Last reviewed 16 October 2026 · A three-minute read · 1864–now
Sheridan Lake, Colorado, stands near Sand Creek, where on November 29, 1864, Colonel John Chivington's Colorado volunteers attacked a sleeping Cheyenne and Arapaho camp. More than 150 people were killed despite flags of peace flying over the tipis, and the ground is now a national historic site.
The short answer
Sand Creek, near Sheridan Lake, Colorado, was the site of a massacre on November 29, 1864, when Colonel John Chivington led about 675 Colorado volunteer soldiers in a dawn attack on a sleeping Cheyenne and Arapaho camp, killing more than 150 people despite American and white flags flying over the tipis. The ground is now a national historic site.
November 29, 1864
Soldiers attacked a sleeping camp flying flags of truce
The Sand Creek massacre happened on the ground beside this point, and the land is now protected as a national historic site. In 1864, a village of Cheyenne and Arapaho people camped here under a promise of safety. Chief Black Kettle had been told by officers at nearby Fort Lyon that his people would not be harmed. More than 750 people were camped in over 100 Cheyenne lodges and 30 Arapaho lodges, stretched along a mile of the creek.
At dawn on November 29, 1864, Colonel John Chivington led about 675 Colorado volunteer soldiers into the camp. American flags and white flags of truce flew above the tipis. The soldiers attacked anyway. Chief White Antelope walked toward the cavalry with his arms folded, trying to show he would not fight. He was shot down and mutilated. Over seven hours, more than 230 Cheyenne and Arapaho were killed or wounded, most of them women, children, and the elderly. Soldiers chased survivors for miles and cut off their escape at sand pits dug into the creek bank. Thirteen Cheyenne chiefs and one Arapaho chief died that morning.
Captain Silas Soule refused to let his company fire on people trying to surrender. He later testified against Chivington in federal hearings that condemned the attack as a massacre. The testimony cost him his life. Historians say Soule was shot dead on a Denver street in 1865 in retaliation.
Black Kettle survived, carrying his wounded wife off the field. Four years later, in 1868, both he and his wife were killed in another attack by the U. S. Army, at the Battle of the Washita River in Oklahoma.
1864 to 1865
Investigations branded the attack a massacre and ended careers
Soldiers collected scalps and body parts as trophies that night, including ears and genitalia. Chivington later displayed his collection in Denver as a badge of honor. Three separate federal investigations followed, and all three called Sand Creek a massacre, not a battle. Chivington, once celebrated as a hero of the frontier, was publicly discredited and resigned his commission. Governor John Evans (Colorado governor) was forced out of office in 1865 for his part in setting the conditions for the attack.
1865 to 1868
The killing spread across the plains for years
The killing did not end at Sand Creek. Cheyenne and Arapaho warriors retaliated along the South Platte, and the war spread across the plains for years, feeding into the later conflicts at Washita, Little Bighorn, and Wounded Knee.
1968 to 1999
Buried bullets finally fixed the true location of the attack
The scalp taken at Sand Creek hung in the Colorado state historical museum for over a century before it was finally taken down. For decades after the massacre, nobody could say exactly where it had happened. The creek had shifted, the grass had grown back, and the government's own 1864 maps had placed the camp in the wrong spot. In 1999, teams from the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Colorado Historical Society worked the ground with metal detectors, alongside Cheyenne and Arapaho observers. The teams pulled up period bullets, cannon fragments, and camp equipment buried in the soil. The pattern of the finds finally fixed the true location of the attack.
2000 to 2007
Land passed from a private family to the tribes
Congress authorized a national historic site here in November 2000. The Dawson family, who had owned the land, transferred it to the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes in 2007, and the National Park Service took on its management. The Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site opened to the public on June 1, 2007.
2026
Bronze statues of the dead are raised in Denver
The reckoning is still being written. This October, History Colorado is dedicating a memorial at the State Capitol in Denver: three life-size bronze statues of Black Kettle, Chief Left Hand, who was mortally wounded at Sand Creek, and Medicine Woman Later, holding a baby.
A short walk from this point, the town of Sheridan Lake carries its own, smaller wound. Its courthouse burned down in 1900, and the fire set off a fight over the county seat. Men from the rival town of Eads forced their way in after a disputed election and hauled the county records away by wagon. Kiowa County's seat moved to Eads for good in 1902, leaving Sheridan Lake to shrink into the small crossroads it is today.
The land along Big Sandy Creek is now protected ground, kept by the National Park Service with the tribes whose ancestors died here.
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Modern
November 29, 1864
Colonel John Chivington led about 675 Colorado volunteer soldiers in a dawn attack on a Cheyenne and Arapaho winter camp of over 750 people, ignoring the American and white flags flying over the tipis.
Soldiers chased fleeing Cheyenne and Arapaho people eight to ten miles, and victims dug into sand pits along the creek bank trying to escape rifle and cannon fire; well over half the dead were women, children, and the elderly.
White Antelope walked toward the cavalry with his arms folded over his chest to show he would not fight, but he was killed, scalped, and his body mutilated.
Captain Silas Soule and Lieutenant Joseph Cramer defied Chivington's orders, kept their companies out of the massacre, and later testified against him before federal investigators.
Three separate investigations found Chivington's attack was a massacre; he was discredited and resigned, and Colorado's governor John Evans was forced out in 1865 for his role in causing it.
Chief Black Kettle escaped Sand Creek carrying his badly wounded wife Medicine Woman Later, but both were killed in 1868 at the Battle of the Washita River, a direct consequence of this attack.
Survivors moved north to join the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Northern Arapaho, and the violence that followed helped fuel later conflicts including Washita, Little Bighorn, and Wounded Knee.
After the Sheridan Lake courthouse fire, men from the rival town of Eads forcibly removed what county records remained to their own town, deciding where the county seat would be.
Teams from the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Colorado Historical Society, working with Native American observers, located the exact site using period bullets and camp equipment pulled from the ground.
Ownership transferred from the Dawson family to the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes, and the National Park Service began managing the ground where the massacre took place.
A memorial with life-size bronze figures of Black Kettle, the mortally wounded Chief Left Hand, and Medicine Woman Later holding a baby is being dedicated far away at the state capitol in Denver.
Colonel John Chivington led about 675 Colorado volunteer soldiers in a dawn attack on a Cheyenne and Arapaho winter camp of over 750 people. More than 150 were killed over seven hours, most of them women, children, and the elderly, despite American and white flags flying above the tipis.
What was here before the national historic site was established?
The ground held a Cheyenne and Arapaho winter camp of more than 750 people, stretched along a mile of the creek, where Chief Black Kettle had been told by officers at Fort Lyon that his people would not be harmed.
Who was Silas Soule and why does he matter to Sand Creek?
Captain Silas Soule refused to let his company fire on people trying to surrender during the attack and later testified against Chivington before federal investigators. He was shot dead on a Denver street in 1865, likely in retaliation for his testimony.
How was the exact massacre site located?
In 1999, teams from the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Colorado Historical Society, working alongside Cheyenne and Arapaho observers, used metal detectors to pull period bullets, cannon fragments, and camp equipment from the soil, which fixed the true location of the attack.
When did Sand Creek become a national historic site?
Congress authorized the site in November 2000. The Dawson family, who had owned the land, transferred it to the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes in 2007, and it opened to the public on June 1, 2007 under National Park Service management.
What happened to Chief Black Kettle after surviving Sand Creek?
Black Kettle escaped the massacre carrying his badly wounded wife, Medicine Woman Later. Four years later, in 1868, both were killed by the U. S. Army at the Battle of the Washita River in Oklahoma.