EADS - Members and friends of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Native American Tribes, whose ancestors were slaughtered by a militia in 1864, gathered at the site of the Sand Creek Massacre to celebrate national recognition of the land that holds deep meaning for the tribes.
More than 142 years have passed since Colorado militia soldiers, in a deadly onslaught of bullets and blows, attacked this peaceful encampment - killing some 160 people, mostly women, children and the elderly - about 30 miles northeast of Eads. The attack came while most of the men of the village were away hunting.
On Saturday morning, the land was dedicated a national historic site on a field about 1 mile south of where the massacre took place.
For the first time since the massacre, an American flag flew over the site as hundreds of people gathered for the dedication under a blue sky and a gentle breeze. Before the ceremony, members of the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes wearing headdresses chanted and played drums.
The Sand Creek Massacre is considered one of the bloodiest days in U.S. history.
It was here on on Nov. 29, 1864, where more than 700 U.S. Army troops, led by Col. John M. Chivington, attacked a village of Cheyenne and Arapaho who were sleeping under a U.S. flag on the sandy banks of the stream.
Survivors witnessed atrocities that forever will be remembered as dark moments in human history, committed by a Colorado militia in a rage of killing, raping, looting and burning.
Descendants of some of those massacred were among several hundred people at the dedication ceremony.
As descendents sat on folding chairs listening to speakers, the gnawing reality of the senseless slaughter that occurred remained in their souls.
For 81-year-old Mary Bear of the Northern Arapaho Tribe, the date is forever etched in pain, blood and tears.
Mary Bear sat among tribesmen Saturday recalling the stories told by her elder ancestors of the massacre.
"I have been here about four times now and I always feel the same. It's never going to be forgotten," Mary Bear said.
Mary Bear said on one of her visits she placed a staff in the land near the site of the massacre as a symbol.
"I had a dream that the souls of our ancestors were still suffering here. I placed the staff and told them to please go home - go where you belong. Go where ever you are supposed to go," she said holding a ceremonial feather.
Bear, who traveled from Wyoming on Saturday, said that four of her family members were killed in the massacre.
"They were killed in this battle - I am getting older and I am glad that I could be here today. This is a great event for all of us," Bear said.
Former U.S. Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, also wearing a ceremonial headdress, retold the painful story pointing toward the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site which on Saturday, was home to about 20 tepees and a sweat lodge set up on the grassy prairie where the killings took place. Tribesmen had been camping there since Wednesday.
"I camped out here last night and I wanted to kind of get a picture of how the people felt on Nov. 28, 1864, the day before the massacre. . . It's nice to see so many descendants here today," Campbell said.
"The night before the tragedy must have been so placid that I think the people were emotionally disarmed," he added.
Campbell said the militia formed by Evans had one goal.
"They wanted to get rid of the Indians so that Colorado could reach statehood sooner," Campbell said.
Campbell said the militia was called the "Bloodless Third" Regiment because most of them had never been in a battle and never wanted to be in a battle.
"The militia was raised - a good number of them - from the thugs and the alcoholics of skid row in Denver, Colorado. When they arrived here, they were already spoiling for a fight," he said.
Campbell said that after the massacre, the militia took some remains of those they slaughtered from the killing field to Denver where they paraded the body parts through the streets.
"They called Indians savages back then. If there were any savages that day, it was not the Indian people," Campbell said.
Campbell, who began working to memorialize the massacre site when he was elected to the Colorado House in 1983, said that Saturday's event was the completion of a spiritual circle.
"There was a terrible tragedy here. Part of this is a healing process and I know a lot of people are happy to be here. For me, it's like completing one of my great goals in life," he said.
Eugene Little Coyote, president of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, compared the massacre to the Virginia Tech school shootings that occurred earlier this month.
"I can't help but remark that the campus tragedy of three weeks ago has been referred to as the deadliest shooting rampage in U.S. history - but I think the deadliest shooting in U.S. history was here, the Sand Creek Massacre," Little Coyote said.
"Much has been said and much will be said about the injustice and the slaughter of innocence here. But I think along with this, there will be talk of healing and peace," he added.
Several members of the tribes spoke at the dedication each telling stories about the massacre and collectively expressing happiness for the recognition of the site as a national historic site.
Gov. Bill Ritter and Lt. Gov. Barbara O'Brien were on hand along with former Gov. Roy Romer; National Park Service Director Mary Bomar; U.S. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, R-Colo.; U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., and officials from both the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes. Representatives for U.S. Sens. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., and Ken Salazar, D-Colo., also were there.
"It is my honor to be here. I speak on behalf of the people of Colorado who think that it is fitting that we have a memorial here. Some would say it has been too long and it should have happened sooner. I would add my voice to that," Ritter said.
Brownback, a presidential candidate, apologized for the atrocity and asked for forgiveness. "You can sense the wounds that still ache," Brownback said.
Musgrave said that although Saturday was a celebration, she still was feeling the sadness of the massacre in her heart.
"When we look at our history, we never want to rewrite it; we want to remember history as it happened. I am touched to see the children that are with us and I am touched by the elderly that are walking with canes and you think of the helplessness of innocent people. As we dedicate this site today, we are doing what good people do. We are remembering the wrongs, we are regretting and we are repenting," Musgrave said.
As told, some 160 Cheyenne and Arapaho perished here. Survivors included many who fled before the attack, and others, including the wounded, who trekked northward throughout the day and into the night.
Park Service officials say that according to one Cheyenne witness, "We all stopped in a ravine about 10 miles above the battleground. . . It was very dark and cold. . . Of course, no one slept a wink thinking about what had taken place that day. Wounds began to pain and Indians kept up hollering all night."
Park officials said Saturday that for now, the site will be open to the public on a limited basis. A small contact station will be built in the weeks to come.
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