Mountain Sky Area of The United Methodist Church
  • Home
  • Musings in the Mountain Sky Area
  • Contact
  • Archives
    • Mountain Sky Outlook
    • Mission Shaped Future
    • Sand Creek Massacre Journey

Embarking on a Journey of Healing - Post #8

5/2/2014

10 Comments

 
Bishop’s Sand Creek Massacre Blog
Entry #8
May 2, 2014

Download PDF

Colorado Governor Hickenlooper has appointed a Sand Creek Massacre Commemoration Commission to plan and coordinate 150th Anniversary events.  I am honored to serve as a member of this Commission.  The Commission has launched a website where important news and events will be posted sandcreekmassacre150.com.  At the first Commission meeting last Monday afternoon we learned that Monday morning the Colorado Legislature unanimously passed a Joint Resolution concerning the anniversary.  If you have heard varying versions of this history and wonder where the truth lies, this resolution represents a consensus of historians, descendants and legislators.  It tells the harsh story of that dreadful day.  Read it here or find it on the website. 


SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 14-030 CONCERNING MEMORIALIZING THE CHEYENNE AND ARAPAHO PEOPLE WHO LOST THEIR LIVES DURING THE SAND CREEK MASSACRE, HONORING THEIR DESCENDANTS, AND COMMEMORATING THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THAT TRAGIC EVENT.

     WHEREAS, On November 29, 1864, approximately 675 United States soldiers under the command of Colonel John Chivington killed more than 200 Cheyenne and Arapaho villagers, mostly elderly men, women, and children, approximately 180 miles southeast of Denver near Eads, Colorado; and

     WHEREAS, Despite assurance from American negotiators that they would be safe, and despite Cheyenne Chief Black Kettle raising both a United States flag and a white flag as symbols of peace, Colonel Chivington ordered his troops to take no prisoners and to pillage and set the village ablaze, violently forcing the ambushed and outnumbered Cheyenne and Arapaho villagers to flee on foot; and

     WHEREAS, Colonel Chivington and his troops paraded mutilated body parts of men, women, and children in downtown Denver, Colorado, in celebration of the massacre; and

     WHEREAS, Captain Silas Soule, commander of Company D, 1st Colorado Cavalry, remains a symbol of bravery, as he pleaded with his commander Colonel Chivington not to attack the peaceful villagers, refused to order his soldiers to participate in the massacre, alerted the United States Congress and the public to the massacre that it might be investigated, testified in Army hearings against his commander, and later was assassinated for his efforts to illuminate the truth; and

     WHEREAS, Lieutenant Joseph Cramer, commander of Company K, also stood with Captain Soule, as did at least 100 other soldiers, in refusing to follow orders to participate in the massacre, and Lieutenant Cramer also notified authorities by letter of the atrocities he witnessed that day and testified before an Army commission; and

     WHEREAS, The Sand Creek Massacre was a tragedy of worldwide importance and continues to impact the sovereign Tribal nations whose ancestors were massacred that tragic day; and

     WHEREAS, Colorado Senate Joint Resolution 99-017 added an interpretive plaque to the Civil War monument outside the State Capitol, explaining the mischaracterization of the Sand Creek Massacre as a battle and the people of Colorado's struggle to interpret and take responsibility for the past; and

     WHEREAS, The National Park Service established, by an act of Congress, the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site, which opened in April 2007 to preserve and protect the physical and cultural landscape of the massacre and to enhance public awareness and understanding; and

     WHEREAS, The Northern Cheyenne Tribe of Montana, the Northern Arapaho Tribe of Wyoming, and the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma organized the annual Sand Creek Spiritual Healing Run in 1999 that begins in Eads, Colorado, and ends on the steps of the State Capitol, to remember what the Cheyenne and Arapaho people endured and to honor those killed; and

     WHEREAS, Healing from such tragedy requires, in part, recognition of and redress for the tragedy, and efforts have been made both to help educate the public about the massacre and to teach respect for diverse cultures in order to better understand and learn from the past; and

     WHEREAS, Educating the public about the Sand Creek Massacre and people like Captain Silas Soule and Lieutenant Joseph Cramer who stood up for justice encourages people to stand up against injustices now and prevent tragedies such as this in the future; and

     WHEREAS, November 29, 2014, is the 150th anniversary of the Sand Creek Massacre, and the State of Colorado recognizes the lives that were lost and that healing from this devastating event must continue; and

     WHEREAS, Governor Hickenlooper issued Executive Order B 2014-003 on March 17, 2014, establishing the Sand Creek Massacre Commemoration Commission to plan and prepare events for the 150th anniversary of the massacre that respect and memorialize the Cheyenne and Arapaho people and their ancestors, promote cross-cultural understanding, and educate the public about the massacre and the events surrounding it so such atrocities can be prevented in the future; now, therefore,

     Be It Resolved by the Senate of the Sixty-ninth General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the House of Representatives concurring herein:
That we, the members of the General Assembly, acknowledge the devastation caused by the Sand Creek Massacre and seek to raise public awareness about the tragic event, the Cheyenne and Arapaho people, and events surrounding it.

