Discover historical context, creative philosophy, and exhibition milestones for the documentary projects The Sand Creek Massacre and Ghosts of Sand Creek, directed and produced by Donald L. Vasicek via Olympus Films+, LLC.
Historical Context & Creative Philosophy
From “Battle” to Massacre
On November 29, 1864, 700 soldiers of the Colorado 1st and 3rd Cavalries attacked a settlement of Cheyenne and Arapaho children, women, elders, and individuals with disabilities. While originally designated by military authorities as “The Battle of Sand Creek,” the event was officially renamed “The Sand Creek Massacre” following an investigation and witness interviews conducted by a U.S. Congressional Committee.
Southern Cheyenne Chief Laird Cometsevah informed filmmaker Donald L. Vasicek that over 400 individuals were killed during the multi-hour attack, referencing documented oral histories passed down through his family from his great-great-grandfather, a survivor of the massacre. Educators and historians state that the event was driven by the pressures of European immigration onto tribal lands, systemic corruption among Indian agents, widespread fear, the political ambitions of Territorial Governor John Evans, and Colonel John Chivington’s hatred of indigenous populations and desire to secure election to the United States Congress.
Filmmaker’s Narrative Approach
“We’ve used a passive approach to the telling of the brutality at Sand Creek for the purpose of showing the ignorance of utilizing killing as a means to solve problems. Violence always leaves an impact, but the graphicness of the murders, the rapes, the mutilations, even after people were dead, leaves a remarkable imprint on students, parents, and educators. They see an historic reality that motivates them to do more to circumvent violence in the present as a means to solve problems.”
— Donald L. Vasicek
The Significance of Ancestral Land
The foundational conflict underlying these historical events resides in the struggle over land. The earth served as the source of power for the Cheyenne and Arapaho people, who originally held 51 million acres extending from the Platte River in Wyoming to the Arkansas River in the Colorado Territory, and east across the Nebraska Plains. As these lands were dismantled by migration and treaty violations, communities were restricted to reservations lacking the resources required to sustain their traditional way of life.
Museum Exhibitions & Fine Arts Partnerships
The Booth Western Art Museum Exhibition
The Booth Western Art Museum—an 80,000-square-foot institution in Cartersville, Georgia, associated with the Smithsonian Institution—hosted a joint educational program featuring sculptor Craig Bergsgaard and filmmaker Donald L. Vasicek. The event featured an elite screening of Vasicek’s documentary project, alongside the formal unveiling of Bergsgaard’s bronze sculpture, Memorare, Sand Creek 1864. Following the presentation, Museum Director Seth Hopkins moderated an analytical panel discussion exploring the artistic interpretations and historical controversies surrounding the presentation of military history.
Artist Statements
- Donald L. Vasicek: “My thoughts on Sand Creek are not the final word on the tragedy; it is only one perspective of five differing views I’ve encountered during my research. But however you characterize the events of that day, I hope my film will act as a gateway to conversations about how we as humans can treat each other with greater understanding and respect.”
- Craig Bergsgaard: “Although I personally find it hard to see Sand Creek as anything but a tremendous wrong perpetrated against the Cheyenne and Arapaho people, my goal is not to evangelize. I want my sculpture to increase awareness—and to prevent the further tragedy of forgetting what we have learned as a nation.”
Documentary Series in Development: “Ghosts of Sand Creek”
Building upon the foundational 6½-minute demonstration trailer and the 22-minute educational short distributed globally by Films Media Group, Olympus Films+, LLC placed a six-episode documentary serial titled Ghosts of Sand Creek into active development. This expanded project chronicles how the legacy of the 1864 massacre continues to impact descendant communities in the present day.
Treaty Violations and Ongoing Litigation
The documentary analyzes the series of peace treaties ratified between 1825 and 1890 that systematically reduced tribal lands. It documents the contemporary legal actions filed by tribes against the United States government seeking the fulfillment of financial restitutions, land patents, and provisions guaranteed under historic treaties. The loss of royalties derived from natural gas, oil, ranching, agriculture, and mining across the original 51 million acres remains a focal point of the legal disputes managed alongside the 15,000 members of the Sand Creek Massacre Descendants’ Trust.
Production Team Personnel
The development framework for the feature project integrates several prominent industry professionals:
- Narrator: Peter Coyote (E.T., Erin Brockovich)
- Director of Photography: Richard Lerner, Academy Award Winner (A Story of Healing)
- Production Crew: Five regional Emmy Award-winning technicians and editors.
Historical Press Profiles & Media Coverage
“Documentary to tell Cheyenne and Arapaho story” – Indian Country Today
Journalist Brenda Norrell documented the production goals of the film project, detailing its absolute reliance on tribal oral histories. The coverage highlighted the integration of primary source records discovered during the 1990s within family archival trunks, specifically the historical letters written from Fort Lyon in December 1864 by Captain Silas S. Soule and Lieutenant Joseph Cramer to Major Edward Wynkoop, which exposed the unprovoked nature of the Chivington brigade’s attack.
“Film tells Sand Creek story from tribes’ eyes” – Colorado Springs Gazette
Reporter Dennis Huspeni profiled Vasicek’s multi-year independent financing of the project, detailing the development of the 6½-minute presentation screener designed for educational institutions, public libraries, and archival repositories including the National Museum of the American Indian and the Smithsonian Institution.
Historical Project Documentation
| Primary Historical Figures | Production Personnel Records | Educational Media Access |
|---|---|---|
| Cheyenne Chief Black Kettle Peace chief and leader of the Sand Creek settlement. | Donald L. Vasicek Writer / Filmmaker / Media Consultant | Films Media Group 2572 Brunswick Pike, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648 |
| Colonel John M. Chivington Commander of the 1st and 3rd Colorado Regiments. | Shonie De La Rosa Navajo Writer / Filmmaker | Educational Order Desk Item Number: 37436 Phone: 800-257-5126 |
| John Evans Colorado Territorial Governor (1862–1865). | Craig Bergsgaard Sculptor (Memorare, Sand Creek 1864) | Institutional Distribution Online Catalog: films.com |
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