. But I never yet drew a bead on a squaw or papoose, and I despise the man who would.”

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-Christopher (Kit) Houston Carson
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“They don’t teach THIS in American schools.EVER.They don’t teach about the truth of anything,especially what was REALLY done to the pnaci. Oh no,they gloss right over that. And every November they have the kids dress up like pnaci,and kids dress up like ‘settlers’,how they were welcomed,how they ate together…nothing but fairy tale lies.They don’t tell us how they took pnaci children from their families and took they’re language and customs from them.They dressed them in white man clothes.” -Wonder World You Tube  2010

“Don, I just want to tell you that my respect for you has tripled. Hopefully, your courage and integrity in documenting this tragedy will act to enlighten and remind us of the nature of hatred and prejudice.”

Paul

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“As for you marking up my copy of Robert’s 975 page dissertation, be my guest. As long as you are the one who annotates, I will accept them all, for I know you and I have a very different interpretation – as does Michno in his superb study – of this so-called ‘massacre.’

“Just remember that as a West Point graduate who served in up-close shooting Infantry combat in both the Korean War (ironically as a company commander in Custers 7th Cavalry) where I lost all 6 of my officers and all but 15 of my enlisted men out of 169 who started before I defeated the Chinese force on our objective hill, killing over 250 of them, and in the Vietnam War where I executed 70 heliborne combat assaults with face to face and even hand-to-hand combat, I dispute that when 24 3d (and 1st) Cavalrymen were killed and 52 wounded at Sand Creek that what they did to the Indians was a one sided ‘Massacre’ who opposed them instead of a legitimate two sided “Battle.” Unless somebody proves to me that a small minority of the women and children at Sand Creek were crack shots before being overrun.

“Sand Creek would not be the first battle where the losers – and those who never were there – claimed ‘massacre’ when they were surprised and overrun by their enemies. I regarded Chivington’s ability to move his entire force right to the edge of the encampment (where he had been competently ordered to ‘punish’ the Cheyenne and Arapahoe) before the Indians woke up to the threat – as good tactical generalship. It hardly was his fault the Cheyenne were so tactically stupid after the Hungate ‘massacre’ as not to have any effective scouts out or detected his long march from Denver – while whites along the Arkansas, such as the Fosdick family hid their good horses so Chivington’s poorly shod men would not commandeer them to replace the nags the Army gave the 3d Colorado to go into battle with. THEY sure knew when Chivington was coming and then passing through.

“By the way, since you mention Chivington at Glorieta Pass – I am the only military historian who found that there were 38 West Point graduates and 6 ex-cadets on both sides engaged in that 1862 New Mexican Campaign with less than 5,000 soldiers involved. Even the Military History Department of West Point, much less the West Point Military Museum, didn’t know that. They do now.

-Dave Hughes

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“500 years of rape murder and torture…there is no more room for forgiveness.”

Comment about the award-winning, “The Sand Creek Massacre”, on YouTube.com. 2009

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Thomas J. Williams as Noted in The History of the John H. Jones Family

Recollections of Mary Emma Jones Wight Born 1865-Died 1958, daughter of John H. Jones

“T.J. Williams, a cousin of father (John H. Jones) was with a company of 90 day men stationed on Running Creek about 2 miles north of where Elizabeth (Colorado) is situated, as protection against maurauding war-like Indians. His company joined Col. Chivington when the soldiers made a total killing of the Indians at Sand Creek or at the “battleground” as it was sometimes called.”

” I do not know the date but believe it was in the 1860’s. The Indians had killed the whole Hungate family (man, wife and 3 children) and a boy herding work-oxen for the Webber mill outfit on Running Creek. They also killed 4 of the Tony Shingleholtz family on Bijou Creek and a small boy playing beside the cabin door at Gorner’s Saw Mill. They killed Mr. Moschel in Lake Gulch in Douglas County who had gone to see after some cattle. He had a wife and three children. They killed a man on Cherry Creek near where Parker now is, by the name of Tallman. Mr. Moschel is buried in Lake Gulch where he was killed. I have heard there has been a monument erected there in memory of him.’

“My father’s cousin, Thomas J. Williams, was one of the 90 day men stationed on Running Creek about 40 miles south of Denver and he joined Chivington out of Denver. He said that no Indians got away. He had in the Cavalry one of father’s mares.”

“I never heard Williams say any of the 90 day men were killed and I lived near and I worked in his home off and on for many years–about 50 to be exact”…

I think this gives a bit of a different view—that Chivington did not plan this attack without having plenty of reason to do so…

Military records for Thomas J.Williams, Pvt. Co. M, 3rd Rgt. Colorado Cavalry (100 Days 1864).

Thomas J. Williams

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“…–as a confidenital aside—you would not believe the money the liquor store owners make from those tiny, putrid stores—this is completely confidential but one of the owners is a distant relative of –the liquor license gets passed around through family members–they can make upwards of $200k a year from one of those licenses–which, as you know, for that area, is a substantial income.”

Comment about- Pine Ridge Reservation 2009

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“…why do you keep forgetting this, it was not that long ago. We do not pay enough attention to this, us govt and ignorant people cont to treat these people as well as other people different from them poorly…”

Comment about the award-winning, “The Sand Creek Massacre”  demo on YouTube.com 2009

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“…saw your note about Pine Ridge. As badly as I feel for the Haitians, I feel worse for the people of Pine Ridge. Was there twice–once in my childhood–driving through—again two years ago with a friend whose father is a retired lawyer in Sheridan County. Saw Red Cloud’s grave and the Jesuit School. Saw the obscenity that is White Clay. What no one really tells the world is how many cans of beer are sold in White Clay every year and what it does to that population. But just talk to anybody in the neighboring community of Rushville, or walk through the local pawn shop. As long as we have places like Pine Ridge in this country we really are a failed state…”

Comment about Pine Ridge Reservation 2010

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“Oh man…. You guys…Your all missing the big picture here. If we don’t all get along…this is what you get, lol DUH!  Yet even today, here in this very response section we see people with differing opinions attacking each other with venom and hatred and generalizations…It’s just plain stoopid. Live and let live. Or we shall all shurely die.”

Comment about the award-winning “The Sand Creek Massacre” film 2009

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“No- that’s how it is in AMERIKKKA… a place that calls itself a democracy. In REAL democracies this doesn’t happen. People actually VOTE directly for their leader, out of various candidates from MULTIPLE parties and every law during his/her(YES, HER) term, through referendums. This what you have, is a two-party dictatorship. Ask the average “american” what a referendum means, and they can’t tell you for crap. Dont’ believe me? TRY it. I already did, as part of a study for Sociopolitics class.”

Comment under the award-winning, “The Sand Creek Massacre” film 2009

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“Having Indian blood running through my veins, and growing up hearing stories from my Grandmother about how she was ostracized by her own family for having dark skin and eyes, and looking like her Indian relatives, I find your work very touching. She carried a great spiritual weight with her throughout her life. My Father always raised me to be proud of my Indian heritage. He always felt and was not shy to share his feeling that the Native Indians suffered incredibly and that the Native Americans were not the savages, but the European explorers, settlers and government officials were the true savages.”

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