     Be It Further Resolved, That copies of this Joint Resolution be sent to Governor Eddie Hamilton of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma; Chairman Darrell O'Neal, Sr., of the Northern Arapaho Business Council; President Llevando Fisher of the Northern Cheyenne Tribal Council; Governor John Hickenlooper; Lieutenant Governor Joseph Garcia; and the Sand Creek Massacre Commemoration Commission.

10 Comments
Tauna GroomSmith
5/2/2014 09:18:58 am

I am honored to witness and participate in the "journey of healing". My prayer is that this resolution is received in a good way by the people I so dearly love here on the Wind River Indian Reservation.

Reply
Tauna GroomSmith YAC
5/2/2014 09:22:29 am

Reply
Su DeBree
5/4/2014 12:03:14 am

Just in time for Native American Awareness Sunday. I will be sharing this with the congregation I serve today, along with recent information about the Cobell settlement. Thankful for your steady and prayerful work always.

Reply
GW Bill Warren link
5/5/2014 09:06:58 am

I have been following the blog as Bishop Elaine published each post. Post # 7 brought everything to make sense to me, except how a civilized and Christian culture could allow the concept of Manifest Destiny to dehumanize another culture for economic gain.

The words of Joe Big Medicine in counseling on the fact that a reconciliation cannot take place when no relationship existed to re-concile are especcially helpful in understanding the distrust I have felt with native peoples all my life in Montana.

I had a friend, LeBeau, who worked among the Crows for many years and became friends with medicine people. The depth of acceptance needed to truly get beyond past pain is great. That is no doubt a result of treachery taht was great in many more instances than Sand Creek. Snad Creek, however, is amazingly inhumane.

GW Bill Warren YAC

Reply
Lynn Price
5/5/2014 01:40:42 pm

What is/was Native American Awareness Sunday? We are recognizing 125 years of our Boulder MT UM church this year, but it is hard for me to feel like a celebration when I look at the history of the so called frontier. Although we don't have history of a massacre in our immediate area, the history of Native Americans in MT , as everywhere in "the New World" includes broken treaties, and death not just by massacres but also starvation due to loss of land, food sources, diseases, removals as people were pushed out of their homelands. I am grateful for this "journey" and pray for healing.

Reply
Karen Disney
5/6/2014 02:00:42 am

There is an old Cherokee legend: There was an old grandfather who told his two grandsons, “There are two wolves fighting inside of me, one is full of anger, hate, ego, and bitterness. The other is full of love, peace, joy, humility. The same battle is going on in you and every other person. Finally one of his grandsons asks, “Grandfather, which wolf will win? To which the grandfather replies, “The one you feed.”
I read this week of a contemporary example of this kind of battle and how quickly the wolf we feed takes over our lives. In 1971 The department of Psychology at Stanford University conducted a study, called “The S.P. Experiment.” They created a study that looked at the impact of becoming a prisoner or a prison guard. 24 “psychologically normal” male students were selected for the study and were randomly assigned roles of prisoner or guard in a mock prison situated in the basement of the Stanford psychology building. The initial plan was to conduct a 2 week study. But the participants adapted very quickly into their roles. The prisoners quickly lost all sense of their identity, of self-worth, becoming passive, accepting of abuse, and most of the guards quickly began to overuse their power, so much so that the experiment had to be halted after only 6 days because of the psychological and physical torture that was being done to the prisoners. Even the professor running the experiment became drawn into the role of prison warden, and only when someone from outside the experiment interfered was the director able to see what was going on and call a halt to the experiment. Watching a video of an interview with one of the guards months later, he was shocked at what he had done, but at the time he felt he wasn’t doing anything wrong. That only after months of thinking about and stepping back from the situation was he able to see the wolf that he fed, took over his life in less than 6 days. He did things in those 6 days that he didn't know he was capable of. In 6 days those people’s lives were quickly turned upside down by the evil that is inside each of us. But just as evil can take over our lives, so can love.

Reply
Lynn Price
5/7/2014 01:12:45 am

very relevant, thanks

Reply
Lena Whitson
5/6/2014 07:30:23 am

Growing up in Montana, I was pretty innocent about different peoples and cultures--can't remember when I first saw my first African American. I do remember the Indians, dressed in native costume, on the Fourth of July, dancing in an area where people could watch and toss in coins to them for their performance. My siblings and I were fascinated by this, as they could deftly pick up coins without missing a beat of their dancing. It wasn't until later that I learned of the many atrocities the white man had committed against the Native Americans. I remember feeling like I wanted to disappear under the chair as I watched a video at the Chief Joseph Battlefield. I was not proud to be Caucasian. I applaud this effort to educate the public on the truth of the treatment of those who lived on this land before us. The lies and atrocities that we, of European descent, dished out to the Native Americans is truly shameful. With this confession and repentance we can work towards healing and mutual respect.
Lena Whitson YAC

Reply
Don Derryberry
5/7/2014 02:19:26 pm

I am greatful for the continued telling of our shared history of struggle. It has become so very important for me to learn to listen to our Northern Cheyenne partners in our growing relationship. I've discovered even their silence speaks loudly. I pray this resolution will be offered and received in better faith than some past resolutions.

Reply
Marianne Niesen
5/8/2014 10:04:12 am

After reading the book "A Misplaced Massacre" I am especially heartened by this joint resolution. It is a courageous - and fitting - move by the state legislature. Thanks for sharing.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Banner photo provided by Kelly Addy
Proudly powered by Weebly